Autumn has arrived, and with it lots of bad weather that no-one really looks forward to! When it’s cold and miserable outside, the temptation is to stay in the warm, turn up the central heating and stay away from the cold winds outside.

Oh dear, if you haven’t any particular tasks to keep you busy, before you know it, you’ll be in the kitchen, picking at those leftovers that totally spoil your diet. But if the day time is difficult, the evenings are even worse! While you’re sitting by the fire, watching television or immersed in a good book, it’s comforting to sip at a hot, milky drink and finish off a packet of biscuits. YOUR milky drink would be made with skimmed milk though, wouldn’t it? Or you might even be tempted to try lemon or herbal teas. Or one of the 40 calorie sachets or various flavours of chocolate drink.

Biscuits will, of course, be out of your cheats and of the low calorie type - Morning Coffee or something similar. Combating the lure of too many naughty nibbles will be helped if you aim to have regular, well-balanced meals, including protein (meat, fish, eggs, cheese or milk). Then, at least, if your stomach is full, you shouldn’t feel so much like picking.

Have a tidying up day, go through all the cupboards and drawers in your house, piling any unwanted clothing into black bags, you know all those things that are too big for you now!!!

And, whilst on the subject of clothing, it’s so easy to ignore those extra few lbs going on, when you are wearing thick chunky sweaters that you can hide under. The answer may be belting-up, which is an instant guide to whether or not your waist is still there. If you ever have to loosen the belt by another notch, then you know you’re in trouble and it’s time to be stricter on your diet.

Autumn is also a very good time to diet. There are no interruptions with Bank Holidays, no Easter eggs that you just have to finish, and no chocolates to plough your way through from Mothering Sunday! Your summer holidays are over and the children are back in school, you have NO EXCUSE, which means that you can reinstate some sort of routine at home. During the Summer, sandwich and snack meals seemed somehow to appear too often on the menu, but now more cooked (meaning more sensible usually) meals can be served which are more filling, so less snacks, which means better dieting!

Bonfire night is the only possible general excuse, and believe us, we’ve heard far better excuses than that one!!

Whilst on the subject of cold weather and hot meals, it’s a popular misconception that hot foods keep you warm and also that they’re better for you nutritionally. Have you ever heard the expression to get a good hot meal inside you - well, ask whoever you hear saying it next time to explain the nutritional difference between hot roast beef and cold roast beef! It might seem more comforting in cold weather, but you don’t NEED it and it is NO better nutritionally at all.

So, settle down, concentrate on your diets and just think what you can achieve before Christmas.