CHANGING our psychological approach to diet and exercise may be the key to losing weight and keeping it off.

Leaders at Nuffield Health, a health centre at Perdiswell, Worcester, have introduced Weighs2Change, a programme designed specifically for people who want to lose weight and keep that weight off for life.

The core principles are that people need help to tackle their inherent psychological issues – their relationships with food, exercise and themselves.

Psychometric profiling and a dedicated support structure along with a regular weekly meeting and one-to-ones are used to tackle all of these issues.

Adam Miles, manager in charge of fitness and wellbeing, said: “My main beef with the industry at the moment is that people become trapped in the systems and have to continue doing them for a long time if they don’t want to put weight back on.

“Our ultimate aim is to educate, inform and advise so that once a member has lost the weight they also have the knowledge to keep it off by themselves for life.

“I tend to use the analogy of the fish/fishing rod.

“Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, give him a fishing rod and teach him to fish and he’ll feed himself for the rest of his life,”

The aim is to take people who have tried unsuccessfully to achieve their fitness and lifestyle goals and ensure they can exercise and eat well for the rest of their lives.

The course is designed for people who want to lose weight, especially those who have tried dieting in the past or have had experiences with other courses and systems but have put the weight back on.