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Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 2

Exercise

Diet

Diet

This week's challenge is to choose healthier options when you eat out or order a takeaway. It's simpler than it sounds.

While all packaged food and drinks sold by shops must be labelled to show their calorie, fat and sugar content, this rule doesn't apply to meals from restaurants. It's a calorie lottery, with some meals providing almost a whole day's worth of calories and fat.

Popular meals, such as a double burger with cheese plus large fries and a soft drink, can provide up to 1,400 calories. That's 74 per cent of an average woman's daily recommended intake, and 56 per cent of a man's.

Limit eating out to a couple of days a week, and choose healthier options in restaurants. Also try to stick to a maximum of three small glasses of wine with your meal.

If it's difficult to spot a healthy choice, minimise calories by avoiding fried food, lots of cheese, mayonnaise and pies.

Here are a few suggestions on how to make healthier choices:

Starter
Avoid: pâté, mousses, goujons, plates of salami and other fatty meats, creamy soups.
Choose: broths, vegetable and fish soups, smoked salmon with wholegrain bread.
Salad is OK, but ask for the dressing on the side. Alternatively, fill up on breadsticks and wholegrain bread (no butter).

Main course
Cooking methods
Avoid: foods with added fat, such as anything fried, breaded, crumbed or battered.
Choose: stir-fried, chargrilled, grilled, steamed or poached foods.

Meat
Avoid: fatty meats such as duck or goose, meat pies, burgers, sausages.
Choose: lean meat, game, poultry, fish.

Sauces
Avoid: cream, oil and butter-based sauces, fondue.
Choose: wine, tomato or stock-based sauces, salsa.

Pizza
Avoid: toppings such as salami, pepperoni, other fatty meats, cheese.
Choose: vegetable and seafood toppings with extra vegetables and no cheese.

Desserts
Avoid: pastries, cheesecake, soufflé, mousse, crème brûlée, crème caramel, trifle, ice cream.
Choose: sorbet, fresh fruit.

If healthy choices aren't available, cut off any extra fat and remove the batter. If you must have chips, choose thick-cut ones.

Successful slimmers aim to strike a balance between enjoyment and overeating by planning for an evening out. This applies to holidays and festive events, too.

The golden rules are:

• Never go out to eat when you're starving. Always take the edge off your hunger with a healthy snack, such as a banana sandwich or crispbread with lean meat.
• Never compensate for a slap-up meal by missing meals earlier in the day. Three regular meals a day will help your body to control excess hunger.
• Decide trade-offs before you go out to eat. For example, have one glass of wine but miss dessert, or have a dessert but no starter.
• Stick to two courses.