The internet is clogged with supplements, pills, diets, regimes and workouts. Do any of them work? Possibly. But it’s more likely that you’re simply being overcharged for something which has minimal benefit and is less likely to help you in the long term than some decent advice from your doctor or a nutritionist.

So what is the secret to long-term lasting weight loss?

1. Eat Properly

2. Eat Less

3. Exercise Properly

4. Continue doing this!

Ok, so not a secret to most, but probably enough of a secret to those who feed the demand for supplements and the like to bear repeating.

Because the real truth is that while most people ‘want’ to lose weight, they don’t want it enough to put in the effort that those four steps above require. You might then think that it makes sense to get some help from some of these products but the fact is that you will most likely simply end up the same weight and poorer to boot!

There is so much nutritional information available these days that it can be difficult to know where to begin. However, the main message is that you need to eat less fatty, sugary food and more fruit and vegetables. Read up on recommended calorie intakes and interrogate your food (or rather, the packaging) for sugar and fat content.

This doesn’t mean you have to cut out everything you enjoy but it does mean that you need to exercise some self-control. The more fatty, sugary food you eat, the less weight you will lose and if you eat enough you will gain weight.

Which brings us on to the next point, namely that if you want to lose weight you need to eat less. This is basic arithmetic. All food has a calorific value and if you eat less then all things equal you will lose weight as long as you are using more calories than you take in every day.

Don’t be tempted to skip meals as you will just be more hungry later on. Instead, if you feel hungry a lot during the day make small amounts of (healthy) food to be eaten at more regular intervals. Stop buying snack foods as this will reduce temptation when you are hungry or bored.

The hardest bit to losing weight for a lot of people is the exercise part. If you don’t like sports then there is a temptation to think that you are left with the gym, which for many people is a tedious chore to be avoided at all costs. If this is you, that’s fine, but you need to be more proactive and think outside the box.

So you’re not a football person. Take up canoeing or fencing or table tennis. If you don’t like sport get a Wii or a kite or a dog you can take for walks. If you just hate being surrounded by sweaty people and having to take communal showers then get a piece of home gym equipment and set it up so that you can watch your favourite shows while you exercise. As with eating less, exercise is all about numbers. If you exercise more then you will lose weight.

The really hard bit, though, is keeping this up. Losing weight and keeping it off is all down to your attitude. Don’t think of it as a ‘diet’, because it shouldn’t be anything separate from your usual lifestyle. If this is a problem for you, try getting help from your friends and loved ones, write a manifesto of why you want to lose weight and refer to it when tempted to stray or save the money that you would usually save on snacks and use it to treat yourself to something special (and healthy!).

The best part of following these rules is you won’t have to waste any money on products that don’t work and you will have discovered the ‘secret’ to genuine and lasting weight loss.