Despite doing your best to eat healthily there may well be things you're eating that are preventing you from losing weight without knowing it.

You may be following a diet plan, or trusting that a food item is healthy just because the manufacturer says so but there are often surprises in store if you dig a little deeper.

Spend a week carrying out a food diary. Record everything you eat in terms of calories and fat content and you will often make some astonishing discoveries.

I discovered for example that the calorie content of the sandwich I had carefully chosen as "healthy" and was eating most lunchtimes was almost 50% higher than I had assumed, which was regularly pushing me over that threshold.

Many people drink calories in the form os sodas, fruit juices, energy drinks and so on. Cream or sugar in your coffee will boost the calories you consume and reduce the liklihood of you losing weight.

So carefully consider the beverages you're consuming and either find a way of reducing the calories (such as by watering down fruit juice or swapping from regular to diet soda) or cut them out altogether and drink just water.

Many people I see "exercising" don't realise the importance of intensity when it comes to losing weight.

If you're wondering why can't I lose weight, then this is another common cause for lack of results.

Many people will walk, or cycle gently, barely working up a sweat. This is *not* the sort of exercise that will help you to lose weight.

It's important to increase the intensity of the exercise you're doing so you work up a sweat. Infact, in an ideal world, you'll be completeky puffed out at the end of your workout.

So consider upping the intensity. Run faster. Lift some more weights. Cycle up hills. And so on. Make it hard for yourself - ensure your workout challenges you and you'll get the best results possible.

The three points mentioned so far are the commonest reasons for not losing weight by a long, long way but one more thing to consider as a last chance is a hormonal or medical link.

Whilst very uncommon, issues such as diabetes or thyroid problems can result in weight gain no matter what you try and so a full health check with a health care professional may be worth considering if you can't lose weight.