Managing your weight

Weight, what's healthy?

In the UK, the recommended weight for an adult to be healthy depends on your height, ethnicity and whether you are born male or female. 

It’s normal for your weight and body shape to change throughout your life. If you think you're living with excess weight or obesity, it’s important to remember you’re not alone. By having a healthy diet and being active, you can maintain a healthy weight and improve your mood and confidence.

Measuring your waist and weight

There are two main ways to work out if your weight could be affecting your health. This includes:

• Your Body Mass Index (BMI) – this tool can help you work out if you're a healthy weight. But BMI is not always accurate. It cannot tell the difference between fat, muscle or bone. And it does not consider age, gender or body shape. Work out your BMI.
• Your waist to height ratio – it’s healthy to keep your waist to less than half your height.  Work out your waist to height ratio.

Find out more about measuring your waist and weight.

Managing your weight: food and calories

A healthy balanced diet is key to maintaining a healthy weight.

Calories (or kilocalories) is the measurement of the amount of energy in food or drink. You bring energy (or calories) into your body by eating and drinking and you burn calories by being active.

The average daily calorie intake for women is 2,000 calories and for men 2,500 calories.

To lose weight safely and consistently you need to reduce your regular calorie intake by about 600 calories a day. You can achieve this by eating healthy meals and doing regular daily activity.

Tracking your calories and what you eat can support weight loss but try not to focus too much on the numbers. Instead, use this as a rough guide to making healthy swaps and checking your portion sizes. Speak to your GP if you're unsure how many calories you should be eating.

Tips to maintain a healthy weight

It will take a while to adjust your diet to reach this calorie intake. But there are many ways you can do this by making some simple swaps in your diet and being mindful about your meals.

To have a healthy balanced diet, you can:

• Try to have at least 5 portions of fruit or vegetables every day. They’re low in fat and calories, and high in fibre which can support weight loss. You can buy frozen fruits and vegetables to keep your costs and food waste low.
• Plan all your meals for the week and use a shopping list. This can help you avoid being tempted to buy things you do not need like sugary and savoury snacks. It can also help you stick to your food budget.
• Cook food at home instead of eating ready meals or takeaways to help you control what goes into your meal. You can try making multiple portions at once and freezing some to save you time later in the week. Find heart healthy meals on our recipe finder.
• Check food labels when you’re doing your food shop. Try to buy foods that have mostly green labels and try fewer foods labelled red.

If you are concerned about your weight and you would like help to start managing it, you can speak to your GP.

For more tips on having a healthy balanced diet, visit our healthy eating toolkit.

The NHS Weight Loss Plan app is an easy way to set weight loss goals and plan meals and physical activity.

Managing your weight: staying active

Being active is important in managing your weight and improving your heart health. It can also help:

• give you more energy
• lower anxiety and stress
• help you sleep better
• boost your mood.

Being active does not need to be intense exercise, it can be as simple as going for a 15-minute walk in the morning before you start your day. You should aim to be active every day. Adults should try to do 150 minutes a week (around 20 to 30 minutes of exercise a day).

To be more active you can:

• Increase simple exercises that you might already do. For example, hoovering or gardening or walking your dog. You could also take the stairs instead of a lift.
• Swap short bus or car journeys and walk instead. You could get off the bus one stop early and walk.
• Make activity social and arrange to meet a friend for a walk or try a new hobby together like an exercise class.
• Try to be active every day. You could add moderate exercise into your day by going for a brisk walk at lunch, cycling to meet friends or joining a local exercise group.

If you already live an active life, speak to your doctor or call our Heart Helpline for support with exercise and what you can do to maintain a healthy weight.

Weight loss injections

Weight loss injections (such as Mounjaro and Wegovy) have become more popular over the past few years as a weight loss method. Some people may be able to get these injections through the NHS. But they're not suitable for everyone.

This medicine works by reducing your appetite, which causes you to eat less and lose weight. But while taking this medicine, you will also need to maintain a healthy balanced diet and physical exercise.

If you are thinking about using weight loss injections, speak to your GP. They can explain the possible side effects, benefits and any limitations.

Heart Helpline and other support

• For more help and support on managing your weight visit our weight loss hub.
• Speak to our cardiac nurses by phone, callback, email or online chat on Heart Helpline (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).
• Sign up to our Heart Matters magazine for online information packed with health and lifestyle advice.
• Join our HealthUnlocked community to share experiences, ask questions and support one another if you're affected by heart and circulatory conditions.