I started a diet on January 1st of this year and it has been a rollercoaster ride of sorts. I lost weight but I hated the dieting. I hated the focus around food and body image. I hated waking up and going to sleep thinking about what to eat, what not to eat and what I should be doing differently to look skinnier and prettier.

Now that I have a little extra time on my hands - only a very little obviously - I've been trying to clear my mind, reinvigorate my thoughts and excuse myself from childcare with fairly frequent visits to the gym. And it pains me to say that I have learnt a few valuable lessons in the process.

0 days ago I started a 21 day experiment where I eat 5,794 calories of a low carbohydrate high fat to diet to see if a calorie is really just a calorie. I have come across some militant scientists, who say my experiment is bogus, and some very supportive ones, who have applauded me for trying to push science forward.

Walking up to 30 minutes burns up to 130 calories, not to mention helps you relax. Next time you have a stressful day at work, instead of hopping on the bus stick those headphones in and enjoy a brisk walk home, it will even help you work up an appetite for dinner!

BBC Radio Five Live were crusading again last week, their plan of campaign once more heavily reliant upon taking a lazy sound-bite and stimulating a h...

The underlying problem is that for women over 40, exercise ALONE is not enough to cause weight loss. This is not true for men. And it's less true for women under 40. But if you ask most women over 40, they will tell similar stories of exercise programmes that no longer delivered the goods when it came to weight loss.

The concept of the post-exercise 'anabolic window' has become so engrained in the resistance training community that it is practically dogmatic. It refers to a limited time period where, post resistance training, skeletal muscle is primed for growth as long as a suitable protein source is consumed.

'Legs like lead, legs like lead,' I panted, like a sort of tortured mantra, as I pounded along the footpath, ducking under branches. The dog streaked ahead, loving the wind and the gentle rain, as light on its paws as I was heavy on mine. My legs, that is.

Our mission is to help as many people as possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle. So we decided to do some research to see if we could bust some myths regarding health, fitness, exercising, and eating well. As we've said many times before, a healthy lifestyle is all about balance. So it still seems funny that 46% of people still think that getting your 5 fruit and vegetables a day is the best way to enjoy a healthy diet

I eat well, keep the unhealthy stuff to a minimum and exercise regularly. In fact, I'll say with confidence that I run at least three or four times a week, covering a couple of 5km runs during the week and longer ones at the weekends, when time permits. Therefore, as a dedicated runner, a recent study caught my attention, claiming that joggers live on average six years longer than non-joggers.

Why? Because I HATE exercising! I absolutely HATE it. Yes, 'hate' is a strong word, but it's how I feel. I can think of so, SO many things I'd rather do than exercise, so those are what I've done! And not just this month or this year, no, no, it's what I've ALWAYS done!

Children don't really understand the concept of health. You can't give them an apple and say "if you eat this you will be healthy when you're older" because they don't understand. You have to find a different way to motivate them.

I feel duty bound to highlight that it isn't just women who are expected to subject themselves to bizarre and often dangerous practices in order to look good on the pages of magazines.

If you've been adhering to a strict healthy eating and fitness plan for a while but are failing to see the results, it may be time take a look at what is sabotaging your success. From dieting blunders to physical factors, here are the top 10 reasons why you're not losing weight.

If a fast metabolism is not something you were born with, follow these 10 rules to help speed it up.

We began the run last Sunday, on a non-descript strip of shingle by the Black Sea. The weeks before were manic; assembling kit, trying to get on TV, fundraising, making arrangements for the final day half-marathon. In the swarm of last minute preparations, the reality of the run seemed distant. Standing on the beach in Odessa all that other stuff peters out.

With the London marathon fast approaching, tens of thousands of runners will have their sights set on Sunday 21 April 2013 -- and, of course, the fini...

A few years ago spurred by a friend I signed up for the 30 day Bikram yoga challenge. Having only ever tried yoga classes (Ashtanga) a couple of times before and intensely disliking the experience I was somewhat sceptical.

If more children got to see their parents exercising the child obesity rate might reduce. Most people could say they were influenced by their parents growing up, unfortunately for me my parents were not very active, which was possibly why I was always slightly overweight.

Research indicates that a short 20-minute snooze is all it takes to lower stress hormone levels and super-charge your stamina. Naps been proven to be beneficial to your heart, hormonal maintenance and overall cell repair. They are brilliant at helping combat burnout. Napping also increases your creativity, productivity and alertness.