Shape-Up Programme

Shape-Up is a lifestyle programme that can help you manage your weight, improve your health and improve your quality of life.

What makes Shape-Up special?

  • Shape-Up is not a diet or an eating plan. And it is not just about weight loss.
  • It is a psychological approach to managing eating and physical activity over the long term.

If you want to control your weight, understanding your own eating patterns and learning to deal with temptation is as important as knowing what to eat. The Shape-Up Workbook was produced by psychologists working with nutrition, exercise and health promotion specialists, to maximise your chance of success.

  • Whilst it can help people who want to lose weight, the Shape-Up programme is also useful for people who want to avoid putting on more weight.
  • This is particularly important because research has shown that people who are overweight or obese are likely to keep on putting on weight through their life.
  • Shape-Up is also about keeping healthy
Woman exercising
The Shape-Up Workbook

Workbook, consisting of 5 modules (£16.99)

The Shape-Up Programme will help you to:
  • limit further weight gain
  • achieve modest weight loss
  • get into a regular eating pattern
  • balance the types of food that you eat
  • reduce your tendency to overeat
  • become more physically active
  • develop a healthier lifestyle

The Shape-Up programme was designed to help overweight adults to manage their weight.

The guidance on nutrition and physical activity was written with this population in mind.

Unfortunately, Shape-Up is therefore not suitable for:
  • People aged under 18 years
  • Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding
  • People of a normal or low body weight

People who are very overweight (with a BMI greater than 35), those with a current or past history of eating disorders or those with psychological difficulties such as depression are likely to need additional support in managing their weight.

While some of the ideas in Shape-Up might be useful to these groups of people, the programme may not be suitable on it's own and additional support may be needed.

What next?

  • If you think Shape-Up may be suitable for you, we recommend that you check with your doctor before beginning the programme.
  • This is especially important if you have a health condition or are taking any medication that may be affected by changes to your diet or level of activity. In most cases, Shape-Up should still be suitable.

The nutritional guidance within Shape-Up follows current recommendations for a healthy, balanced diet. However, Shape-Up also recommends portion sizes equivalent to a total daily intake of 1200-1500 calories for women and 1500-1800 calories for men.

For more information about what contributes to a healthy, balanced diet click here.

Physical activity guidance in the Shape-Up programme follows a three step plan:

  • Reducing sedentary activity
  • Increasing lifestyle activity
  • Increasing organised activity and sports

This includes an initial recommendation of 30 minutes' moderate activity a day, building up to 60-90 minutes a day for maintenance of weight loss.

Moderate intensity activity is defined as any form of exercise that makes you breath harder than usual and feel warm, while still being able to hold a conversation.

Case Studies - How Shape-Up is being used

Click here for a summary of ACE's (Anglian Community Enterprise) annual report on how they ran their Shape-Up groups.

If you have ran and evaluated Shape-Up groups, please contact us.