OUR PEERS HAVE A HUGE INFLUENCE ON WHAT WEIGHT WE ARE, SAYS A MAJOR STUDY. SO ENSURE YOU’VE GOT A SUPPORTIVE NETWORK TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR HEALTH GOALS With obesity on the rise, it’s no surprise that one of the most prestigious medical schools conducted a study to help fight this worldwide problem. Nicholas A Christakis of Harvard Medical School tracked 12,000 people over 32 years, with results published in the New England Journal…

A POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE IS AS ESSENTIAL IN TRAINING AS IT IS IN LIFE. A SOLUTION-FOCUSED APPROACH TO WEIGHT-LOSS AND FITNESS IS ALWAYS GOING TO SUCCEED WHERE A PROBLEM-FOCUSED APPROACH WILL FAIL! Are you currently living the dream? Do you wake up each morning with a bundle of energy to live the life you dreamt of as a child? Do you even remember those dreams? As children, we dream big. There are no limits to…

It took Robert Phelan 20 years to get into a rut but only three months to get out of it thanks to Be Fit For Life’s fitter over forty programme. He’s lost 22lbs of fat and is fitter than he has been in two decades. “I’d been to a few traditional gyms before – lots of mirrors and treadmills but it always ended up being the same. I’d put in what I thought what was…

‘INCREDIBLE HULK’ LOU FERRIGNO ENDURED PERSONAL TORMENT FOR BEING DEAF, BUT FOUND SOLACE IN BODY-BUILDING. NOW 57, HE IS IN THE BEST SHAPE OF HIS LIFE. IN THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF ARTICLES, HE EXPLAINS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO HAVE A GREAT BODY Philosopher Jim Rohn says that the person you are going to be in five years time will be influenced by three things: the books you read, the people you…

DO YOU LOOK GOOD NAKED? PROBABLY NOT BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO CHANGE YOUR BODY SHAPE, YOU’VE GOT TO AIM HIGH! Do you remember why you joined a gym? A recent study, cited at a seminar I attended in the UK, suggested that nine out of 10 people join a gym for fat loss, but only one per cent of those are successful. So, in essence, everyone joins a gym to look good naked,…

LOSING WEIGHT IS DIFFICULT, ESPECIALLY IF YOUR GENES WON’T PLAY BALL. BUT ANYONE CAN LOSE A FEW POUNDS IF THEY FOLLOW A FEW SIMPLE GUIDELINES ON EATING AND EXERCISE Weight-loss articles in women’s magazines paint a rosy picture about how easy it is to lose unwanted extra pounds. They suck you in with claims like ‘Lose 10 pounds in a week,’ or ‘Fit into a size six by August.’ Most women know there’s no quick…

WANT TO KNOW THE SECRET TO LOSING WEIGHT? KEEP A FOOD DIARY DETAILING EVERY SINGLE MORSEL THAT PASSES YOUR LIPS. DIETERS WHO KEEP A DAILY FOOD DIARY CAN LOSE TWICE AS MUCH WEIGHT AS THOSE WHO DON’T. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR… There comes a time when people become frustrated at their fruitless attempts to lose weight. Many give up, while those hell-bent on success seek the advice of a professional and they also take…

WHETHER YOU’RE AN ATHLETE OR OFFICE WORKER, GOOD FLEXIBILITY AND POSTURE ARE IMPORTANT. STRETCHING, WHEN DONE CORRECTLY, CAN HELP ACHIEVE BOTH AIMS As the years roll by, our faces will probably age and one thing that can have a detrimental effect on our appearance is gravity. Compression on our bodies during our 16-hour days really takes its toll. So whether you are a serious athlete or a couch potato, everybody can benefit from stretching. The…

LIFTING HEAVIER WEIGHTS FOR FEWER REPETITIONS — AND TAKING YOUR SWEET TIME ABOUT IT — WILL ULTIMATELY MAKE YOU STRONGER MUCH FASTER It’s entertaining to read health writers’ columns encouraging women to lift light weights and perform lots of repetitions to change their body shape. Jane Fonda still seems to have an influence over some training routines. Long after her fitness career has come to an end, her followers can still be seen performing exercises…

HAVING THE KIDS AT HOME ALL SUMMER CAN THROW YOUR FITNESS REGIME OUT OF WHACK — BUT DON’T BLAME THEM IF YOU CHOOSE TO STOP TRAINING ALTOGETHER School holidays are pretty much upon us, but it’s not only the children looking forward to their break. As kids are seen running away from the school grounds, their parents are seen abandoning their fitness regimes. The women’s Mini-Marathon has finished, the holiday abroad may have come and…