Cricketers, more than any sportsman, enjoy their food. After all, the game is built around lunch and tea.

So it's no surprise that most players will be carrying a little extra weight after the excesses of Christmas.

Don't panic, you can lose those pounds before the summer arrives.

1. Set a goal. Just aiming to lose weight is not a goal. Set yourself a specific target of how much you want to lose in how long. Make it realistic, it takes time to lose weight, especially when you first start. If you are really going for it you might want to get your body fat percentage done (most gyms will do this for you) as this is a far more accurate measure of how fat you are than your scales weight.
2. Burn more than you eat. Everyone loses weight if they eat fewer calories than they use. Sign up to an online weight tracker like fitday and fill it in honestly every day. Aim to burn around 500 calories more than you eat every day for guaranteed weight loss. (NB. It's also important to get enough protein even when you are eating a bit less, so make sure you have at least 1g of protein per kg in body weight).
3. Lift weights. Strength training reduces your risk of injury on the cricket pitch, makes you a more powerful player and boosts your metabolism far more than sitting on a stationary bike. It's a great time to start working on your strength for the start of the season and if you weight train 3 times a week the fat will come off in plenty of time for April.
4. Run in intervals. Running in short, fast bursts is more cricket specific and better at burning fat than long, slow training. If you can fit it in, take 10-20 minutes, 2-3 times a week to go on an interval run. Ideally this is done on grass, but anywhere will do.
5. Play Cricket. Preseason nets may have already started for you. If not, then you can always pay for some coaching to get yourself started. Make sure your club net is well run and includes some elements of fitness drills as well as skills training. Fitness drills are fun these days, great for weight loss and leave you feeling tired but invigorated.

Weight loss is a huge topic and there is a lot of snake oil offering instant results. Avoid that and stick to these 5 tips to get you started.

If you need any more specific advice or have any feedback please drop me an email. I'll be posting more cricket fitness tips soon so subscribe for updates.