Fitness and health

Confront your inner potato 
Fast food is an all too easy substitute for sensible home cooked meals and once the rubbish diet kicks in, it's a small step to hunting through a pile of empty pizza cartons, chardonnay bottles and Mars Bar wrappers hunting for the remote control and that probably equates to your exercise for the day.

If you can’t bring yourself to move away from the TV, you could try some stretching exercises, press-ups and sit-ups on the living room floor. When you need to get the groceries, leave the car at home and walk. The journey home carrying the shopping bags not only helps to get you fit, it encourages you to buy lightweight food (like lettuce).

Get fit, have fun
The mention of exercise may conjure up thoughts of beautiful bodies parading in exclusive gymnasiums or it may induce a panic attack. If you are a complete stranger to exercise, it may be a good idea to talk to your doctor about how much is right for you. A good goal is to work up to exercising four to six times a week for thirty to sixty minutes at a time. Remember though, that even a small amount of exercise is beneficial and is better than none at all.

The best way to ensure you will stick to your exercise regime is to chose something you enjoy – swimming, for instance, is easier on arthritic joints than jogging and you may be less inclined to bordom or injury if you vary your routine. So, walk one day, bicycle the next. Consider activities like dancing and rambling, and even the more physical domestic chores like washing the windows (yeah right).

It can take several weeks before you notice any of the benefits of regular exercise so try not to get discouraged.

Home work-out
Working out at home can be done by following instructions from books, DVDs or the internet and by using, for example, an exercise bike or treadmill. Department store John Lewis has a good selection of home exercise equipment to help you attain that flat stomach and sleek thighs with inexpensive balance balls to top of the range cross trainers and treadmills.

Don’t forget that ordinary household objects can double up as weights for extra impact but be warned; a tin of baked beans swung around in a sweaty hand is likely to end up flying through the nearest window.