Live Chat Transcript We spoke to Teresa Owen, registered dietitian, qualified teacher and registered public health nutritionist, and Mary Sheppard, Director of Fitness Wales, on April 14, 2004, about 'Involving the whole family'. Read the transcript below...

sarah1: How can you diet when canteen food is so fatty and there's nothing healthy on offer?

Teresa: That's a good one! Canteen food can be a bit of a hit or miss affair you need to plan carefully; go for the carbohydrates such as potatoes and bread but take your own toppings to put on them. Or get a gang of you together and try to get them to make you some plain salad to go with the other food because then everything becomes healthier.

Mary: My kids won't eat vegetables no matter how hard I try to get them to - any ideas?

Teresa: Don't force them - it'll make things worse! What you need to remember is that fruit contains the same goodness. In the meantime, make sure there's plenty of vegetables on offer and that it's part of the family diet.

Fit: I can't run I get out of breath, so what do I try?

Mary: With the running... it's probably because you're going too fast and too soon. I'd start with very brisque walking and then introduce small chunks of slow jogging. If you gradually increase you'll find it becomes easier and you'll soon be running.

Paul1: Do bread and potatoes make you fat?

Teresa: No, they don't! Bread and potatoes are excellent foods. Just be careful what you put on top of them. Make sure you choose low-fat margarines and sauces. Avoid frying them.

Mandy: What is the minimum of exercise to get fit?

Mary: It depends what you want to get fit for. Fitness is different for everyone. If you want to improve your heart health, you want to start with something that will get you out of breath, such as fast walking or swimming or cycling. Start with about 10 minutes and gradually build up. If you want to build up your muscles, then again, you probably need a minimum of 30 minutes three times a week to get those muscles into shape.

Charlie: How can you diet when you're on a budget?

Teresa: You've got to plan. Healthy eating and dieting doesn't just happen. If you plan ahead, you can do so cheaply and quite easily. My two top tips are:
Eat seasonally or use canned vegetables and fruits. Cheap 'n' cheerful if ever there was one!
Secondly, remember the starchy foods because they're filling and give lots of energy for their money.

JJ: What are good 'treats' for when I have to have something sweet?

Teresa: That's a difficult one! I've got to say, food should be seen as fuel for the body and treats should be something else - flowers or magazines for example. But if you're desperate for something sweet, probably some of the best things are like Jaffa Cakes. They're 48 calories and about 1 gram o fat. But you can only have one at a time!

Al: I hated sport at school so what can I try now when I need to lose weight?

Mary: You're like lots of people who found sport at school very difficult. There's lots out there now, that you can try. You might like dancing, be this line dancing, clubbing or whatever. You might like things in the fresh air, like hiking and cycling. You might like to try classes and it's not just aerobics any more. There are weight lifting classes, pilates, yoga, there's all sorts of things. The secret is to find something that you enjoy because you'll then keep it up.

PB: How do you get a flat stomach?

Mary: The problem is that you can't spot reduce. In the past, we used to tell people to do 100s of stomach crunches a day. Now, it's better to combine some core exercises such as the plank, and the side plank in with your stomach routine. If you're not sure what these are, you need to talk to a fitness instructor who can give you a quick demonstration.

Ginette: How do I give up sugar?

Teresa: You don't have to give it up altogehter. But it's best to eat as little as possible. Two ways of doing it:
You can either go cold turkey and just not add it to your tea, food and whatever - and just use sweetners instead.
Secondly, some people prefer to wean themselves off bit by bit. There are some products now on the market, which are half-sugar and half-sweetner, which can be useful. It weans you off slowly.

Bob: I don't have time to exercise! When do people fit in going to the gym?

Mary: You don't have to go to the gym. You need to try and build in activity to your lifestyle. It might be walking to work, taking the stairs and not the escalator... Going to the furthest sandwich shop at lunchtime rather than the nearest. You need to try and get some activity every day even if it's only 5 minutes. You can use the adverts when you're watching the TV to walk up and down stairs a couple of times and you don't have to go to the gym.

Phil: I'm over 50 - where do I start with an exercise plan?

Mary: So am I! Start with something you enjoy. Start slowly. Your body takes longer to recover as you get older so don't put too much stress on it. As I've said before, find something you enjoy. It could be golf, it could be walking, it could be swimming. If you have a local gym or leisure centre, it's worth checking out what they have on offer to see if anything appeals. Good luck!

Ray: I can't face eating in the morning but everywhere says breakfast is the most important meal of the day what do you think?

Teresa: I agree! Breakfast is best! If you really can't face up to cereal and toast, try something like a smoothie. Which is milk, yoghurt and any fruits you like mixed in, and that gives you a good start to the day. I would say that people who eat breakfast do tend to be slimmer, and find it easier to lose weight and they're also less niggly.

aassay: What are best food groups to eat when trying to lose weight and work out at the same time?

Teresa: The best food groups would be the fruit, vegetables and carbohydrates. They should cover two-thirds of your plate.

Tim: How can I get rid of my tyre that is slowly developing around my midriff?!

Mary: Again, you can't spot reduce. As we said earlier, a few crunches and exercises like the plank and the side plank are really good for firming up your mid-riff. Things like pilates are good for giving you ideas for long lean muscles.

kyle: Pilates or Yoga? Which is best, as I don't have time to do both!?

Mary: Both are really good for you. Yoga is better if you want to improve your flexibility and de-stres. Pilates is slightly better if you want to tone up as well as lengthen the muscles in a fairly relaxing way. I'd try both and see which you like best!

Rhys: How can I improve my running - run for longer more or run shorter distances quickly? Help!

Mary: You need to do both! Your training program for the week should have some long slow runs so you increase your time and distance. You should also try to boost your fitness by some short sharp running which everyone hates! If you can include something like hill work or a couple of sprints, it will improve anaerobic threshold and your overall running times.

Janet: What foods should I eat, is it okay to have cake with lunch for instance providing I burn it off later or should I just stick to only eating healthy stuff all of the time which I find very boring!?

Teresa: A little of what you fancy does you good! Try to have a healthy diet most of the time, but a healthy diet can certainly contain a little cake. The trick is not too much cake. Think about the proportions of what you're eating and as I said earlier, try to cover your plate with carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables, some dairy foods, some protein foods and then there's a little room left for those treats if you want them. But go for the healthier foods first.

Derek: I think I'm fairly fit and exercise at least 3-4 times a week but still eat some junk food. Is there a balance or am I just kidding myself. My metabolism is fast so I don't tend to get fat or anything!

Teresa: You can be fat and fairly fit, and you can be thin and have a fatty inside. So from my point of view, plenty of food in the right proportions is the trick and we actually call it the balance of good health, which is again when you get the right proportions of food on your plate you see the picture of the plate on a lot of posters everywhere and that means you get a bit of everything and not too much junk. And that would be our aim.

Mary: I'm glad you're fit. Keep up with the exercise and if you're eating the right foods you'll get more out of your fitness program. Don't beat yourself up for having some junk food now and again.

Mart: Is it better to exercise in the daytime or evening?

Mary: Generally, it's better to exercise earlier in the day.

Mart: Why?

Mary:Two reasons:
One, you don't have lots of excuses coming into your life which means you actually do exercise. Secondly, there is some evidence that you burn more calories efficiently earlier in the day. However, if you're an owl rather than a lark, do exercise in the evenings. You must listen to your own body and go for when it suits you.