It’s aesthetics not health reasons that motivates us to lose body fat – but how do we do it for the long term not just a few weeks? What diets work and why? Do you HAVE to exercise and what for?

Babes on the Run’s founder, Justine Guest, deals regularly with clients who don’t understand why diets alone don’t work.

It’s hard to miss all the research and information about the associated risks of carrying too much body weight. There’s the increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and even Alzheimers.

But it’s usually the sight of soft bits hanging over the tops of our jeans that prompts people to seek out the fastest, most radical diet available.

And any diet WILL work short term but what about living happily ever after? And so people jump on the merry-go-round of diet after diet after diet never succeeding.

This is extremely damaging in two respects – how do you feel when you never succeed at something? Like a failure? No point in trying?

Says Guest “Clients rarely think about what it is they are losing when they try losing weight rather rapidly. Is it fat? The short answer is NO. It’s lean tissue. When you regain weight again, it’s MORE body fat.”

So each time you diet, you lose lean tissue (important for keeping your metabolism pumping along)and when you go back to ’normal’ eating patterns, you gain MORE body fat than you had in the first place.

“Lean tissue is responsible for burning many more kilojoules than fat. So through frequent dieting, you actually decrease the amount of energy your body uses every day: you can’t eat as much or you will put on more weight.” says Guest. “Most people, especially women, blame themselves as they just don’t understand what they are doing wrong”.

Exercise is important part of daily life. It’s important to find a way to move. By nature, humans are social creatures so we enjoy doing activities with others. There’s not many people who want to do things on their own – especially something like exercise. So join a group – get some support and have fun.

Justine Guest owns a group personal training business that caters for women, Babes on the Run – it’s social, fun and helps to keep clients accountable. It also puts clients in touch with others in their local area looking to do the same thing as themselves.

But a word of warning. “It’s much better to have regular exercise at a moderate level than short bursts of all out training occasionally.” says Guest. “Be realistic when you start out, set some small goals and work your way up”. Clients need to be prepared to change their mindsets when it comes to exercise. It’s something that needs to be incorporated into your lifestyle.

“Having a qualified trainer working for you means you will get more than a workout – apart from increasing your lean tissue and therefore your metabolism, you will also benefit from your trainer’s advice and support to continue on with exercising.” says Guest. “Your program will take into account your increasing fitness levels and keep you progressing. A great trainer will introduce you to many new activities and types of training benefitting your mind as well as your body!”

For further information on training and Babes on the Run, please contact Justine Guest on 0403 933 870 or info@babesontherun.com.au