NHS advice on healthy living includes eating a balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, quitting smoking, and reducing alcohol consumption.
There are many ways you can lose weight, from making small changes to what you eat and drink to finding more support. Read more here.
If you’re overweight or obese, losing weight will give you more energy and help reduce the risks associated with obesity, including heart disease, sleep apnoea, psychological and social complications, musculoskeletal issues, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.
You may also be selected to receive additional support with injectable medications if you have a combination of these comorbidities.
However, a cornerstone for long-term maintenance of positive weight loss outcomes is lifestyle activities, especially after the cessation of medical treatments like Wegovy or Ozempic.
This article offers simple steps to consider during your weight loss journey.
1. Mindset for Weight loss
When it comes to losing weight, you shouldn’t focus solely on diet plans, medications, or fitness routines. It often begins with how you’re thinking about all of it. You must reach a point where staying the same feels more uncomfortable than making a change. That’s when things start to shift. It’s about making a solid choice and telling yourself: this is the last time I feel like this. And while it might take a while before you see much change in the mirror, many people have shown it can be done with steady effort and patience. It won’t always feel easy because you will be doing things differently from your peers, but remember, this is just one chapter in your life, not the whole story. Stick with it, back yourself to succeed, and take it day by day.
2. Develop a Positive Relationship with Food
Developing a positive relationship with food means seeing it as something that nourishes and supports you, not something to feel guilty about. It helps to move away from strict rules or labelling foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, and instead focus on balance, enjoyment, and listening to your body. When you start to appreciate food as both fuel and pleasure—not as punishment—you’re more likely to make choices that feel good both physically and mentally. This shift can make healthy eating feel less like a chore and more like an act of self-care.
3. Nutrition and Meal Planning
Nutrition plays a major role in weight loss, with research suggesting diet has a greater impact than exercise alone. However, successful long-term weight management typically combines both dietary changes and physical activity. For example, eating less and moving more puts your body’s metabolism in a calorie deficit, leading to fat and weight loss. For people with obesity-related health conditions like diabetes or heart disease, medical supervision is important as these conditions affect how the body responds to dietary and exercise changes.
When meal planning, there are scientifically backed methods, including using calorie density and portion control. The hand method for measuring portions is recommended by diabetes organisations and has shown good results in research studies. However, if you have diabetes, heart disease, or other health conditions, discuss meal timing and frequency with your healthcare provider first, as you may need a different approach to manage your blood sugar or medications safely. The principles of choosing lower calorie-density foods and proper portions are sound for most people, but individual medical needs vary.
Two-meal eating patterns have shown promise in research for people with diabetes and obesity, potentially improving weight loss and blood sugar control. However, this approach isn’t suitable for everyone, especially if you take medications that require regular food intake to prevent low blood sugar. If you have diabetes, heart disease, or take medications, you must speak with your clinician or dietician before trying any meal timing changes, as your medication schedule may need adjusting. While some people benefit from fewer, larger meals, others do better with more frequent, smaller meals—the best approach depends on your individual health needs and circumstances.
The focus on whole foods like lean proteins, vegetables, and controlled carbohydrate portions aligns with current diabetes management guidelines. However, if you have kidney disease alongside diabetes, you may need to limit protein intake, so discuss the recommended protein portions with your clinician or dietician. Eating adequate portions of vegetables is an excellent approach for managing hunger while controlling calories and blood sugar. Start gradually if this represents a big change from your current eating pattern, and monitor your blood sugar levels closely as you may need medication adjustments as your diet improves.
4. Physical Activity and Strength Training
An exercise plan should include daily walking (10,000-15,000 steps or 1 hour of treadmill walking) combined with strength training, targeting all major muscle groups twice weekly. This approach is based on strong scientific evidence showing that both walking and strength training are highly effective for people with diabetes and obesity. Walking helps reduce heart disease risk by 30% and improves blood sugar control, while strength training can triple the improvement in diabetes management compared to diet alone. Adopting a flexible approach by splitting your daily hour of walking into shorter sessions (such as two 30-minute or six 10-minute sessions) makes it more achievable for most people.
Even if you can’t manage the full 10,000-15,000 daily steps initially, remember that any movement is better than none (1,000 steps burns more energy than zero steps!). The combination of this walking target with a structured strength training programme, alongside proper nutrition, offers the best results for weight management and diabetes control.
However, if you have heart disease, nerve damage (neuropathy), or breathing problems, speak with your clinician before incorporating high-intensity strength training activities.
Specific Exercises for weight loss
Upper Body: Chest press (using dumbbells or machines), lateral pull-downs (or pull-ups), push-ups
Lower Body: Squats, lunges
Training Methods and Parameters
Studies have used elastic band progressive resistance training, showing this is an accessible option for people with diabetes. Effective protocols used two sets of 10 repetitions of the main exercises, which aligns well with recommendations of progressive overload and consistency.
5. Tracking Your Progress for Weight loss
A progress tracking approach is based on strong scientific evidence showing that self-monitoring consistently improves weight loss outcomes. Research specifically demonstrates that daily weighing (rather than weekly or less frequent weighing) is most effective for achieving weight loss across all weight categories. The combination of daily weight measurements, food photography, and progress videos addresses the key self-monitoring behaviours that predict successful weight loss.
For people with diabetes and obesity, this comprehensive tracking approach is particularly valuable as it allows healthcare providers to make timely adjustments to treatment plans. The morning weighing routine (after using the toilet, before eating, in minimal clothing) follows established protocols that reduce daily weight fluctuations. While daily tracking is ideal, weekly measurements are still effective if daily isn’t possible. Adding a food photography component is especially important as it helps identify eating patterns that may interfere with blood sugar control and weight loss progress.
Download our weight loss leaflet below:
References
1. World Health Organization. Obesity and overweight. Geneva: WHO; 2021.
2. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Obesity: identification, assessment and management. NICE guideline [CG189]. London: NICE; 2014 (updated 2022).
3. Diabetes UK. Evidence-based nutrition guidelines for the prevention and management of diabetes. London: Diabetes UK; 2018.
4. American Diabetes Association. Lifestyle management: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2023;46(Suppl 1):S68-S96.
5. Donnelly JE, Blair SN, Jakicic JM, et al. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Appropriate physical activity intervention strategies for weight loss and prevention of weight regain for adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(2):459-471.
6. Burke LE, Wang J, Sevick MA. Self-monitoring in weight loss: a systematic review of the literature. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011;111(1):92-102.
7. Pacanowski CR, Bertz FC, Levitsky DA. Daily self-weighing to control body weight in adults: a critical review of the literature. SAGE Open. 2014;4(4):2158244014556992.
8. Kahleova H, Lloren JI, Mashchak A, et al. Meal frequency and timing are associated with changes in body mass index in Adventist Health Study 2. J Nutr. 2017;147(9):1722-1728.
9. Colberg SR, Sigal RJ, Yardley JE, et al. Physical activity/exercise and diabetes: a position statement of the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care. 2016;39(11):2065-2079.
10. NHS England. NHS England Adult Weight Management Pathway: Clinical Guidance. London: NHS England; 2023.
11. Public Health England. Adult obesity: applying All Our Health. London: PHE; 2019.
12. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Type 2 diabetes in adults: management. NICE guideline [NG28]. London: NICE; 2015 (updated 2022).
