Thanks for your question!

In terms of what to eat – obviously we all have our own likes and dislikes so feel free to adapt my advice to suit your own tastes. In principle though I always advise people to try and split their calorie allowance across the day to make sure you don’t get too hungry at any point, and that you allow for snacking during the day.

So this is how I would work things:-

Breakfast – around 20% of your calories.

Choose wholegrain cereals (Shredded Wheat, Porridge, Fruit and Fibre etc) to help fill up and get a good amount of fibre into your system. Top with fresh or tinned fruits, and skimmed milk. Add a low fat yogurt to get a portion of dairy in too.

Alternatives could be wholemeal toast with a poached egg, grilled bacon on wholemeal bread, grilled tomatoes on wholemeal toast, fresh fruits with low fat yogurt and granola.

Lunch – around 30% of your calories

Wholemeal bread sandwich with lean ham + salad, Jacket potato with tuna and sweetcorn (and a little bit of mayo), Beans on toast, Soup with a wholegrain roll, Wholemeal pasta salad with plenty of veggies….try and have at least one portion of fruit/ veg, a serving of lean protein (ham, tuna, chicken, egg, veggie option) and a carbohydrate (bread, rice, pasta).

Dinner/ tea – around 30% of your calories

Again opt for a protein (meat, fish, eggs) with a serving of carbs (wholemeal pasta, brown rice, couscous, potatoes…) and at least one veg or salad. Try and have a good variety of different types of each nutrient throughout the week, and aim for at least 1 day meat free day in the week as this can help with finding lower calorie options.

Snacks – around 20% of your calories

These can be split throughout the day so maybe mid morning and mid afternoon – or saving one for the evening if you know you’ll get peckish. Include fruit/ veg as snacks, rice cakes, biscuits, crackers, nuts, dried fruits, low fat yogurt, rice pots, popcorn, wholegrain crisps, mini cheeses (Babybel Light are only 50 calories for example).

All this should be washed down with at least 6-8 glasses of fluids per day (water is the best but tea, coffee, juices, diet drinks all count too!). If you enjoy alcohol, then make allowance for this in your calorie allowance so that it doesn’t take you over the daily limit.

Plus you should try and exercise as much as possible if your joints will allow you too – start with gentle walking but try and build up to brisk walking as soon as you can. Aim to get out of breath, and push yourself as much as you can.

I hope this helps you to get back on track – please don’t hesitate to get back in touch with me at any point if you have any questions.

Best of luck and I really hope things start to improve for you now.

Janet