How is that gym membership coming along? Are you getting good value for money and keeping up with those new year's resolutions? Usually by the start of British springtime the excitement of defrosting from winter sends us running to our local beer garden rather than the treadmill.
Either way you've probably had that sinking feeling when the running or step machine tells you you've burned a measly 67 calories when you've been sweating for at least 20 minutes. After all, it doesn't even add up to a skinny cappuccino or a chocolate biscuit.

Don't despair. The calorie burn is not the point. After all, your body uses the vast majority of calories just keeping you, that's your body, ticking over. So, don't depress yourself watching the calorie clock. Instead, catch up on what that new girl on The One Show, sorry, Alex, is wearing or watch Rihanna do her thing. I mean, is it just me or does she actually have her music videos or 24/7 play these days?

Why exercise? Anyway, I digress. So, what's the point of exercising then? Why not enjoy that love affair with the sofa? You can't tell your body to burn fat from one area and not another. Anyone that tells you otherwise is a big, fat hairy liar. And you can tell them I said
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But, exercise can boost metabolism which means long after you've sweated it out, you are still burning calories even when you are resting. That's right. For several hours afterwards working out your body burns fat for energy. Great news if you've got some of those winter stores to use up.

The reason is simple. Exercise uses mainly carbohydrate fuel which takes time to replace. So, during that post-gym slump on the sofa your body will be burning fat reserves for energy. So, the affects of exercise then lasts much longer than workout itself.

Don't worry about that gym membership either. If you take the stairs, get off the bus one step early and are generally more active without actually working out, you could burn around an extra 250 calories a day. If you don't eat more to compensate for the extra movement, you could lose at least a stone in 12 months with this alone.

There's only one missing factor in all this - motivation. If it ain't there you've got a different kind of problem. The solution is to think laterally. Grab a mate and find yourself a gorgeous gym instructor and that might just do it.