I was about 9 stone (57 kg) for most of my adult life, however ballooning hideously up to 11 stone when I hit 36. It was difficult to get it below about 10.5 stone; I’m now 9 stone 2 lbs, mostly thanks to a month-long illness and the horrid heat here in Italy. However, I’ve discovered some useful techniques for losing weight:

1. If you can stay in a frame of weight loss, however slight, the body seems to accept it as normal and the metabolism and appetite adjust so you will continue to lose weight provided you don’t eat more than your stomach tells you to eat.

2. Walking. I simply don’t feel hungry if I walk. I get hungrier sitting motionless by my computer than I do by even hard walking. From an evolutionary perspective, perhaps walking sends a “hunting” signal to the body, and since no one could hunt well after eating a McWhopper with extra cheese & fries, walking will rather suppress the appetite.

3. Drinking spirits. Whisky or Grappa are high in calories but also very filling, taken after a meal. Wine, by contrast, is not merely calorific but promotes hunger (in me, at least).