People gain weight for many reasons – as a result of bad digestion, stress, poor food and lifestyle choices.

If you want to lose weight, the most important thing is to make the right food choices. It’s not about counting calories and weighing meals. It’s all about establishing the guidelines and allowing your body to gradually adjust to its healthy natural weight.

Hopewood recommends high water-based high fibre vegetarian food, including plenty of fruits and leafy vegetables, which naturally balance our diet. Until you reach your goal weight you should also steer away from foods that are high in carbohydrate and calorie dense vegetables, such as potatoes.

Choose foods that are closer to nature. By eliminating processed, tinned and packaged foods from your diet, hour body will be in a better place to function effectively.

Eating slowly, chewing food well and only eating until we feel full is a vital key to effective weight management.

Hopewood also recommends food combining, which is the most effective way to restore gut health. Food combining focuses on eating foods that combine together well, removing strain on your digestive system, allowing more effective and efficient digestion.

Exercise is also critically important to weight loss. Our muscles are our metabolisers, so the higher the muscle and the lower the fat, the better our body will be. You should start slowly with gentle exercise, but when your body is ready, you should seek out more intensive exercise activity.

Interval training is particularly effective, this involves short bursts of high intensity exercise, for 30 seconds perhaps, followed by periods of rest, for a minute or two. As fitness improves, the type and duration of exercise can be extended.

Stress effects your wellbeing and can contribute to weight gain. Relaxation is therefore an important part of your weight management regime. Ideally you will find 30 minutes in every day to focus on stress release – whether that is through yoga, meditation, a relaxing bath, a massage or beauty treatment.

Losing weight slowly is much more effective in the long run. You should be striving for a holistic lifestyle shift, rather than a crash diet. Fad diets which promise fast results can trigger greater weight gain after you stop (the yoyo effect). Take your time, let your body reach its natural weight and you will find it easier to maintain a healthy shape.