The last thing you should do is go charging into a diet or a new exercise regime. Be gentle with your body. You get issued one, and it's got to last you. The healthy way to lose weight is, of necessity, not a hurried way. If, for example, you haven't done much more in the way of exercise lately than get up to change the TV channel, buying a new pair of running shoes and training for a marathon is probably a bad idea. By all means buy a new pair of running shoes -- then take a walk in them. Not too far -- just far enough and fast enough to get a little out of breath. Then do it again tomorrow. And the day after. Light exercise is best when it's a regular part of your daily round. And light is the key word here; any attempts to repair years of bodily neglect with a training regime that would tax a professional athlete is doomed to fail, leave you disheartened at best, and maybe even injured. Treat your body like a vintage car; there's plenty of mileage left in it, but it needs tender loving care and upkeep to get the best performance possible.

The same goes for your diet. Anyone who recommends you cut out whole food groups or cut your calorie intake right back is going to damage your health. Your body needs fuel and the nutrients and vitamins it contains to maintain optimum health. Being scrawny and half starved isn't the same as being slim and healthy, and long term dieting can damage your health. If you are fat -- and let's call the condition by its proper name, rather than some PC nonsense phrase -- it's because you ate a little too well in the past. You don't have to starve yourself now to make up for it, but you do have to make some changes. Your body uses food for fuel. It stores the excess fuel as fat. This means if you eat more food than your body needs, you'll gain weight.

To lose weight, your body has to use up these stores of fat. The most effective way to do this is to reduce your calorie intake while maintaining a healthy diet, and increase your activity levels. This is why experts talk about weight loss in terms of diet and exercise. Small changes make a big difference over time. One extra biscuit a week means a five pound weight gain in a year, assuming your activity levels and the rest of your diet stay the same. Cut that biscuit out of your diet and you'll lose the same amount. This works really well when you apply it to your food shopping choices. Swap full fat dairy for semi-skimmed milk, say, and you'll barely notice the change, but you'll cut out a lot of unnecessary fat from your diet. Think of weight loss in terms of changes in the way you shop,the way you cook and prepare food, and the way you eat. The cunning way to really succeed at this is to sustain these small, convenient changes over months and years.

The same applies to exercise; someone who increases the amount they exercise, but maintains the same diet and calorie intake, will lose weight. Even light exercise such as a daily walk will be beneficial if done regularly. You don't need any special kit, just a good pair of shoes. Step out of your front door, pick a direction, and walk until you're ready to take the trail back home. Forty minutes a day -- even twenty minutes a day -- is enough to make a difference. If walking doesn't appeal, and you're no fan of the great outdoors, there are indoor exercise machines you can use that don't present too much in the way of a challenge. TV time can become workout time too if you invest in a stationary cycle or a rowing machine. In either case you set the workload you're prepared to handle. The great thing about regular exercise is that it has cumulative effects, all of which are good. Improved digestion, greater stamina and muscle tone, improved cardiovascular health, all these are the natural byproduct of regular light exercise. Build up your workload over time and you'll never be overweight again. Did I mention the endorphin rush?

To sum up, the healthy way to lose weight is just about what you expected. The price is low -- a small investment of your time and energy -- and the benefits are huge.