If you want to get fitter and healthier in 2016 then ‘Fit 4 Life’ may be just what you’re looking for.
Harrogate Borough Council launched the health and wellbeing programme in February last year after securing funding from North Yorkshire County Council.
Over the past 12 months the scheme has proved both popular and successful.
Fit 4 Life is open to anyone living in the district who wants to improve their health by getting fitter, losing weight or making other healthy lifestyle choices.
The scheme is free to people who commit to the full 12 week programme and attend a follow-up assessment after six months and a year. It has the backing of local GPs, the Harrogate and Rural District Clinical Commissioning Group and North Yorkshire County Council.
Classes are available in a number of towns across the district including Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon, Masham, Nidderdale and Boroughbridge.
Funded through North Yorkshire County Council’s Public Health team and delivered by Harrogate Borough Council, the classes are run by experts in weight management and nutrition. The sessions are specifically designed to help people who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) equal to or greater than 25 to lose weight, and learn how to maintain a healthier lifestyle. Each session includes 30 minutes of nutritional advice followed by 45 minutes of physical exercise.
Jane Charlton, Health and Active Lifestyle Coach with Harrogate Borough Council and runs the Fit 4 Life sessions in Ripon, said:
A lot of people are put off going to regular exercise classes because they are worried that they will be really tough and they won’t be able to keep up. Fit 4 Life is held in a really relaxed, supportive atmosphere and it’s not all about exercise, it’s about changing to a healthy way of living.
We all have a great time and the group is very friendly and welcoming.
Councillor Stanley Lumley, Harrogate Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture and Sport, said:
A lot of people start a new year intending to improve their lifestyle by losing weight and becoming healthier and fitter. These classes, which are available on a variety of days and times throughout the district, provide the perfect opportunity for anyone wanting advice and support on shedding a few pounds and changing their attitude towards food.
Fit 4 Life is quite simply an informative and enjoyable means of achieving the results you want.
When the initial 12 week Fit 4 Life programme has been completed, participants then have the option of going on to Fitter 4 Life, a follow on class where people get weighed every week, take part in exercises and can get nutritional help and advice if they need it.
If you would like to find out more about Fit 4 Life classes in your area or to book a place please contact Natalie Smith on 07525 988160 or e-mail natalie.smith@harrogate.gov.uk
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