Weight loss: ditch diet deprivation

Although our fight against the flab can force us to fear food, losing weight doesn't have to leave us struggling to sustain the strategic rules and regimes that resemble restriction, deprivation and starvation.

In fact, by making simple swaps (and maintaining the motivation to move more and consume less crap), we can not only create the change that allows us to lead a happy and healthy lifestyle, but banish the bothersome binges that trigger the temptation to give up on our goals - we're less likely to feel like we've 'failed' (and return to our unhealthy habits!) if we overindulge in healthier, homemade treats and 'takeaways'.

If you're yet to be convinced, today's delicious dessert - homemade banana ice cream created using two innocent ingredients - resembles the reality of how easy it is to create a healthy, homemade version of our weight loss weaknesses when we're willing to spend a snippet of our strict 'schedule' making our favourite foods from scratch...