Measure

Whether it be a tape measure, a favourite pair of jeans or the bathroom scales, it's important to know roughly what size you are normally, so that you can notice small changes to your weight.

Monitor

Keep a written record of your health habit. If you're aiming to walk 10,000 steps a day, buy a pedometer and write your total down at the end of each day to track your progress. The same goes for healthy eating. If your goal is to eat two fruit and five vegies every day, tally your intake in a food diary so you can see the improvements over time. This reinforces the behaviour and helps keeps you on track.

Motivate

Motivation can make or break our attempts to maintain a healthy weight. This is where our friends and social networks are most valuable. When women support each other, they tend to be much more successful in achieving their goals. Make a date with your friends to walk the dogs or take the kids to the park, anything that gets you up and moving.

Making small, realistic changes is the real key to the weight puzzle.

For more information see our Healthy weight section.

Content updated 24 February 2011