Health & wellbeing

22 Health & Wellbeing

No food is ‘free’! A calorie deficit is needed to move the scales By Heather Smith

However you want to look at losing weight, one simple truth of any program which holds a chance of success is that a calorie deficit is required. There are a million ways to create a calorie deficit through either food or exercise, and there are a million ways to make it harder or easier through food choices and other habits. But the truth remains that a calorie deficit is required if you’re going to see the scales move. If you’re eating a diet full of processed food, a simple change to eating what is considered by some slimming clubs as ‘free food’ is almost guaranteed to lead to weight loss. It should easily create a natural calorie

deficit, show you how much better you can feel when you’re eating a less processed diet and hopefully lead to long term adherence. This is of course, excellent news, and is my preferred first-step for clients coming from a place of little knowledge of nutrition. Starting a weight loss plan when you already have a relatively healthy diet, however, needs a real life understanding of how these ‘free foods’ add up calorie wise. You could very easily already be eating mostly ‘free foods’ at the start of your weight loss plan, and this is when a true understanding of how to choose the right ‘free food’ becomes essential to unlocking further weight loss. No matter how healthy a food is, if you’re eating too many calories, you simply won’t lose weight. This said, losing weight should never become a game of simple calorie counting, it should also include getting as many nutrients from as many real foods as possible in order to assist long term progress, adherence - and health. Heather Smith is a fat loss specialist Personal Trainer. Get in touch for a free five-day meal plan www.fitbiztraining.co.uk

through the door

Legal 23

Tips for the reluctant executor by Steve Worsfold of Sussex Will Writers

At Sussex Will Writers we encourage our clients to speak with the people they wish to appoint as executors in their Wills to inform them of their choice. However some people will one day find themselves surprised at finding they have been appointed without their knowledge or just forgotten about it! It is also likely to be the first time they have ever acted as an executor and the road ahead may look daunting. If you find yourself in this situation and don’t want to act, then there are a couple of options available to you. One option is to keep on the role as executor but appoint a specialist as your attorney to apply for probate for you or assist you with the probate process. Fees will be payable out of the estate. According to research carried out by the office of Tax Simplification last year, only 11% of respondents who did not use an adviser to assist with probate stated that they found the process simple and user friendly. 38% of respondents who did not use an adviser stated that they spent 50 hours or more on estate administration. The other option is to renounce. An executor who doesn’t wish to act is not forced to. As long as you have not ‘intermeddled’ in the estate you can formally

step down. As this is a legal deed it should be drafted by a professional. If there are other executors appointed, then they may carry on acting and apply for probate. If you were the only executor, then someone who is entitled to act will need to make an application to the court to be appointed as an administrator. Call Sussex Will Writers for straightforward advice and a 10% discount for any probate work. For more information call Steve Worsfold at Sussex Will Writers.

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