The first thing you need to do is get a good understanding of what you’re eating habits are now. So many women have no concept of the fuel or junk they are piling into their body, especially after a lifetime of trying every diet under the sun and relying mostly on counting calories. Keep a food journal to understand how your picture looks and highlight area for improvement.

When you begin to build your healthy eating plan, your focus should be fat loss, not weight loss. Loss of muscle and water is just starvation. You need to plan a full, healthy diet that focuses on reducing fat. Your body is changing; by understanding and working with these body truths, you can set achievable goals.

I say this as an exercise pro, exercise is wonderful, essential and central to a healthy lifestyle but it will not lead to fat loss on its own. If you are slaving away on the treadmill, hitting spin hard or spending hours on the bike and in the pool and not seeing results it’s very probably down to your diet. Changing your diet is crucial to your fat loss and the single most important factor in reducing your weight and belly fat.

Don’t stop your gym sessions, but fuel your body appropriately to get the most out of the work you put in. Otherwise, all that effort will evaporate into disappointing results.

If you’re not active right now, work on dietary changes as a priority whilst you gradually increase your activity. Begin with something as wonderful as walking.

You won’t lose weight in this life stage, like you did when you were 25. It’s frustrating but true, and something I see over and over again in my clients.

Reset your expectations, slow and steady weight loss is a great and sustainable way to achieve your goals.

It’s tempting to get frustrated with this aspect of your changing body and simply give up. Don’t. Stick to a sensible, healthy diet and simply give it time. You will get there!

The tea diet, cabbage soup diet or crazy shake programme won’t work for you, neither will ‘Lose your belly fat in 10 days’ – not even in the short term. Your metabolism isn’t as responsive as it once was and won’t let you starve yourself thin.

This is, in my opinion, a GREAT thing. These quick fixes don’t work for anyone long term and will leave you miserable and unhealthy.

Consistent healthy choices are the only way to overhaul your body, so take sensible steps towards change.

Snap diets don’t work. They don’t work because it’s very difficult to break out of those ingrained eating habits we create for ourselves. The best way to succeed then is to create new healthy habits that gradually become part of who you are.

Don’t try to rewire your diet overnight, make small changes and let them become established before you move forward. Expert advice can help make this difficult process much smoother. Support and accountability are two of the most useful tools you can have at your disposal.

It’s easy to procrastinate and promise ourselves we will start make important changes tomorrow, next week or even next year. The first step is the hardest, so make it now. It’s possible to make healthy changes at any age, but the sooner you start, the smoother your journey will be.

Weight loss is challenging, you will want to give up, and you will suffer failures. Keep moving forward, focus on your goal and remind yourself that you are amazing. Push forward with small, steady changes and never give up.

Weight loss in midlife is absolutely possible. Stay motivated, listen to your body and reach your goals.