We've spent most of January assessing the dietary damage we did over the holiday season and understanding how to rectify it ? as you can see, there is hope! So far I've shown you how to balance out your blood sugar and also, how to separate the good fats from the bad. I've also mentioned that exercise and stress management are of course crucial to long-term success. However, there is one final area I need to cover if we are to tackle weight loss effectively ? and this is the embarrassing (but fascinating) world of poo!

Any of you who know me personally or as a nutritionist, are likely to know that I am obsessed with digestion and the, er, end result. Good digestion is absolutely fundamental for optimum health, not only for preventing illnesses but also for achieving weight loss. The link between digestion and weight is often missed ? and it is actually an important factor to consider.

Let's take a minute to consider just how amazing your digestive tract is. Did you know that:

Over a lifetime, approximately 100 tons of food pass along it.

It has a surface area the size of a small football pitch.

Most cells lining it are renewed every four days.

It is approximately 30 feet long.

But whilst your digestive tract is amazing, there are also many things that can go wrong. The link to weight loss is that the problems resulting from impaired digestion ? such as IBS, constipation and diarrhoea ? can all lead to an overall toxicity of the digestive tract. For example, if you are constipated, the toxins your body needs to evacuate, stay impacted on the colon wall and can even be reabsorbed, increasing your overall toxicity. Then, if your liver becomes overloaded, your body may start to store toxins ? out of harms way, but in your fat cells.

Whilst the toxins may technically be "out of harms way", it is this that can perpetuate weight gain. Because if you have toxins stored in fat cells, and if your liver is still overloaded, your body may resist burning off excess fat ? as if it does, the toxins will be released. You may think therefore that the answer is to detoxify or support your liver, but whilst this is naturally helpful, it's always best to get to the very root of the problem.

So now we need to talk about poo! A normal bowel movement should be easy to pass with no straining involved. Those with little libraries of books next to the toilet need to pay special attention. It should be soft, brown, smooth ? and come out roughly in the form of a banana! A small point at the end means that you have done a complete bowel movement. You should be doing one of these at least once a day ? anything less amounts to constipation! Loose, hard, sticky, pebbly or yellow poo is a sign of digestive imbalance.

However, constipation is not the only sign of digestive imbalance. Let's check out your digestive health and see how many of the following symptoms apply to you:

Do you rush your food, failing to chew properly?

Do you sometimes get bad breath?

Do you often get a burning sensation in your stomach?

Do you find it difficult digesting fatty foods?

Do you regularly use indigestion tablets?

Do you get intermittent or ongoing diarrhoea?

Do you often get a bloated stomach?

Do you often burp or have gas?

Do you often have stomach pains?

Do you often feel nauseous?

Do you experience anal itching?

Do you frequently have thrush or any other yeast infection?

If you frequently experience constipation, or any of these other symptoms, it is important that you take steps to improve the health of your digestive tract. One of the major areas to consider here is the balance of your friendly and unfriendly bacteria.

On average, your digestive tract is host to 400 different types of friendly bacteria. We are all host to some unfriendly bacteria too, but so long as you have plenty of friendly bacteria, the unfriendly bacteria will be kept in check. These friendly bacteria help you to digest your food, repair your digestive tract and they also help to make certain nutrients, such as the B vitamins. This is relevant here as B vitamins actually influence fat metabolism ? and chances are, that if you have too few friendly bacteria and too many unfriendly bacteria (something known as "dysbiosis"), you then won't be metabolizing fat efficiently!

The signs for having dysbiosis are very similar to the signs of general digestive imbalance. So, to help you evaluate whether you may be short in the friendly bacteria department, let's instead look at the factors that deplete friendly bacteria. These factors include: antibiotics, the birth control pill, stress, high sugar intake, high alcohol intake, spicy food, parasitic infections and bouts of food poisoning.

But don't worry if you think you may have dysbiosis, lots of people do! Live natural yoghurt and cottage cheese are two excellent dietary sources of friendly bacteria. Bear in mind though that many of the fruity live yoghurts in the supermarkets may also contain lots of sugar (up to four teaspoons per serving.) In this instance, it is better to eat plain live yoghurt and add a little fresh fruit for sweetness.

Additionally, you can buy supplements of friendly bacteria ? this is often a wise choice after a course of antibiotics or if you are fighting a yeast infection. If you choose to do so, ask for a top quality brand from a good healthfood store (such as Down to Earth or Rock On) and look for one that contains at least 100 million viable organisms such as L. acidophilus and B. bacterium. If you are allergic or intolerant to dairy, ask for friendly bacteria that come from a non-dairy source.

There are also several other steps you can take to improve digestion and as a result maximise your chances of weight loss. Try out these additional steps below and you really can be on the path to permanent weight loss. "Lose weight forever" is one hell of a promise I know, but if you approach weight loss holistically, you are guaranteed good results!

1. Ensure adequate fibre intake as fibre helps to regulate bowel movements. Aim to eat five servings of fruit and vegetables and three servings of wholegrains every day.

2. If you get constipated, add one tablespoon flax or linseed to your cereal. These seeds absorb water and become gel-like in the digestive tract helping to soothe and cleanse the colon. Make sure you drink one small glass of water with this. Note: avoid seeds if you suffer from Diverticulitis as they can aggravate this condition.

3. Try and eat one serving of raw vegetables or fruit daily as these raw foods contain natural enzymes that help you to break down and absorb your food efficiently.

4. If you suffer from persistent indigestion, if you have wind that smells very bad or if you see lots of undigested bits of food in your poo, you may well benefit from supplementing digestive enzymes. Start by trying a very natural formula such as Papaya Enzymes and have one with each main meal. There are stronger products available ? but seek advice from a nutritionist or dietician.

5. Be careful not to drink too much water with, or around your meals. If you drink too much water before or with your meals, then you can dilute your own digestive enzymes excessively, rendering them inefficient. If you drink too much water soon after you have eaten, then you can flush food through your stomach too quickly. One 10oz glass of water with a meal is fine, but aim to drink most of your water in between your meals instead.

6. Reduce wheat products. Wheat is fairly irritating to the digestive tract and often causes bloating and abdominal discomfort. It's fine to include wheat in your diet but try other grains too such as brown rice, rye bread and oats. Quaker oatmeal, Nature's Path Mesa Sunrise cereal and Tinkyada brown rice pasta (all available at Supermart) are all excellent wheat free choices.

7. This will sound obvious but always chew your food thoroughly before swallowing. Good digestion begins in the mouth, your stomach does not have teeth!

8. And finally, take time to relax when you eat. Stress can cause digestion to seize up.