Lose weight
If you're overweight, losing weight can improve your health, give you more energy and help you feel better about yourself.
But losing weight is not always easy, and many things can affect your progress. Your eating habits, sleep, activity levels and how you feel can all play a part. If you have struggled with weight loss before, you are not alone.
On this page, you will find practical ways to support weight loss by making changes to what you eat and drink, how much you move, and how well you sleep.
4 things you can do to support weight loss
Change what and how much you eat
When you think about losing weight, one of the first things you may think about is changing what you eat.
You're right to think that because what you eat plays a big part in losing weight. Get started with our advice and recipe collections.
Healthy eating to lose weight
Find out how to make healthier choices and manage portion sizes.
Calories and weight loss
Find out what calories are, why it can be useful to count them and how doing so can help you lose weight.
Recipes under 600 calories
Explore healthy recipes on the Healthier Families website, with step-by-step recipes all under 600 calories per portion!
Change what and how much you drink
Find out which drinks are healthier choices, how alcohol can add extra calories, and how to get enough fluid each day to stay hydrated.
NHS.UK: Calories in alcohol
Alcohol can be high in calories, and it can be easy to lose track of how much you drink. Find out how many calories are in alcoholic drinks and where they can soon add up.
NHS.UK: Drinks and hydration
What you drink can make a difference to your health and weight. Learn how much you should drink, which drinks are healthier, and how to cut down on sugar and calories.
Change how much you move
Changing what you eat can help you lose weight, but moving more can help you keep the weight off.
Getting more active brings many other health benefits too. Even 10 minutes a day can make a difference.
Tips to get more active in your day
Get some simple ideas to build more activity into your day, tips to stick with it and free exercise plans to help you get going.
Try some free home workout videos
These 10-minute sessions focus on cardio, strength and stretching. They're perfect for beginners!
Get running with Couch to 5K
If you'd like to start running, but you're not sure where to start, our free Couch to 5K running plan will get you running 5km in just 9 weeks.
NHS.UK: Benefits of exercise
Exercise can feel like another thing on your to-do list, but exercising is about much more than weight loss. Read more about the health benefits and get motivated!
Reflect on your sleep habits
Not getting enough sleep can make it harder to lose weight. Poor sleep may make you:
- more likely to choose high calorie foods
- too tired to exercise or cook healthy meals
It can also affect your mood and behaviour.
Learn about sleep problems on Every Mind Matters
Find out why you might be struggling to sleep and what small things you can do to help.
Tools to get you started
Find out if you're a healthy weight
These 2 NHS tools can help you understand whether your weight is in a healthy range. BMI can be a useful starting point and you should use it alongside the waist to height ratio calculator.
Step 1: Use the NHS BMI calculator
Use this calculator first to check your body mass index (BMI) and find out if you're a healthy weight.
Step 2: Use the NHS waist to height ratio calculator
If your BMI is under 35, use this calculator to understand if you're carrying too much fat around your tummy.
Get a free 12-week plan from the NHS Weight Loss Plan app
This free NHS app gives you a clear weight-loss plan to help you build healthier habits for sustainable weight loss. You can:
- set your 12 week weight loss goal
- track what you're eating
- set a daily calorie target
Extra support
If you need more help, there are other types of support available. These include structured programmes, community support and, for some people, weight loss medication.
You might want to try a few different things, and that's okay, what matters is finding what works for you.
Programmes and community support
Free and discounted weight loss programmes
From discounted plans like Slimming World and Weight Watchers to free support at your local football club, there are different options to get you started.
Support for weight-related health conditions
Living with a weight related health condition, like high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, can affect many parts of your life. Browse organisations that offer information, advice and community support.
Weight loss medication
Weight loss medicines are getting a lot of attention, but on the NHS they are only suitable for some people.
Different weight loss medicines have different criteria. This depends on things like your BMI, any weight related health conditions, and whether a healthcare professional thinks they are right for you.
Only take weight loss medicine if it has been prescribed for you. These medicines can cause serious side effects.
Personalised advice
We cannot give health advice to every person individually.
If you have:
- a medical condition
- a special diet for your health
- an eating disorder (or have had one in the past)
talk to a GP or a healthcare professional before making any changes to your lifestyle.
If you need more information or support with eating disorders, the charity Beat Eating Disorders has lots of help for adults and children.
Healthy Choices Quiz
Answer questions across 6 areas to get a score out of 10 and personalised advice on where you could make changes to your eating, activity and lifestyle.