The papers are full of it, the TV wont stop going on about it and your belly hanging over your waistband justifies it! Its time to lose weight - but how? There are so many gimmicky diets out there, not to mention 'potions and pills' that will help you shift the weight, BUT you also know from experience that the pounds will pile right back on again the moment you stop. So the question is "how can I lose weight permanently?"

These no nonsense top 10 weight loss tips tell you how:

1. Eat less and/or exercise more than you have been in other words you do need to create a calorie deficit in order to burn more calories than you consume in a day, BUT

2. Do not starve. You will NOT lose fat if you starve yourself. Most people need only to drop their total calorie intake by 300 kcals a day some by more and some by less it just depends what the base-line or starting point is and it often helps to have someone work that out for you!

3. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you feel satisfied. It sounds simple and it is!

4. Eat real food not powdered drinks as meal replacements. The process of digesting real solid food actually stimulates the metabolic rate. This is called the 'thermic effect' of food, which cannot be achieved by liquid food or supplements.

5. Be consistent with your exercise which should involve aerobic activities and some kind of resistance training

6. Get your diet 'nutritionally' in order, and your exercise before complaining that its your genes, you have 'big bones' or that you have 'a slow metabolism'! Sound nutritional practice and effective exercise is a very powerful combination indeed, and if its fast permanent results you want then this is what you need to focus on.

7. If you want to lose fat permanently you need to put in some effort and be somewhat self-disciplined. You are the only person you are with 24 hours of every day!

8. STOP looking for short cuts to lose weight.

9. Your aim is to lose fat, not muscle and water. Anything that promises fast weight loss, will give you fast fat gain when you start living normally again! You are aiming to lose 1-2lbs a week, with a combination of effective eating and exercising.

10. Finally, dont believe everything you read in magazines. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is!