Here is the final part in the series of a Q&A with Chris Zaremba, founder of Fitness over Fifty. He is a top fitness professional who first took up fitness when he was obese and under doctor’s orders at age 50. Now, ten years on, now he has lost a third of his bodyweight in fat, put on some muscle too, and has a cabinet full of fitness and fitness modelling trophies. For more on Chris, hop onto his website here: http://www.fitnessoverfifty.co.uk/.

You offer online PT courses. How do you motivate, and perhaps keep in check clients who struggle with will power and motivation?

I sometimes find that just having me involved is sufficient motivation. My clients find that having to report back to me every few days is enough of a spur on to help them towards success. And eventually, most of them hit the Magic Moment I mentioned in an earlier post, when getting fit is no longer an obligation, but a joy – usually when the numbers of weight and body-fat percentage start making real progress.

My clients all know that I am there to offer suggestions and advice if they begin to lack confidence in their abilities to go forward with it. I offer my clients unlimited support by email, phone or in person as appropriate, and that helps them through the low moments.

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Paul McKenna and others use hypnotism as a way of re-programming the mind. How would you help someone change a pattern of a lifetime to eat more healthily and start exercising?

I’ll leave the hypnotic stuff to Mr McKenna, while I concentrate on coaching techniques to help them to come up with the answers themselves. Although I try to find ways of eating well and adding exercise that can be fun as well as beneficial, there are times that a level of will-power is needed.  Two of the tools I use to help in this are – firstly, to advise a planned approach to eating and exercise with no more random eating (just because the biscuit jar is there) – and secondly to set up an incrementally progressive exercise programme. If a client can run at 12kph for three minutes, and next week does 12.1kph for the same duration, that is a new Personal Best, earns applause from me and smiles all round. Good endorphins, bring on next week!

As a food journalist and restaurant critic, I eat out frequently. What advice would you give me for wanting to lose weight before my birthday? I have 7 months!

You can make a massive difference to your health and fitness in seven months! But the sooner you start, the better. Not next week, not tomorrow – now! I suggest you put into place as many of those points in my first post as you can – and keep logging your activity and the results. Your results will become your motivation.

Wanting to get fit and healthy is a journey for most. I know on a personal level, it takes time and commitment. Remember, even 10 minutes of exercise is better than nothing. My personal fitness plans are exciting, I’ll update you all soon!