In his first column for The Press, Christian Fox gives advice on sensible ways to exercise and lose weight.

AS A fitness professional and nutritional advisor, I know how easy it is to pick up a magazine or newspaper and see which celebrities are looking great and who has lost what on the new 'in' diet.

As a nation, we are, understandably, after that quick fix for looking fantastic. So what is the best way to lose weight?

A common question is whether it is actually safe to lose a stone in a week. The answer is: No, it isn't.

Adopting certain lifestyle changes and becoming a bit more active as well as looking at your nutrition intake is the road to success.

The safest and most effective way to lose body fat is to lose a pound of it a week. This does not sound a great deal, but if you multiply that by the weeks in a year you are losing just under four stone a year, which you're more likely to keep off.

So how do you do this? Restricting your calories by 500 kilocalories a day, and 3,500 kilocalories a week, will give you a pound of body fat loss in a week.

This can either come from your nutritional intake, some exercise, or a combination of both. As a guide, you probably burn 250 kilocalories doing a 30-45 minute brisk walk.

One of the major mistakes people make when trying to lose weight is to do lots of aerobic work such as running, cross training and cycling. Aerobic exercise promotes production of the hormone cortisol which has an effect of breaking down muscle, the very thing we need to keep a high metabolism.

The best types of exercises are functional strengthening ones - lunges, squats, push-ups and step-ups - that focus on the big muscle groups: the legs, chest and back muscles.

Christian Fox is a personal trainer and nutritional advisor working at York's LivingWell Premier Health Club. He is also available for home, office and outdoor training. For more information, phone 0771 187 1170, or log on to www.cbsfox.co.uk. He offers a free, no obligation consultation to anyone interested in his services.

In his next column, Christian will give advice on sensible eating habits to promote weight loss.

Updated: 10:54 Friday, April 28, 2006