Balancing your lifestyle and diet with your fitness goals isn't easy and there is no 'one size fits all solution'. The key is to think about your lifestyle and that of your family and compare that to your personal fitness goals. If you can find a balance, it will be easier to implement and maintain some permanent changes which will help you achieve your goals. Below are some tips to get you going:

Activity
Do your activity levels need increasing but you struggle to find the time? Think about incorporating more activity during the day by walking or cycling to work or parking further away from the office. Take a break at lunch time and go for a walk or a run. Your employer may appreciate the benefits of allowing you to work flexible hours so you have longer to exercise at lunch time or before work. Studies show that exercise during your working day improves concentration levels and reduces stress so both you and your employer can benefit! If you have children, take them out with you for a walk or play in your local park. If you have a buggy/pram to push then you will be working your bum, thighs and calf muscles even harder so try and walk as much as possible... or even jog!

Lifestyle
Talk to your partner about your fitness goals. Do they have fitness goals which you could work on together? Get competitive - even if you are different speeds you can do a regular time trial jog or cycle. Set off on your first time trial together and time yourselves. The next time you do the time trial, stagger your starts by the difference in your times on your first time trial and race each other to the finish!

Nutrition
There is nothing worse than everyone in the family eating a different meal. Talk to your partner/family about any changes you want to make to your diet – content and timing – and compromise on some permanent changes which suit everyone. Find a solution to suit you all and you are far more likely to stick to it. Think about your lifestyle and why your current diet is not working. Are you so short of time that your resort to 'ready meals'? Do you skip meals in the day and compensate with a large meal late at night? Are you missing breakfast? Are you eating too much? Are you eating too little? Are you exhausted during exercise because you aren't fuelling your body adequately?

If you do need to change your eating habits my top tips are:
Plan your week ahead
Ensure you have what you need in your fridge to so that you are not 'forced' into eating ready meals or too many unhealthy snacks.

Be realistic
Make changes which are realistic and can be maintained as a permanent change.

The 'secret' to losing weight
You will not be able to lose weight unless you are completely motivated to make the necessary changes. If you want to lose weight, it is not rocket science. All you have to do is ensure that you expend more energy than you consume. So if you aren't seeing any results then it's because you are consuming more calories than your body requires given your current activity levels. Therefore, the answer is to gradually reduce your calorie intake and/or increase your daily activity. It may help to keep a (very honest) food and activity diary.

ALWAYS eat breakfast
I cannot emphasise how important this is! If you skip breakfast you cannot expect your body to function optimally when you are trying to focus at work or exercise. Breakfast is important for you to maintain an optimal basal metabolic rate(the rate at which your body uses energy/calories to fuel essential bodily processes at rest). Long periods without food cause your basal metabolic rate to fall and you will therefore use energy/burn calories more slowly. Any breakfast is better than no breakfast but an optimal breakfast should contain wholegrain/wholemeal carbs. Your body has to work harder to break these down and you will not feel hungry an hour later!

Do eat protein
Protein (from meat, fish, tofu, pulses, seeds, nuts, eggs) is important for muscle repair and growth. This is important whether you want to build muscle or lose weight since the greater your muscle mass, the higher your basal metabolic rate will be and the more calories you will burn at rest.

Fluids
Ensure you are drinking sufficient fluids. Your body needs water to function and if that's not enough to motivate you then you should remember that being well hydrated will improve the elasticity and condition of your skin as well as reducing the appearance of wrinkles! If you work in a caffeine culture office then try drinking a glass of water for every tea/coffee.

Do not make any foods 'banned foods'
This can lead to obsessing about these foods and result in you feeling like you've failed if you do eat them. Your favourite 'treats' are not 'naughty' if they are an occasional part of your healthy diet.

Fuel your body
It is a popular school of thought that 'carbs make you fat' but please don't subscribe to a 'no carb diet' if you want to use your brain or participate in any exercise! Carbohydrates provide the fuel which your body can break down most quickly so if you're going to do anything more intensive than a very slow jog then you need to eat carbs – at least in the meal prior to training. That said – some carbs are better than others and it is preferable to avoid highly processed white carbs. Instead, try to eat wholemeal/wholegrain bread, rice, cereals and pasta. If you are going to reduce carbs in your diet then cut them out of your evening meals (in priority to any other) on days when you are not exercising or when you have exercised in the morning.

If you're hungry then eat
When you are losing weight, you should expect to feel hungry as you approach meal times. To maintain your optimal basal metabolic rate you need to eat regularly (every 3-5 hours). You don't need to eat much but you need to be prepared with morning and afternoon snacks. A good guide is a handful size snack such as fruit, natural yoghurt, cereal bars with a low sugar content etc

Don't eat to the point of being full
When you feel full, you are eating more than you need and any excess will be stored as fat. If you find this difficult then dish up a small portion (on a small plate) and wait 30 minutes after finishing it before you decide if you really are hungry for more.