Advice welcome

I stopped smoking about 6 months ago and i'm now 3 stone (about 50lbs) overweight. I'm on a very tight budget (government welfare) so cannot afford top of the range diets or gym passes. I walk on a daily basis lots (did have a bike but it has been stolen) so now looking for any kind of help because I've hardly ever got any energy

Well, first off, congrats on quitting smoking.  Secondly, very sorry about your bike, I had my old bike I put thousands of miles on stolen & it was quite annoying.

My main advice besides the usual (eat fruits & vegetables, keep walking, etc.) is try to find a way to incoporate the changes you want to make into your everyday life.  I don't have my car anymore so I kinda have to bike to get basic supplies.  Also try to get enough sleep if you can, this is good for your mood & energy & also helps regulate appetite.  Good luck!

Not that it helps you lose weight so much as that it regulates appetite so you don't crave/eat as much.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20041206/sleep-loss-feeds-appetite

The Evidence Against Sleep Loss

Just last month, another study came to similar conclusions -- that chronic sleep loss triggers hormones that can lower the "appetite control" hormone leptin. Lower levels of leptin are associated with obesity. It's what researchers call the "yin yang" of appetite control. The hormone ghrelin is produced in the stomach and triggers hunger. Leptin is produced by fat cells and signals satiety, telling the brain when we have eaten enough.

Mignot's study investigated the effects of sleep loss on body mass index (BMI), an indirect measure of body fat. His was part of an ongoing sleep disorder study involving 1,024 Wisconsin state employees, all between 30 and 60 years old.

For researchers, this type of large-scale, ongoing study "is a good way to show that what you are finding applies to the general population," Mignot tells WebMD.

Every four years, each volunteer came to a sleep laboratory for an overnight stay, with blood sampling and a check of BMI and weight. Every five years, each completed a questionnaire about sleep habits; they also kept a six-day "sleep diary."

During the 15-year study period (since 1989) researchers found that short sleep was associated with low leptin levels. They show a 15% increase in ghrelin and a 16% decrease in leptin in people who consistently got only five hours of sleep.

"It shows that there is a regulatory problem," Mignot tells WebMD. "In natural evolution, when you were more active, you needed to eat more calories, so you had this natural reaction that increased your appetite and your sleep." Compare that with today, when people aren't as physically active yet burning the candle at both ends, either in traffic or in front of the TV. Also, food is more readily available. All those factors have caused increase in weight.

Researchers also show an association between sleep duration and BMI. Those getting three hours of sleep had a 5% increase in body weight. "That's not an enormous amount, but the effect might be underestimated," says Mignot. "Still, it's something we can do something about. It may be the reason why dieting has been so disappointing for so many people."

Yeah, I have insomnia myself, if I managed to break past it I'll let you know how!