As with fashion, so with beauty. In other words: the must-haves – and the must-nots – change with the decades. (Hot pants at 60? Heaven forbid!) So the skincare regime that worked for you at 25 won’t be right at 35 – let alone 45. The truth is that subtle shifts in how we approach our beauty ritual as we move from one decade to another are essential. (Give or take a year or two – and depending on how well you’ve avoided the sun, principally!) More than ever, skincare (and make-up) offer tremendous benefits, to boost radiance, fight wrinkles, or just up the glamour quota. But it can be baffling to decipher what’s best to use when – so here’s a decade-by-decade guide, to help you look great for your age – whatever it may be…

Teens

Should my 16-year-old daughter be using an anti-wrinkle cream?
According to consultant dermatologist Dr Rosemary Coleman, ‘Yes: the best and cheapest anti-wrinkle cream of all – sunblock. You are literally never too young to protect skin from photo-ageing.’ Bobbi Brown, the leading make-up pro, echoes that wisdom: ‘It’s never too early to begin thinking about your skin. Like brushing your teeth, your skincare routine should become automatic.’  But creams for mature skin (what we traditionally think of as ‘anti-ageing creams’) should be avoided, in favour of lightweight moisturisers featuring an SPF – and, if skin is prone to breakouts, use products with ingredients like tea tree or lavender oil. Sun protection now will leave you smiling later. (With infinitely fewer ‘laugh lines’…)

20s

What’s the best age to introduce a cleanse/tone/moisturise regime?
As we’ve just heard, good habits should begin during the teen years. In theory, 20-something skin has everything going for it: adequate production of sebum to hydrate and protect; cell turnover that’s still at optimum levels;  skin that’s largely wrinkle-free. But the legacy of over-active sebaceous glands (which characterise the teens) can be blocked and enlarged pores. So beauty insiders emphasise the importance of cleansing as the foundation for your beauty regime: try double-cleansing at night and once in the morning, to rid skin of debris. (Even more important if you live in a smog-prone city.) As for creams, look for those with light-reflecting particles, as well as seaweed (right) and caffeine, which can awaken even the most partied-out skin! But avoid harsh toners:  over-stripping skin can send sebaceous glands whirring into overdrive, and actually make skin greasier, sooner.  (And instead of caking on powder to blot shine, slip a mattifying product in your make-up kit.)

Is this the right stage to introduce a scrub?
A twice-a-week exfoliation – with a gentle product – will help keep those pores unclogged, and brighten skin. In fact at this age, you can get away with three times a week (provided you don’t have active acne), then slow the frequency down with the decades. (In your 30s, twice a week is definitely enough – and as skin thins, from 40 onwards, a once-a-week buff is enough to keep skin vibrant.) Removing the dead surface cells ensures that treatments can penetrate properly, too – otherwise you’re basically ‘putting polish on a dirty floor’, as celebrated dermatologist Dr Patricia Wexler has observed.

Do I need daily sun protection?
Absolutely. If you haven’t got into the habit yet of wearing an SPF15 moisturiser every day, from April to November at the very least (with a higher factor during the hottest summer months), Do It Now. Not yet convinced? One skin survey carried out by a big
French skincare name discovered that 78 per cent of French women between the ages of 20 and 35 have visible signs of ageing. You’ll need a separate, probably lightweight cream for night, though, because you don’t need to overload your skin with SPFs at night. (And as yet, nobody has established a need for Moon Protection Factor. Though it’s probably only a matter of time, knowing the beauty industry…!)

30s

I don’t see wrinkles yet. Should I be bothering with an anti-ageing cream?
‘As you get to 30, your collagen and elastin start to be depleted,’ warns top facialist Amanda Lacey. ‘So you have to address this: it’s still more about prevention than anti-ageing.’ (Think of it as storing up skin savings.) A lot depends on your lifestyle, but skin can start to thin and dry out now. Many anti-ageing creams may feel too rich; consider a serum, instead (these tend to be packed with age-defying ingredients), and then layer on additional moisture as needed. And keep up that SPF, above all…

Someone told me I should start using a neck cream now. Yikes – are they right?
Fact: the skin on the neck poses one of the biggest skincare challenges of all. Women often forget about the neck area when they moisturise and the reality is that the neck is one of the first places to show your true age. You wouldn’t go far wrong if you got in the habit of using a cream on your neck from your 20s onwards – applying in a firm, downward motion from the jaw, to exercise the neck muscle, and applying all the way to the bra-line. But from the 30s onwards, a specific neck cream can be a big help, as these tend to feature specific ingredients that help fight the breakdown of collagen and elastin – which kicks in around now, leading to neck ‘sag’ over time.

I’m lazy about hand care. What should I be doing?
Fact: you are never too young to start using hand cream, to keep hands smooth and velvety and protect against drying from hand-washing – even from contact with paper, which ‘wicks’ moisture from the skin when you touch it. Better still – and definitely by your mid-30s – seek out hand creams which (like your daily moisturiser) should include an SPF15, at least. Defence against age spots, lines and wrinkles is infinitely easier than cure.

I’ve started to notice fine lines around the eyes. H-e-l-p!
By now, expression lines – particularly around the eyes, where skin is thinner – tend to become visible, because skin elasticity is diminishing. Stress and fatigue can show up, too, as dark circles. Add an anti-ageing eye product into your regime which offers a double-whammy: ingredients like caffeine to step up circulation (and help banish shadows), together with others that target those emerging fine lines. From now on, eye care needs to become part of your beauty ritual.

40s

Can I still wear shimmery eyeshadows?
Yes and no. You want to steer clear of anything which is disco-glittery, but a little shimmer can be flattering on the lid and the brow-bone (but not in the socket where it will accentuate lines). There’s a little test you can do to see if a glimmery shadow will work, after un certain age: apply to your hand. When you angle your hand one way, you should observe a more matte colour;  when you angle your hand differently, it’ll shimmer. If it looks shiny and glimmery whichever way you hold your hand, it’s too sparkly. Leave it to the next generation…

Should I start to use a separate night cream?
If you’re not already doing so, start now. It’s a fact: skin tends to become drier, as we age, and night-time is the best time to introduce richer, more deeply moisturising ingredients or even facial oils – which aren’t practical for day use (they’re not great under make-up). The 40s throw up a whole host of new skin concerns:  changes in hormones and the first signs of the menopause, which has an effect on oestrogen levels and the very structure of the skin. A loss of firmness – especially in the lower face – can betray signs of age, so you may want to check out creams which boast a specific ‘firming’ action. (Though nothing works as well as yoga, for keeping a chin and neck firm) But anyone who avoided the sun in and before their 20s and 30s can now cash in on their conscientiousness – showing up far less damage than those who soaked up the rays…

I’ve noticed feathering around the lip zone.What can I do…?
Lines around the lips are rooted both in genetics – nothing you can do about that – and lifestyle. For instance, smoking not only dehydrates the skin around the mouth but also exposes the lip area to high concentrations of free radicals (unstable molecules which damage the skin). Quitting smoking is the No 1 favour you can do your lips (and your entire complexion) at any age, but you’d be wise to add a specific anti-ageing lip product into your skincare regime from 40 onwards, to keep the area soft, supple and plumped up. You could also look for one of the special ‘anti-feathering’ lip pencils on the market, which create an invisible barrier around lips that prevents lipstick ‘travelling’ into lines.

50+

Help – do I need a serum?
Serums tend to be concentrated – which means they can pack a real anti-ageing punch: antioxidants, peptides, marine extracts. On 50-something skin, though, they’re rarely likely to do enough of a moisturising job on their own: ‘layering’ is the key – applying first a serum, allowing it a minute or two to sink in, then nourishing skin with a richer cream.

Should I still be using toner?
If you’re cleansing properly, a toner may be excessive to requirements at any age, but in your 50s you want to be absolutely sure that any freshener you’re using does not have alcohol in the formulation, as this will exacerbate dryness. Look for the words ‘gentle’ on the bottle – or use good old rosewater. You should be avoiding exfoliating cleansers (once a week buffing is enough), water-based cream and gel cleansers (too drying) and ‘re-texturising’ facials like peels (skin is already too delicate for these).  Skincare needn’t become more complicated; our complexion’s needs simply change through the decades.

What can be done about age spots?
This is when age spots – aka sun spots (because sun exposure is generally the trigger) – tend to appear, and can cause great misery. (More so than wrinkles, actually, one piece of recent research has established.) Ingredients like kojic acid (gentler than it sounds) and licorice have some age-spot-fading action, but at the same time your best bet is to step up your SPF: shielding against ongoing damage (wearing a big hat in summer and massive sunglasses, if you’ve got pigmentation in the eye zone) will almost certainly do as much to fade age spots and dark spots as any product.

Can I still wear red lipstick?
The watchword for lipstick shopping from 50 onwards should be ‘sheer’: there are some beautiful reds out there, but in more translucent textures, which have all of the glamour of a scarlet lipstick, but look subtler and more flattering. One thing is certain: with the technological advances in make-up, and eating an omega-3 rich diet, there is never any reason to give up on glamour – whether you’re 50-something, 60-something or more. And if you need proof? Just think of Susan Sarandon, Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep. All over 60 – and yet in the prime of their lives. Not least, because they’ve taken good care of their skin. (Enough said…!)

You’re kidding yourself
The idea of a quick weight-loss fix is very seductive – enter the crash diet: a strict calorie-cutting regime, which has potentially dangerous effects. ‘The problem with crash diets is that they look like they work – at first,’ says nutritionist Julia Alderman (www.thenutritioncoach.co.uk). ‘You may well experience significant weight loss in the first week – up to several pounds – but it’s deceptive and has nothing to do with actual fat loss. Instead, because you’re eating less calories, the body uses its limited store of glycogen (a form of carbohydrate) for energy. Your body loses water with it, so you appear to be losing weight quickly.’ When these stored carbs have been used up, your body begins using protein in the muscles to fuel energy. ‘At this point you may experience muscle soreness, as well as feeling tired, headachy and nauseous,’ warns Alderman.

The weight could pile on again
But ultimately your crash diet could have the opposite effect. ‘Each time you restrict your food intake, your metabolism drops, causing your body to burn fewer calories and less fat,’ says Helen Heap, nutritional therapist at The Marilyn Glenville Clinic, in London. ‘When the body registers that food is in short supply it does its utmost to store as much of that meal as fat as it possibly can.’ Not only that, but when you return to a normal eating pattern again, your weight could shoot up. ‘Your body has been starved and is programmed to try to store up fat quickly in case of another “famine”,’ says Heap. ‘That explains why it is so common to gain weight (fat) after a diet, and the cycle goes on.’

Long-term damage
The scary thing about crash dieting is that you can cause permanent damage if the ‘feast and famine’ cycles are a regular occurrence. Cutting out essential food groups and nutrients can lead to a whole host of health problems. ‘Calcium is vital for healthy bones – something women need to be very aware of,’ says Ursula Arens, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association. ‘If you’re not getting enough calcium from your diet, your body will start taking it from your bones, which can lead to osteoporosis in later life.’ Other essential nutrients you could be lacking include iron, vitamin B12, potassium, and sodium leading to problems such as anaemia, depression, nerve problems, cramps, confusion, chronic diarrhoea and vomiting. If your calorie intake becomes low enough, your body will even begin to burn the muscle tissue that makes up your actual organs, such as your heart and liver, in order to provide your brain with sufficient energy to function – how attractive is that crash diet now?

Replace your vital nutrients
If you have a history of yo-yo dieting, it’s important to stock up on vitamins and minerals. ‘A high-potency multiple vitamin B-complex can help as B vits play an essential role in metabolism, while B12 helps release energy from food,’ says Arens. ‘Iron supplements are also important to boost energy levels – liquid formulations are good as they’re easy to digest, and you can drink them mixed in with orange juice, boosting your vitamin C levels too.’ Calcium supplements are useful for bone health, while a multivitamin is good for general health.

The real secret to weight loss…
Don’t get excited, it’s just common sense. ‘There are no quick fixes,’ says Arens. ‘If you want to lose weight, aim to drop one to two pounds per week, watch your total calorie intake and reduce fat in the foods you eat. You may not experience that exciting, dramatic weight loss you get with a “quick fix” regime, but in the long-term, you’ll look and feel better for it. Crash diets aren’t fun. Food should fit in with a normal lifestyle, and allow you to socialise. Crash dieters aren’t terribly social creatures, now are they?’

‘I’m not unhappy with my size 12 frame, but at 5ft 3in, I’d feel healthier shifting half a stone. However, I didn’t think my eating habits were too horrendous – I always eat breakfast and have a healthy lunch.
The evenings are when my eating habits really fall by the wayside. As a journalist I attend a lot of press launches, where there’s usually plentiful wine and fattening canapés, so I’ll often skip dinner. It’s easy to drink and eat more than you would normally when you’re distracted by socialising.
After reading Mindless Eating, I realised how easy it is to lose track of exactly what, and how much, I’d eaten and drunk. So I started buying an extra salad or filled pitta at lunchtime to eat before an event. That helped stave off my hunger and meant I wasn’t cramming in the canapés when I got there. I also allowed myself one small glass of wine and refused top ups, so I could keep track of my calories. I’ve been trying this for three weeks now and I’ve lost three pounds – not a huge amount, but considering I haven’t radically changed my diet, it’s not bad!
You can apply Dr Wansink’s rules to all areas of your life – from not eating in front of the TV to avoiding the biscuits when you’re feeling low. Why not give it a try?’

• See p45 of the latest issue of Healthy (April issue), in Holland & Barrett stores now, to find out how being more aware of your eating habits can help you lose weight.

‘Back in August 2008 I left a stressful job working for my local authority as a community regeneration manager. The job involved implementing programmes in the community to create employment, so I was often caught up in conflicts between the community and the council. The work was very stressful and overwhelming and it was only when I left that I realised how tired, low and unmotivated I was.
I wanted to start a business running my own health regeneration consultancy but I found it tough and didn’t seem to get anywhere. I had a bit of part time work but gradually became unemployed. My GP diagnosed depression in May 2009 and put me on a waiting list for therapy, which I’m still on today. In the meantime, I was offered antidepressants, but I didn’t want to take them.
I’d heard about Beating the Blues through Advocacy, a local mental health charity. The online program teaches positive patterns of thought and behaviour by clicking through screens. Advocacy held Beating the Blues sessions in a group to work through the program with volunteer support. That was good for me because it got me up in the mornings so I joined up in June 2009. I went once a week for six weeks and then I began volunteering there, too.
The course worked for me because it gave me the tools to think positively and make things happen. One of the key aims with Beating the Blues is setting goals. Mine were towards launching my business and knowing how to sell myself and my service to customers. Just a month after finishing my course I successfully started up my business.
I still have low points but I refer back to tips I learnt, like scheduling things I enjoy in your diary such as exercise, lunch with friends and dancing, to keep me on track. If I was still waiting for therapy I don’t know what state I’d be in. Online therapy gave me the instant help I needed and enabled me to move on with my life. Without it I’d probably still be struggling.’

• Find out more about Beating the Blues at www.beatingtheblues.co.uk
• See p93 of the latest issue of Healthy (April), in Holland & Barrett stores now, to find out more about how online therapy can help you.

Interview by Jessica Powell

*Great offer*

If you need help with health and wellbeing issues, try www.greatvine.com. On the site you can search a database of accredited experts who can deal with your kind of problem – from stress to weight management issues to menopause – and select the one you’d like to speak to. Appointments are then carried out over the phone instead of online. The average rate to speak to an expert is £1 per minute, and if you visit www.greatvine.com before 30 April you will receive £10 free credit to use on the site.

I did it!
Name: Heidi Mitchell
Age: 25
Before: 19st, size 26
After: 9st, size 10

Heidi, a mum of two and an insurance agent from south-east London, was 
so horrified by seeing her holiday snaps she finally accepted her need to 
lose weight. Heidi says: ‘I’m just 5ft 1in 
so I knew at 19 stone I was too big, 
but I hadn’t realised the scale of my problem until those horrible pictures.’

Amanda says: ‘Heidi would have a fried egg sandwich for breakfast followed by three packets of crisps mid-morning. She ate chips with bread for lunch, biscuits mid-afternoon, and had a dinner of chips and sausages, with a cheese toastie at bedtime. All this was washed down with a litre of cola. Her portions were huge and she consumed over 4500 calories each day. She swapped this 
for a bowl of low-calorie cereal with a chopped apple and a sliced banana at breakfast, chicken wrap and apple at lunch and a dinner of grilled mackerel with salad. All her cola was traded in for water. This lead to a loss of two to three pounds each week. After losing 10 stone in five years, Heidi wanted to maintain her slim body by using a product called Perfect 10 to help metabolism.
Nicki says: ‘Heidi had a cross-trainer but never used it. I advised her to take things slowly and build up her fitness with a combination of lifting small weights at home (using cans of baked beans for instance), and to log on to a site called www.strongwomen.com to learn some simple strength training exercises. I also suggested she invest in a low-impact exercise DVD and that she progressed to short, sharp bursts of exercise on her cross-trainer as her fitness improved. As she lost weight, I advised her to walk lots and visit the local swimming pool.’
Heidi says: ‘I used to feel paranoid people were staring at me, but now I feel great and love going out. However big you are, trust in the fact you can lose weight. I know from experience it is possible if you want it badly enough.’

How can I get my husband to lose weight?
Q: I really want to lose weight 
this year, but my overweight husband doesn’t feel the same  – he’s very inactive and eats lots of fatty foods. How can I get him to join me? 
Claire, 48, Newcastle

Amanda says: ‘I think this requires some covert swaps and clever disguising on the food front to get healthy without him realising. For example, you can make favourites like spaghetti bolognese with extra lean mince and dry fry your onions; chilli con carne with more red kidney beans and less meat or toad-in-the-hole with lower fat sausages. A friend 
of mine started decanting semi-skimmed milk into 
a whole milk plastic carton, and her other half didn’t realise until she came clean six months later. With puddings you can serve baked apples and bananas with custard made with skimmed milk; both are delicious comfort foods with half the calories of traditional stodgy puddings. My advice is to make changes without making a song and dance about it.
Nicki says: ‘You can encourage and invite your husband to workout with 
you; however, it ultimately has to be his decision (so you could plant the idea in his head and then make out it was his idea). Here are some ways you might be able to persuade him:
- You can spend more quality time together Plan a workout time that fits both your schedules. You’ll reach your fitness goals, without sacrificing that one-on-one time every partnership needs.
- You’ll share a common interest The possibility for new, unique activities is endless and helps keep things exciting.
- It will improve your love life Exercise produces chemicals in the brain 
that evoke feelings of happiness, reduce stress, and also increase libido. Several studies show men and women who exercise regularly report better, more frequent sex with their partners.
Why not sign up for a class together – bring out the child in him by suggesting sports like martial arts, indoor climbing and fencing. Enjoy the great outdoors such as hiking and recreational cycling – you could even break up the journey with a healthy pub lunch.

Tried and tested: Fencing
Tester: Phil Tristram

I’ve always fancied a go at fencing. I was brought up watching programmes like the The Flashing Blade on TV (badly dubbed kids series from the 1970s), and loved watching all the swashbuckling, witty ripostes and sword action. Today famous fencing fans include Madonna, while films like Pirates of the Caribbean have boosted its popularity. As the sport is all about very controlled, considered, elegant movements, it keeps you mentally, as well as physically, fit, plus it’s also very sociable. I had a one-to-one session with my Hungarian coach Gabor at The London Fencing Club. First I had to don a special protective jacket (and later a mask). Then it was onto the footwork, with feet position and posture crucial. Next Gabor taught me how to move forwards and backwards, and finally how to lunge. There are three types of fencing:  using foil, sabre or épée. Each have different target areas: the foil  is mainly directed at your opponent’s chest, while the sabre can score on the head (though don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt!) and arms. The épée’s target is the whole body. As fencing’s mainly done with bent legs, I really felt it on my thighs and bum; it’s also great for toning the stomach. By the end of the session, I was soaking wet and felt like I’d had a proper workout; this isn’t a gentle sport! It’s great exercise for both men and women of any age – you don’t need to be big or strong, but you do need fast reflexes and good co-ordination. I found it tremendous fun, and am definitely going to book myself onto a beginner’s class. Fancy a duel, anyone?

• For more information, visit www.londonfencingclub.co.uk.

I did it!
Name: Charlotte Henry
Age: 28
Before: 17 stone, size 22
After: 9 stone, size 10

Charlotte, a personal assistant from Brixton, south London, says her weight increased steadily from the age of 17. ‘I was always dieting, but it wasn’t working. This time last year I was at my heaviest at 17 stone. I was desperate to lose the weight for good.’

Amanda says: ‘Charlotte was skipping breakfast, then at lunchtime was having a large chicken and mayonnaise baguette and up to 15 packets of crisps through the rest of the day. Dinner was usually a large serving of pasta and tuna with added mayonnaise and a packet of chocolate biscuits, plus she drank a litre of orange or apple juice a day.
‘I estimated that this totalled around 5,600 calories plus. Simply cutting down to a woman’s guideline daily allowance of 2000 calories would give Charlotte quite rapid weight-loss results. But first she went on the Cambridge Diet meal replacement plan to give her a head start.
‘After shedding the majority of her initial weight, she was then able to resume normal eating, switching to an oat-based cereal breakfast with grated apple and a cup of tea; a cappuccino with skimmed milk and a handful of almonds for a mid-morning snack; a large tuna salad with water for lunch; and a mid-afternoon snack of raisins and a herbal tea. For dinner she chose healthy meals like grilled chicken breast, or salmon steak with lots of vegetables and half a baked potato.’
Nicki says: ‘Charlotte told me that she had been a chubby child, never exercising for fear of looking like the “big one in a gym skirt” at school. This terror of being stared at while getting fit had followed her into adulthood.
‘I explained that exercising hard when doing a meal replacement diet is not recommended and that Charlotte should wait until she had lost some weight before contemplating the gym. I did, however, encourage light walking, and made sure that she wore a good pair of trainers.
‘As her weight fell and she got fitter, I felt that Charlotte could start thinking about setting herself goals such as building up to a 5km run. Having something to aim for got her motivated and helped her focus on something other than her own self-consciousness. Charlotte embraced the idea by starting a power-walking/running programme, and is now running continuously for one hour, five days a week.’
Charlotte says: ‘I’m now down to my goal weight, and I feel absolutely amazing.’

I haven’t got time to be healthy
Q I want to get fitter and eat healthily – please tell me how a working mum with two children is supposed to find time to exercise and make healthy meals?
Amanda says: ‘Making healthy meals is not as hard and time-consuming as we are led to believe. Not all the ingredients have to be fresh – frozen and canned vegetables are often more nutritious as the food is preserved by the freezing or canning process, and we often don’t know how long fresh produce has been on the supermarket shelves for.
Accept that when it comes to getting a healthy dinner on the table every night you have to plan. Work out your menu for the following week to ensure everything is to hand for when you get home.
Remember, the simple meals, like baked potato with baked beans and salad, a bowl of pasta with a tomato and vegetable sauce and cheese, grilled salmon with new boiled potatoes and vegetables or a quick tomato omelette with a chunk of wholemeal bread, are often the quickest and most tasty options.’
Nicki says: ‘There are no excuses not to exercise! Finding time to work out can be a challenge for anyone with a busy schedule and children. So, I’ve put together my top tips to help you make exercise a part of your daily routine:
-Swap your office chair for a fitness ball. A firmly inflated fitness ball can make a good chair. You’ll improve your balance and tone your core muscles while sitting at your desk. You can even use the fitness ball for wall squats or other exercises during the day.
-Get social. Organise a lunchtime walking group. Enjoy the camaraderie, and offer encouragement to one another when the going gets tough.
-Conduct meetings on the go. When it’s practical, schedule walking meetings or brainstorming sessions. Do laps inside your building or take your walking meetings outdoors.
-Get the kids involved. Take them to a soft play session or a playground and join in – bouncing around and climbing are great ways to burn off excess pounds.’

Tried and Tested: Gyrotonic
Tester: Richard Brunton
Gyrotonic exercises are based on movements from yoga, qigong, swimming and ballet. The exercises are performed on a ‘gyrotonic tower’, (right) that has various weights and pulleys attached to it and is designed to support and strengthen the body.
I go to Pilates classes regularly as I have a painful lower back, and I’d read that gyrotonic sessions are a good complement to this for strengthening core muscles and easing pain, as well as improving posture and flexibility and toning you up.
My session was at the Light Centre in London, and my practitioner Georgina  Haydon began my session with a consultation, asking questions about my lifestyle and examining my back to pinpoint the tense area. I then lay on my back on the gyrotonic tower and my feet were placed in stirrups while I held on to handles on either side. Georgina instructed me through the first movement where I made a cycling motion with my legs to ease the tightness and tensions in my body. I found it tricky to master the technique at first, but I soon got into it. Because my legs  were supported by the stirrups I felt a sensation of being weightless – it felt like I was treading water and was so relaxing.
Next, I sat up and gripped handles in front of my body. I was instructed to push the handles out to the side, then back out to the front in a circular motion. Georgina told me the movement helps to release tight joints and muscles, allowing more oxygen flow in the blood and a more even flow of energy through the body. Afterwards my body felt freer and more flexible than in a long time.
I’m now a gyrotonic convert and have been for more sessions where Georgina has placed weights on the pulleys to increase resistance and make my body work a bit harder. My back is improving, too.
I would recommend gyrotonic as it doesn’t matter what your age or fitness level is – anyone can do it.  For more, email georgina.haydon@btinternet.com

You can’t get much healthier than you, right? You check food labels for nasties, buy organic, avoid allergens, exercise regularly and take a few supplements just to ensure you’re getting everything you need. As far as you’re concerned there aren’t many people who take their health as seriously as you do. But is your healthy lifestyle actually doing you more harm than good?
Eating disorder charities are reporting a rise in the number of people who are becoming obsessed with their diets. As many as 20 per cent of young women practise unhealthy patterns of purging, and binge-eating according to eating disorder charity Beat (Beat Eating Disorders). But it’s not just teenagers who face problematic eating habits. Now a new disorder is emerging affecting older age groups. Called orthorexia nervosa, it’s characterised by an obsession with eating a pure and healthy diet.

Dangerous obsession
‘Orthorexia tends to affect the worried well,’ says dietician and eating disorder specialist Ursula Philpot of Leeds Metropolitan University. ‘They have relatively few health problems and like to take care of themselves. They tend to be well educated, middle class, 20- and 30-somethings, and they spend time researching their health on the internet.’
You don’t have to be underweight to be suffering from disordered eating or exercise patterns. ‘People with orthorexia can look normal or be overweight,’ says Philpot. ‘They won’t necessarily be restricting calories, but are more concerned with the quality of the food they put into their bodies. They refine and restrict their diet based on what they consider to be “pure” foods – often cutting out food groups such as wheat, dairy or meat.’
Taking your healthy lifestyle to extremes doesn’t even have to involve food. You may eat well, but find yourself addicted to exercise. Scientists from Tufts University in Massachusetts found that excessive exercise sparks a reaction in your brain that is similar to that caused by drugs such as heroin. And this addiction is becoming more common, especially among men.
Experts at Winchester University found that men are becoming increasingly anxious about their appearance and feel pressured to be fit and toned, especially if they read a lot of men’s magazines. A recent survey carried out by Beat found that 50 per cent of people with an eating disorder also said they had a problem with over-exercising. ‘We see this a lot with men, who feel pressured to change their body shape through diet and exercise,’ says Mary George, spokesperson for Beat.

Who’s to blame?
In the past the fashion industry has been targeted for our obsession with being super-skinny, but there are hopes that things are on the verge of changing. ‘We were greatly encouraged last year by the British Fashion Council making moves to support models from a diverse range of ages and shapes,’ says George. ‘But there is still a long way to go, and we could certainly do without the constant criticism that certain magazines and newspapers throw at celebrity role models.’
It’s not just celebrity magazines that are making us self conscious about our figures, diets and lifestyles either. ‘Newspaper scare stories frequently tell us that ‘ham is bad for your health’, or ‘wheat will make you ill’ and some people take on these stories and adapt their diets without weighing up the evidence,’ says Ursula Philpot.
Taking care of your health certainly isn’t a bad thing – especially when you consider that 24 per cent of people in the UK are tipping the scales at obese levels and many more of us are heading in that direction, according to the NHS. Plus two thirds of us are not doing enough exercise, says a survey by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Eating well and going to the gym won’t do you any harm – but if you start to take things too far it can become a problem.

Dying to be healthy?
Extremely restricting the amount of calories or fat you eat could result in severe weight loss and malnutrition, it could lead to fertility problems and in some cases even fatality. ‘Trying to stick to a rigid ”pure” food diet could be the start of all sorts of health problems,’ says Philpot.
She warns that if you cut out dairy and don’t get enough calcium from green vegetables and other sources, you could end up with osteoporosis. Ditch meat without replacing the iron and you risk becoming anaemic, and take the low fat message too literally and you’ll be deficient in essential fats which could spell bad news for your brain, joints and body in general. In short, if you remove any food group without carefully managing your nutrient levels you risk becoming malnourished.
You might think that you make up for deficiencies in your diet by taking plenty of supplements – but do check the recommended dose. ‘Taking a good multi-vitamin and mineral supplement is a good option because all of the nutrients are balanced so they can be absorbed at optimal levels.’ says Rachel Di Leva, nutritionist for the Health Supplements Information Service. Make sure you get good advice on supplements – and always check the packaging information.
Pounding your body into the ground at the gym isn’t good for you either. ‘Over-exercising can lead to serious complications later in life,’ says Julia Bishop founder of Move Your Butt personal training. ‘You’re at a greater risk of developing osteoporosis, and could experience joint problems due to excessive wear and tear, stress fractures, muscle injuries, high blood pressure, headaches and fatigue. Plus women could experience complications with their menstrual cycles which could affect their fertility.’
If you suspect that you’ve become more than a little obsessed with your healthy lifestyle (see box below), ask for help. See your GP or a dietician for advice on what is and what isn’t a balanced diet and exercise routine. ‘Orthorexia is not yet officially diagnosed as an eating disorder,’ says Philpot. ‘But a dietician would be able to give you sound advice on what really is healthy.’ Try to read around the newspaper headlines and visit the Food Standards Agency (www.food.gov.uk) and NHS Choices (www.nhs.uk) for sensible health advice based on real research.
‘Keep in mind that your body gets fitter and stronger when you rest and not while you are actually working out,’ says Bishop. ‘To get the most from workouts you should take a minimum of one full day’s rest between exercise sessions.’
Taking a balanced approach to diet and lifestyle is the safest route to good health.

Are you at risk?
How do you know if you’re being obsessive? Answering yes to these questions might mean you need to step back from your extreme lifestyle and give yourself a break.

• Do you avoid eating out with friends for fear of having to explain away your food choices or portion size?
• Do you never let yourself have a ‘bad’ or blow-out meal?
• Do you spend all your time planning your next meal or reading food labels to check that what you’re eating is additive free? l Do you go to the gym or exercise daily without fail?
• Have you lost alot of weight?
• Do you get frequent headaches, feel fatigued or have trouble sleeping?
• Do you feel emotional or irritable?

Words: Rebecca Speechley

With a little beauty know-how, it’s possible to deliver genuine skin-pampering and mood-enhancement yourself. Better still, many deceptively luxurious face and body treats can be whipped up basically with what’s in your fridge. Although a small armoury of essential oils* always turbo-charges the pleasure quotient; these last almost forever, so you can add to your collection over time, starting with basics like lavender, rosemary, neroli and rose.

Run a fragrant bath…
An aromatherapeutic bath is a pretty good place to start any wind-down session. Science has now confirmed that essential oils aren’t just a bunch of pretty smells: they work on brainwaves, to include heightened awareness (in the case of stimulating oils), or – see below – blissful c-a-l-m… Any of the following will help waft you to sleep, or help take the angst levels down a notch…

Clary sage is renowned for its ability to put you in touch with the ‘dream world’; a few drops in an evening bath will encourage dreams and their recall.

Jasmine, as well as being powerfully antidepressant and an aphrodisiac, helps open you up to beauty, music, poetry. (And, it’s thought, gives you confidence in your own physicality and ability to do things.)
Juniper is the perfect oil for this time of year – amazing when you feel swamped by the demands of people around you.
Neroli is linked with purity and euphoria (and a little goes a very long way…)
Rose is a tonic oil, but also linked with creativity and sensuality.
Lavender is the most famous oil of all, a ‘balancing’ oil which is ‘adaptogenic’  (ie if you’re stressed, it chills you out, whereas if you need a pep-up, it uplifts).

The best way to disperse essential oils in a bath is to add a total of 15 drops to a tablespoon (or more) of milk, and swish in the water while the bath’s still running; milk also acts as an emollient, counter-acting the drying effects of hard water.

Give yourself a facial…
Cleansing is great for skin – it literally sluices away dirt and grime – but, symbolically, it also eases cares and stresses. So start your DIY facial by massaging your cleanser into skin for a couple of minutes using quite a lot of pressure, to eliminate tension from the jaw and cheeks; the warmth of your fingers helps the cleanser to penetrate much deeper, boosts circulation and helps lymphatic drainage.  (I encourage people to exfoliate, once a week – even sensitive skins respond to the skin-brightening effects of exfoliation, if you choose the right product. Remember, though, that a little goes a long way.) Remove the last traces of exfoliator by rinsing or swiping skin with a warm, wet flannel, then pat dry and apply a mask – see the DIY recipes below. You don’t need a thick layer; skin will absorb all it needs. But to relax eyes while you’re indulging in your face mask, place rosewater-soaked pads over both eyes. Wipe away the mask, then swish with water and gently pat skin dry.

Massage your face…
We carry a lot of tension in the face, so facial massage not only helps banish the stress you’ve been holding onto, but stimulates circulation, for glowing skin.  Using the pads of your fingertips, apply an oil or rich moisturiser to your face (after you’ve removed your mask) to the following areas, in order: forehead, temples, nose, cheeks, chin and ears. Start from the centre of each area and slowly move outward. Then place your index and middle finger between your nose and upper lip and do circular motions around your mouth. Third, place the tips of your index, middle and ring fingers close together on your forehead and rub outwards towards the temples, making circular motions and applying gentle pressure. Repeat the same motions this time from your nose across your cheeks towards your ears. Move down to the hinge of the jaw and massage. To finish, lightly tap your entire face with the index and middle fingers of both hands, from the centre outward.

And treat feet to some TLC…
Feet carry us 70,000 miles, in a lifetime – yet we rarely reward them for the task. Submerging them in water (or milk, see right) in which reviving oils are infused helps put the spring back in feet – post-shopping and/or pre-party. Once you’ve soaked your feet and patted them dry, treat them to a deep massage: sit in a comfortable position with your feet resting up on the bed or on a chair. Working on one foot at a time, cup your heel with one hand and with the other make small circular movements starting with each toe. Gradually move down to the ball of your foot and knead this for a few minutes. Then slowly work over your sole and down to your heel. Press the fingers more deeply into the soles of the feet and up the sides, in long, smooth strokes from heel to toe. (The perfect massage medium, meanwhile, is anything which can reduce friction on the skin, while helping manipulate skin and muscles more effectively – so a rich body butter is terrific.)

Rev up your circulation…
Scrubbing the body is a great way to get the blood flowing, make you feel alive – and boost skin. Apply the body scrub of your choice to dry skin, before bathing or showering; massage in circular movements, concentrating on areas of rough skin such as elbows, knees and feet, but avoiding sensitive areas. Let the scrub do most of the work – you shouldn’t rub any harder than if you were applying a moisturiser. Thenrinse off, in a bath or shower. I like to dry skin quite vigorously with a towel afterwards, to keep up the circulation-revving work, and follow with a blissful body oil – something you can once again concoct yourself.

To create a simple but heavenly body oil, use the following formula: 1 drop of essential oil to a teaspoon of almond or apricot oil (you can also pierce a capsule or two of vitamin E oil and squeeze out the contents). Choose lavender, geranium and/or chamomile to relax – but if you need to revive before a party, try a blend of bergamot, patchouli and/or jasmine. (Lavender and rosemary, meanwhile, are good for aches and pains if you’ve been overdoing it.)

Armed with a little insider knowledge, giving yourself treatments at home really can deliver many of the benefits of a spa visit – without the traffic angst or feelings of guilt that you’re taking too much ‘me-time’ out from a frantic schedule. Just remember to lock that bathroom door…

Miracle masks to mix yourself

Apricot softening mask
2 fresh apricots
5ml (1 teaspoon) avocado oil

Blanch the apricots in just-boiled water for 1 minute to make it easy to peel off the skin, slice to remove the stones, and mash to a smooth pulp, adding the oil in a trickle. Spread onto the face and relax for 20 minutes while the softening ingredients get to work.

Cucumber sensitive mask
10g (½oz) brewer’s yeast (if you can’t readily buy this, pulverise brewer’s yeast tablets in a herb grinder)
10g (½oz) finelypowdered oats
A 15cm (3in) chunk of cucumber)
30ml (2fl oz) plain yogurt
5ml (1 teaspoon) honey
1 drop rose essential oil

Mix together the oats and the yeast in a small bowl and put aside. Peel the chunk of cucumber and liquidise it in a food processor or herb grinder until it’s – literally – liquid, with no seeds or chunky bits left. Add the yogurt and the honey and then whizz again for a few seconds, to mix. Add the brewer’s yeast and the oats to the cucumber/honey mixture, drop in the drops of rose essential oil, and whizz yet again until smooth. Then apply to a cleansed face and skin, and leave on for between 20 minutes to half an hour.

Vita-carrot mask
1 large carrot
15ml (1 tablespoon) sweet almond oil
5 drops jasmine essential oil (optional)

Peel and liquidise the carrot, strain off the juice (you can drink this for an internal vitamin D boost!), blend with the sweet almond oil and add the drops of jasmine essential oil, if you’re using it. Lie down (ideally on a towel) and apply the pulp to a cleansed face; relax and allow the mask to work for 10-15 minutes. This is good even for the most sensitive skins. Carrot is incredibly rich in vitamin A, which has an anti-ageing activity when applied topically to the skin.

Honey and oat mask
for oily skins/blackheads
Mix an egg white, a teaspoon of honey and a tablespoon or two of oats, until you’ve a paste thick enough to spread on your face.

A relaxing treat for feet

Rosemary Foot Reviver
225ml (8fl oz) milk
50g (2oz) fresh mint leaves
Six large sprigs of fresh rosemary
6 drops peppermint essential oil

Simmer the milk and fresh herbs over a low heat for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and pour into a bowl large enough to bathe your feet in. Top up with warm or cool water, as preferred – or, best of all, more milk. Add the peppermint essential oil and swish. (NB If you put pebbles or marbles in the bottom of the bowl, you can roll your toes over them while you soak your feet, which is totally relaxing for body, soul – and soles.) Several other herbs will effectively help put the spring back in your step: make enough tea from the following herbs(fresh or dried) to comfortably cover your feet, and soak them in it while still warm (brew the tea just as you would for drinking). Try lavender as an instant tonic, horsetail for tired feet (and to reduce sweatiness), thyme for cleansing, or lovage as a strong natural deodorant.

Words: Josephine Fairley

I did it!
Name Anna-Marie Osborne
Age 42
Before 17st, size 28
After 10st 9Ib, size 12-14

Anna-Marie, a singer and singing teacher from Llandudno in Wales, was shocked into losing weight when her doctor almost forbid her from flying to Egypt because of her size and blood pressure problems. ‘I realised that, for my health alone, I had to shed the weight.’
Amanda says: ‘Anna-Marie was eating around 5300 calories a day including 23g of salt, way over the recommended daily limit of 6g. She would tuck into sausage burger, muffin, scrambled eggs and a hash brown for breakfast, two chicken and bacon mayonnaise sandwiches with chips for lunch. Her afternoon snack consisted of a tub of hummus with four pitta breads and crisps, while dinner was garlic mushrooms, a huge portion of beef stroganoff with creamy Lyonnaise potatoes and a bottle of wine. Anna-Marie overhauled her diet, swapping to porridge or yogurt and fruit for breakfast, a large chicken or tuna salad for lunch and stir-fries, thick vegetable soups or fish and veg for dinner, with a fruit salad as a snack. This took her daily calories down to around 1500 per day and easily led to a loss of 4lb per week. She also took a supplement called Perfect 10, which she felt helped curb cravings.
Nicki says: ‘Anna-Marie was really fit doing tap, ballet and jazz until 18 when her father, her show-business mentor, died. She did no exercise after that. I suggested she start gently, walking for a mile at a time, which burns around 100 calories and would help her blood pressure. As her weight began to fall, I advised lifting weights at home, then moving on to a DVD workout that raised her heart rate, such as step or boxercise. I also encouraged Anna-Marie to get back into dance – ballet, jazz, tap and disco all burn up to 360 calories per hour.
Anna-Marie says: ‘Now I’ve lost the weight I feel fantastic, and my blood pressure is normal, which is great!’

What can motivate me to shift my weight?
Q I have been trying to lose weight for years and the only pounds I’ve lost are from my wallet! I’ve bought DVDs, joined gyms, and splashed out on fitness gear. I’ve been a member of slimming clubs and tried diets but I just can’t stick to anything. Please help.

A: Amanda says: ‘It doesn’t matter how many times you have tried before to shed the pounds. It’s what you resolve to do this time that counts. In America they have a National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) to monitor the weight loss of ‘successful losers’. When interviewing people about their weight, researchers discovered that on average people have tried to lose weight 18 times before finally keeping the weight off for good. So you can do it but you need to be in the right frame of mind and find the right way for you. First, be honest with yourself about why weight loss hasn’t worked for you before. Accept that you are not ‘going on a diet’ which you will then ‘come off again’ but are changing the way you eat for life. This is crucial to achieving a lower long-term weight. Successful losers on the NWCR have shared certain behaviour, which may help you: * 78 per cent eat breakfast every day. * 75per cent weigh themselves once a week. * 62 per cent watch less than 10 hours of television a week. * The average female loser follows a low calorie diet of around 1300 calories a day, which is also low in fat. * 90 per cent are physically active for an hour every day. Good luck!’

Nicki says: ‘You need to find simple ways to slot fitness into your life. A lunchtime power-walk is a great way to clear your head and will make you feel re-energised.
Exercising doesn’t have to mean going to the gym. Your best bet is to combine socialising with exercising – power walk with friends, or do a dance class. Any high-intensity class, particularly spinning, boxing or dance classes, is good for burning calories. A 45-minute class can burn 400-700 calories. Using incentives to keep yourself motivated is key to success. Set yourself short-term goals then reward yourself with a facial. You’ll soon look and feel fitter, slimmer and healthier.’
Tried and tested
Hannah Fox tries: Hooping
Remember hula hooping as a kid? Well it’s back without the ‘hula’. Hooping is the grown-up version and the hoops have got larger and heavier which actually makes keeping the hoop rotating around your waist a lot easier. It’s a great all-over body workout – especially for toning your stomach muscles, and you can burn up to 100 calories in just 10 minutes.
The instructor of my hooping class told us that you keep the hoop twisting by either moving your stomach from side to side or front to back. These movements are quite big when you first start – you end up looking like you’re having convulsions! However, as you improve the movements become smaller and mean you can dance around and do tricks with the hoop.
Once we’d mastered the basic twisting movement in both directions, we learnt our first trick, which involved turning your body around  360 degrees, in the same direction that your hoop is twisting. It wasn’t easy – once you’ve finished turning you need to keep moving so the hoop stays up.
We also tried twisting the hoop on each arm, which left them aching, before spinning the hoop back down to the waist (warning: keep your wits about you to avoid other people’s flying hoops) but it was great fun. By the end of the session, we were puffed out and aching all over, but I felt fantastic that I’d mastered some of the tricks.

• Polestars offers hooping classes in London – www.polestars.net; 020 7274 4865. Visit www.ukhoopdatabase.org for a list of classes nationwide.