Patient.co.uk review

When I discovered I was pregnant at 18 I used it as an excuse to eat for two, assuming the pounds would just fall off after birth... but they didn't. Almost 9 years later I still carry some of the extra weight but 2013 is the year to alter my ways, get fit and eat healthier and Patient.co.uk is here to help.

By taking their MyHealth survey, a medical questionnaire which is medically backed, you can discover how healthy you really are and set goals to improve your lifestyle. The survey is free, takes around 10 minutes to complete and is very easy to do. You simply answer questions on diagnosed conditions and medication, family history, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, measurements and so on and then you are provided with a Q score, which places you in a line of 100 imaginary people which represents the risk of getting ill or getting heart disease. As you can see my score wasn't that great with a medium risk result but I was able to set personal goals to improve my score with lots of great information on how to do so. 

By viewing the lifestyle factors and going through the various categories it informed me of the benefits of a lower fat diet, among other things, (I eat and drink a few too many sugary products) and ways to reduce fat including:

• Whenever possible, do not fry food. It is better to grill, bake, poach, barbecue, or boil food. If you do fry, use unsaturated oil. Drain the oil off the food before eating.
• Choose lean cuts of meat, and cut off any excess fat.
• Avoid adding unnecessary fat to food. For example, use low-fat spreads, spread less butter or margarine on bread, measure out small portions of oil for cooking etc.
• Watch out for hidden fats that are in pastries, chocolate, cakes, and biscuits.
• Have low-fat milk, cheeses, yoghurts, and other dairy foods rather than full-fat varieties.
• Avoid cream. Use low-fat salad cream, or low-fat yoghurt as a cream substitute.

It was simple yet useful advice that I did need reminding of! The score definitely hit home and made me realise how bad my health really is. It has encouraged me to increase exercise and improve my eating habits to therefore reduce my weight and measurements to help move me closer to the safer area of the chart.

You can set a 12 week health program and receive weekly emails with advice on how to stay on target which I did too.

If you are trying to get healthier during the new year it may be worth giving the MyHealth survey a go!

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