Hi girls,

I'm delighted to be a contributor to Her.ie. It's all very exciting and I'm looking forward to filling you in on my fitness highs and fitness fails each week.  Here's a little about me: I'm a mom to twin boys Rocco and Jay, married to my childhood sweet heart Nicky Byrne ... and a qualified fitness instructor. I’m always on a never ending quest to more fab, fitter and healthier. Let’s face it; most girls are, aren't we?

My philosophy is simple: ‘be strong, live long ‘. Over the coming weeks, be sure to check out my challenges and mini personal goals on fitness, food and anything else that keeps me generally happy – and healthy! From body wraps to bubble baths to muddy steeple chase runs, I’ll be popping in to fill you in.

I find myself fascinated on the simple things in life that make us healthier and yet I love the delicious indulgence of chocolates and lattes as I'm on the go – and I don’t think I’m the only one! I love to make sure my family, all my boys - kids, hubby and  even our dog Keano - are happy, healthy and having fun with a big dollop of ice-cream at the end of the day but I love to buy organic vegetables , healthy products and take all the wise advise from my wonderful mom.

I love to cook fresh fish, to nibble, to chat and take our time over family meals, no matter how busy things get but sometimes, I still find myself chucking all the contents from the fridge and there’s also the local café, which we named our village "kitchen".  It is all about time ladies and sometimes we don’t have enough of it but I’ll be here each week to make sure to get the most out of the time you do have.

And on the note, here are some healthy tips for the week ahead:

Eat wise, drop a size

I love the general concept from the book, French Women Don't Get Fat. It’s all about eating for pleasure and portion control, which sounds like just the ticket to me. For example: 

• Enjoy a glass of wine, enjoy a taste of good chocolate (perhaps dark choc or raw organic). 

• It’s all about moderation. Forget obsessing over the calories taken in and then stressing over calories being burnt after sweating it out on the treadmill – life is too short! 

• Indulging in one mealtime, it may mean cut down a little more in the next. 

• If you want to lose weight, food diaries are a good idea as anyone who knows the Weight Watcher’s program will tell you. Food diaries are a good way to understand what to cut out in your diet for a wee while until you feel you've reached your goal. 

• The key then is to keep it off. Well, it’s simple: keep busy, enjoy being more active every day, from walking to cycling to work. It all adds up. 

• The key word being ‘fun’. Being healthy shouldn’t be a chore. Enjoy yourself while looking after yourself. It all seems like common sense but no harm in having a good ol reminder to have a healthier balanced approach and attitude towards your lifestyle in general – that’s my philosophy and I’m sticking with it! 

Until next time, wishing you lots of health and happiness, 

Georgina.