Plan of action
Build your own 12-week weight plan with disciplined, week-by-week hydration, exercise and food, then download each week as a PDF. On the right you will find two everyday routines that support the plan: a homemade mouthwash and a gut regularity routine, each with evidence ratings and safety notes.
Your 12-week weight plan
Enter your goal to get a disciplined weekly plan for hydration, exercise and food, with a PDF to download for each week.
Discipline is the main driver. This planner only builds a steady, sustainable pace, because fast weight loss costs muscle, drains your energy and is mostly regained. Following a simple plan most days beats a perfect plan you can't keep.
How we keep the pace safe
- Pace: no faster than 0.75 kg a week, and no more than 0.75% of your body weight a week.
- Calories: never more than 25% below your estimated daily needs, never below your resting needs (BMR), and never under 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 kcal (men).
- Goal: a goal BMI of at least 20, and no more than 20% of your body weight in one plan. Bigger goals are best done in stages with your GP or an accredited practising dietitian.
- Muscle: protein of 1.4 to 2.0 g per kg of your goal weight, with strength training, helps protect muscle while you lose fat.
- Each week is recalculated. Your calories drop a little as you get lighter, because your body needs less.
- Intermittent fasting has not beaten regular meals in trials, so use it only if it helps you stay consistent. Total calories stay the same.
- For healthy adults only. See "Before you start" on the right, and talk to your GP first.
Choose a week
Each button shows the reference weight at the end of that week. Week 1 is selected for you. Pick any week to see its plan, then download it as a PDF.
Explore the plan
See your GP promptly if constipation comes with any of these: blood in your stool beyond a streak on the paper, black or tarry stools, unexplained weight loss, a new change in bowel habit lasting more than two to three weeks (especially over 50), severe or worsening belly pain, vomiting, fever, or a family history of bowel cancer. These need checking, not home treatment.
Bowel screening: eligible Australians aged 45 to 74 are offered a free home test kit through the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. Do the test when it arrives, even if you feel well.
Weight plan: for healthy adults only. Talk to your GP first if you have diabetes (especially if you take diabetes medicines), kidney, liver or heart disease, are pregnant or breastfeeding, are under 18, or have ever had an eating disorder. Stop and get advice if you feel faint, unwell or constantly exhausted. Fasting is optional and not for everyone.
Mouthwash: for adults only. Never swallow it. Tea tree oil can be toxic if swallowed, and xylitol is highly toxic to dogs. Keep it away from children and pets, and stop if your mouth feels irritated.
This page is general information, not medical or dental advice. If you have a medical condition, take regular medicines or are pregnant, talk to your GP, pharmacist or dentist first.
A 500 mL batch combines a sugar alcohol, two gentle alkaline powders and two essential oils. For a smaller batch, scale every amount down in proportion, and round the drops to the nearest whole drop.
| Ingredient | Per 500 mL | Intended job | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distilled water | 500 mL | Clean base that avoids tap-water contaminants. | Practical choice |
| Xylitol | 6 tsp (about 30 g) | Cavity-causing bacteria can't ferment it, and it keeps saliva flowing. | LimitedLow-quality evidence overall |
| Calcium carbonate | 1 tsp (about 5 g) | Mild abrasive and calcium source. | SpeculativeBarely dissolves in water |
| Baking soda | 1 tsp (about 5 g) | Raises mouth pH and neutralises acids and odours. | LimitedThe pH rise is short-lived |
| Tea tree oil | 6 drops | Reduces plaque on the gumline. | LimitedSee concentration note |
| Peppermint oil | 6 drops | Fresh breath and flavour. | LimitedFreshens breath briefly |
How to use it
Shake well
The oils and powders separate, so shake the bottle before every use.
Swish 15 seconds
Pour 15 to 20 mL. Swish between your teeth and along the gumline, then spit.
Leave it on
Avoid eating, drinking or rinsing with water for 20 to 30 minutes afterwards.
What it can and can't do. Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, cleaning between your teeth and regular dental check-ups remain the proven foundation. A Cochrane review of xylitol found only low-quality evidence of benefit, mainly for fluoride toothpaste that contains it, and none that rinses match fluoride.
Tea tree concentration. A systematic review found mouthwashes with 0.2 to 0.5% tea tree oil may limit plaque, using an emulsifier to mix the oil in. This recipe works out to about 0.06%, so it is a lower dose than the trials, and the oil floats unless you shake it.
Our precaution There's no preservative, so make small batches, keep the bottle in the fridge, and discard it after 7 days. Use a clean bottle each time.
Fibre bulks stool, water keeps it soft, and movement keeps the gut working. This routine puts those together, with magnesium as an optional extra.
| Part of the routine | The guide | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Fibre | 30 to 40 g a day from beans, vegetables, fruit, lentils, nuts, seeds and oats. | Well establishedPsyllium has the best supplement evidence |
| Beans | 250 to 300 g across the day: chickpeas, kidney, black or Mexican beans. | Well establishedAs a fibre source |
| Fruit and vegetables | 1 to 2 serves of each a day. Kiwi, prunes and pear are good choices. | ModerateKiwi and prunes in trials |
| Yoghurt | About 250 g a day. | LimitedPlain yoghurt hasn't been tested alone |
| Water | 35 mL per kg of body weight, with at least 40% as plain water. | LimitedFibre needs fluid, but extra water alone helps little if you aren't dehydrated |
| Electrolyte salts | Hydration salts in water through the day. See the hydration plan. | LimitedFor constipation specifically |
| Olive oil | 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in the morning. | LimitedSmall studies only |
| Walking | 30 minutes of brisk walking a day. | LimitedFor regularity. Strong for general health |
| Magnesium (optional) | 250 to 300 mg elemental in the evening, and never above 350 mg. | ModerateDraws water into the bowel |
Magnesium forms
Magnesium oxide is poorly absorbed, which is why it works as a laxative: what isn't absorbed draws water into the bowel. A US gastroenterology guideline suggests it for chronic constipation, but rates the evidence very low certainty. Citrate and glycinate are absorbed better than oxide. Claims that glycinate is the best-absorbed form aren't settled by human studies, so choose by how your gut tolerates it. Blending forms to "balance relaxation with kidney load" is not backed by evidence.
Safe limit: 350 mg a day of elemental magnesium from supplements. Higher doses commonly cause diarrhoea, and kidney disease raises the risk.
Laxatives
- Macrogol (polyethylene glycol) has the strongest evidence of any laxative in the 2023 AGA and ACG guideline. Use it only as your doctor or pharmacist advises.
- Senna and other stimulant laxatives work well in the short term. Guidelines suggest short-term or rescue use, because long-term safety data are limited. The common fear that they make the bowel "lazy" isn't clearly proven, but it's still wise not to rely on them without medical advice.
- Check electrolyte drink labels. Many are high in sugar and sodium. The Australian upper limit for sodium is 2,300 mg a day.
Build up slowly. Raising fibre quickly causes bloating and gas. Add it over one to two weeks, and drink more as you go. Psyllium thickens fast, so mix it, drink it straight away and follow with water.
An anal fissure is a small tear in the lining of the anus. It causes sharp pain during and after a bowel movement, and a little bright red blood on the paper. Constipation and straining are the most common cause, so keeping stools soft is the heart of treatment.
| What helps | What the evidence says | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| High-fibre diet or psyllium, plus plenty of fluid | A Canadian review reports up to 87% of acute fissures heal with fibre or bulking agents and sitz baths. | Well established |
| Warm sitz baths | Sit in a few centimetres of warm water for 10 to 15 minutes, once or twice a day and after bowel movements. This relaxes the anal sphincter. | Well established |
| Avoiding straining | Go when you feel the urge and don't sit and strain. A small footstool under your feet can help. | Limited |
| Prescribed creams | For fissures that last more than about 6 weeks, doctors prescribe topical diltiazem or glyceryl trinitrate. Diltiazem has fewer side effects, such as headache. | Well established |
| Specialist care | If a fissure doesn't heal after 6 to 8 weeks of treatment, a specialist can offer botulinum toxin injection or surgery. | Well established |
A fissure doesn't rule out something else. New rectal bleeding in anyone over 50, or with weight loss, a change in bowel habit or a family history of bowel cancer, should be investigated by a doctor even when a fissure is likely. Don't assume bleeding is "just a fissure".
Enter your weight for your water target, then get a day plan to follow.
Add your weight to see your targets and day plan.
- Plain water, at least40% of your daily water0 L
- Fibre30 to 40 g
- Beans250 to 300 g
- YoghurtAbout 250 g
- Vegetables and fruit1 to 2 serves each
- Brisk walk30 min
Your day
Times follow your wake-up time.
How this page was checked
What we checked, and what we changed
Mouthwash: a Cochrane review found low-quality evidence for xylitol, mainly in fluoride toothpaste, and none showing rinses match fluoride. A systematic review found tea tree mouthwash at 0.2 to 0.5% may limit plaque, which is higher than this recipe's roughly 0.06%. Calcium carbonate has no trials as a mouthwash, so we rated it speculative. We added the shelf-life rule ourselves, since the recipe has no preservative.
Magnesium: the source routine uses up to 400 mg on heavy exercise days. That is above the 350 mg supplement limit set in Australia and the US, so this page caps it at 350 mg.
Senna: the source plan warns that long-term senna "risks a lazy bowel". Current guidelines say long-term safety data are limited and suggest short-term or rescue use. They don't show that senna makes the bowel lazy, so we've said that instead.
Weight plan: the pace limits are deliberately conservative. They sit below the 0.5 to 1 kg a week ceiling commonly given by health services such as the NHS, because the aim is a pace you can keep. Daily calories use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and are recalculated each week as your weight falls. Meal calories come from typical food composition values and are estimates, usually within about 10%. Intermittent fasting has matched, not beaten, regular calorie control in trials, including the 2020 TREAT trial of 16:8 eating, so it is offered only as an option.
Fissures: the advice follows Canadian and Australian clinical summaries: fibre, fluids and sitz baths first, then prescribed topical treatment, and investigation of bleeding in people at higher risk.
Our judgement Ratings of "well established", "moderate", "limited" and "speculative" are our summary of the evidence, not an official grading. This is general information, not medical advice.
Sources and further reading
University of Manchester: Cochrane review of xylitol and tooth decay
Systematic review of tea tree oil for human health, including mouthwashes
AGA and ACG guideline summary: treating chronic constipation
Rao and Brenner (2021): over-the-counter therapies for chronic constipation
CMAJ: five things to know about anal fissures
RACGP: anal fissures, an update on treatment options
NHMRC: sodium reference values
Review: intermittent fasting and time-restricted feeding compared with continuous energy restriction
Eat for Health: Australian Dietary Guidelines
Dietitians Australia: find an accredited practising dietitian
Head to the main page to explore every plan.