Popular online personal trainer, James Smith, admits he only read Dr Louise Newson’s most recent book to check out the literary competition when their new books were released back-to-back. He bought a copy and read it on holiday and while he may have got some funny looks for his poolside choice of reading, James discovered many new insights about the perimenopause and menopause that he knew would really help his female clients in their quest to reach fitness and weight loss goals. Louise and James discuss the common pitfalls many people go through when trying to exercise, perhaps out of obligation or to lose some of that midlife spread around the middle, and they warn against the plethora of misinformation on the internet about nutrition and training. James’s 3 exercise tips for you: Ask yourself ‘how much do you want to train on a daily basis out of 10?’ If your answer is below a 5, don’t train but ask yourself ‘why?’ and tackle those things first, whether it be stress, lack of sleep or nutrition. Understand why you’re not motivated and fix that first. If you want to lose fat and/or manage your calorie intake, figure out your daily allowance and x7 for the week. You can overconsume on the weekend if you wish, but then divide what’s left by 5 for the days in the week and you’ll be surprised by how low it is. You will get a clear picture of how much you’re overeating on the weekend and it may make you think again about patterns of over-restricting then binging. Pick any exercise that you like and find rewarding, there isn’t a hierarchy of the ‘best’ ones, you have to enjoy it and want to do it. For help with a personalised exercise programme and meal plans, check out James’ website at www.jamessmithacademy.com James’ bestselling books, ‘Not a Diet Book’ and ‘Not a Life Coach’ are published by Harper Collins.

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