I run regularly, have a healthy diet, don't drink excessively but just can't shift the weight!

Any advise?

I run two or three times a week up to about 5 or 6 miles around 9 minutes/mile. I weigh about 14 and a half stone and my weight just will not come down.

Do I need to vary my training more? Do I need to look at my diet? could there be an underlying medical reason?

I've read about underactive thyroid, but is this common in a man? I do ocassionally suffer from night sweats, tiredness, moody all of which could be symptoms. I do not like taking medicine/drugs to help so is there a natural way I could improve my health?

Weight is hard to shift - our bodies like being the weight they are - and will do all they can to make us keep them the weight they are. Over thousands of years we've evolved to be fueled from our fat stores in times of famine, trouble is, we are lucky enough not to have those hard times any more - and it will take thousands more years for our bodies to adapt to this rich supply of food too.

It is not hopeless though, we can shift the weight, it's just a case of being smart about it, and a little bit patient with it. If you are struggling, then it is a very worthwhile exercise to keep a food diary. Do it for 3 or 4 days to get a representative picture of what and when you are eating. Try to get as much information down as you can, portion size, and if its labelled, how much fat / carbs / protein is in there?

Sometimes the act itself of keeping the diary gives you a little nudge in the right direction (it's hard to have to write down and admit to yourself that you ate all 12 of the mince pies in the cupboard!), sometimes things are less obvious. But, as you are already active, doing this will reveal how you can create a calorie deficit of about 500 kcalories per day - which ultimately will yield weight loss at a nice safe 1lb per week.

I am working on my Nutrition & Weight Management qualification at the moment, and it's a fair old bit of work, but if you would like any more detailed help, then feel free to PM me and I'll do what I can .

Thanks for the reply Rob, I will take your advise and try the food diary. This is not something I've had a problem with before and if I'm honest I am struggling a bit with it. ( how much could be caused psycologically? ) It is very frustrating and I do believe natural diet is the best way to tackle it, but is there any supplement that may be worth trying without any adverse affect. I was thinking maybe getting more protien into my diet although it is very healthy anyway.

Ideally you should steer clear of supplements, you're honestly not going to need them if your diet is healthy anyway.