Get your health back on track with these top tips

New Year's resolutions are easy to make and break! WeightWatchers leader Susan Farrell admits her plans to get healthy have gone by the wayside, so Sentinelle teamed up with Lisa Mills of Beauty Within, fitness instructor Erica Hackett and colonic hydrotherapist Deborah Browne to share their top tips

IT'S a new year, new you – at least that's how it's supposed to be.

For many of us, as February begins, those well-intended resolutions to transform your health are distant memories and plans to get in shape have disappeared.

Susan admits she felt exhausted. Weeks after eating festive food, the 47-year-old mum of two from Shelley Drive, Cheadle, still felt bloated. Having put on five pounds over Christmas she wanted to change, and made a New Year's resolution to get her health back on track.

It's a scenario Lisa, owner of Beauty Within, based at New Inn Lane, Hanford, is all too familiar with.

"I think a lot of people want a quick fix," she explains, "but that doesn't always happen, though often you do need professional advice to help keep you motivated."

Instructor Erica agrees.

"People give up very quickly because they think they aren't losing weight and they're not motivated enough," she adds.

Susan's treatment day began with a thorough skin analysis, which involved a close inspection of her skin and a detailed consultation to ensure she received the treatments most suitable for her skin type.

Lisa says: "With Susan's detox treatment we were trying to kick-start everything as her skin was dehydrated, so I used a vitamin C mask and a hydration formula to pump her skin and take the dead skin cells away.

"We used seaweed which was freeze dried because it keeps as many of the nutrients as possible this way and those are very similar to the ones found in human skin."

With a fresh new skin, Lisa then treated Susan to a mineral makeover.

"Mineral make-up is a pure make up made of ground up rocks of smaller precious stones," Lisa explains. "It is very natural and full of oxides which are healing for the skin and it doesn't block it up so as to avoid any damage.

"When most people detox they forget about their skin and make up, but working on their skin from the outside means improvements can be seen very quickly in both tone and condition."

Erica adds that following a good fitness and nutrition programme is equally important if you want your healthy resolutions to work.

She teaches pilates and yoga at Beauty Within, and believes the benefits to people who attend fitness classes regularly are numerous. While attending a first fitness session can be daunting, Erica says those taking the plunge have nothing to fear, and promises, "You'll have more energy, more confidence and feel a lot better within yourself."

With a diploma in nutrition, Erica also says it's a good idea to keep a food diary and write down everything you eat during the course of a day if you want to keep your diet on track.

"In my sessions I look through these with people and help them to cut out all the junk foods like crisps and fizzy drinks as they bloat you up, but it's all about eating in moderation. Sorting your diet out is a good starting point, as a good diet means you'll have more energy."

Lisa's top tips:

1. Drink lots of water.

2. Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables rather than processed foods.

3. Follow a good skin care regime tailored to you and stick to it, as the right regime means it won't take long to produce good results.

4. If you're following a detox regime for your body look for products that work with that.

5. Get professional advice to ensure you're using the right products, as it is more cost effective in the long run by saving you from buying things which don't work.

Erica's top tips:

1. Cut out fizzy drinks.

2. Don't snack on junk foods.

3. Always have breakfast, because if you skip it you are more likely to keep snacking all day.

4. If you don't do much exercise, begin by going out for regular short brisk walks and build from that.

5. Try exercising at home, but to keep motivated get help from someone who knows what they are doing and can give you advice.

Erica's pilates and yoga sessions cost £4 at Beauty Within and Lisa's detox facials cost £35. A skin analysis and makeup lesson costs £15 which can be redeemed from products bought from Beauty Within. For more information call 01782 659446.