Usually just after Christmas and the New Year festivities or certainly prior to our annual two week holiday – my dear wife attempts another diet plan in the hope of shedding a few pounds to look her best on the beach in her new bikini – her latest diet claims she could drop a dress size in ten days….

And – to my amazement she did!

But - only to put the weight back on within a few months!

This was all starting to get her down, and it wasn’t helping me much with her constant mood swings due to the nature of some diets.

Something had to be done once and for all to end these diet fads, luckily for my wife because of my occupation; I could easily uncover and undertake extensive research on weight loss that works for the long-term.

The Facts are in.

The figures for long-term sustained weight loss make for grim reading.

Only twenty percent of people following a weight loss plan will keep the weight off permanently. During interviews some dieters thought the only guaranteed method of losing weight long-term was – sadly surgery.

The truth is there’s no need to take this extreme route, as my wife has discovered…

Firstly - constantly trying to lose weight or in my wife’s case going on crash diets during certain time periods of the year, is detrimental to your health.

Rather than focussing on your weight, stick to a healthy well balanced diet combined with enjoyable exercise and throw the bathroom scales away.

The real ‘Secret’ to my wife’s slender figure, which incidentally she has had now for nearly two years – was Salt and Sugar; it was these two ‘culprits’ that kept giving my wife the ‘bulge’ look. Let me explain - my wife is a tea addict, drinking a dozen sugared cups a day, she also likes salted food, most people know excessive salt is bad for you, but they’d be surprised to know that it plays havoc with your weight.

By simply cutting Salt and Sugar from your diet, or use them to an absolute bare minimum. Choosing a balanced diet of fish, chicken, vegetables and fresh fruit, (studies have shown that those who focus on their food eat up to 30% less) combine this balanced diet with a regular simple exercise routine for forty five minutes three times a week of either - swimming, cycling, running or simply brisk walking; you will soon be on the road to sustaining a trim figure for your given age.

Here are two top tips for cutting these two ‘nasty’ ingredients from your diet.

Try to cut out processed food from your diet as these are loaded with excessive amounts of salt and sugar.

If you have to use salt – then use sea salt in small quantities. Instead of boiling vegetables in salt - try steaming them, they taste far superior steamed. You can even grill some vegetables.

If you drink a lot of sugared hot beverages, then switch to green tea and not any old green tea! It has to be ‘Japanese green tea’ - it is lime green in colour and tastes a little bitter, but you soon get used to it! Do Not add sugar to Japanese green tea otherwise you will not reap and see the benefits.

My wife credits her slender figure simply down to drinking plenty of ‘Japanese green tea’ in fact she says it’s the underground secret of the weight loss world.

"How excited would you be if I told you that there is a secret diet plan out there in which you can lose weight without starving yourself or hitting the gym for hours on end? You would be ecstatic wouldn’t you?"