You’ve read the Fit List – now put that inspiration to good use and join heat ’s Fit Club

Our 2018 guide to getting your best bod ever

You’ve polished off the cheese board and stuck your hand down the back of the sofa to fish out the last remaining Celebrations. Now there’s no excuse not to welcome in a healthy start to 2018. If you’re determined that this year won’t be the one where you find yourself using your gym kit as a duster by February, you’ve come to the right place.

Welcome to heat Fit Club where, each week during January, a different fitness hero will be showing you how to keep motivated to make lifestyle changes that will result in a healthier new you. Plus, they’ll each be sharing an exclusive HIIT workout, which you can do without having to step foot inside a gym.

We’re kicking things off with Insta-ledge Kayla Itsines. As one of the world’s biggest fitness influencers, Australian personal trainer Kayla has transformed the lives and bodies of thousands of women with her Bikini Body Guide. Her Instafollowing tops eight million, and her simple, non-scary approach to a healthy lifestyle involves short, targeted workouts and even the occasional blowout meal. Kayla, 26, tells us how to kick-start our fitness journey to ensure it’s something we can stick to.

Kayla, we’ve been living off a diet of Baileys and Brie for the last two weeks. Where should we start?

Start by planning when to eat bad food – whether it’s at a birthday party or on a night out. If you start off by putting all these limitations on yourself and saying, “I won’t allow myself to have this and that,” you’ll feel guilty if you can’t stick to them. Schedule in the times where you want to indulge and actually enjoy them, then get back on track.

But we vowed to get fit last year and we were back to our old habits after a couple of weeks. How can we make sure we stick to it this time?

If getting fit is your ultimate goal, it requires a total lifestyle overhaul, which can feel overwhelming. Break it down into bite-size chunks and work out how you’re going to do it. The more specific you are, the more likely you’ll get there. Plan for the

year – you’re going to have your period once a month, so you might not feel like working out on those days. Circle a special event, like a holiday, so that you’re prepared and won’t feel guilty if you indulge.

Great news. But will we need to work out every day?

I would train three times a week – Monday, Wednesday, Friday – and then every other day, apart from Sunday, simply be active by walking. For that, you don’t need any workout gear, just a good pair of shoes, and you don’t need to kill yourself getting into a sweat. But for effective LISS training (low-intensity steady state), you need to be walking at the same pace for a certain amount of time.

Everyone on our Insta feed looks amazing and it’s making us feel awful. Should we go offline until we have our dream bod?

That feeling stems from your own insecurities. You’ll be unfollowing people all the time if that’s the way you’re going to think, so you need to change your mind-set. You can still follow those people, but realise that they have insecurities, too. We put so much pressure on ourselves. We think everyone is looking at us and judging us, but they’re all thinking about themselves!

The phrase “bikini body” can sound so negative. How do you use it in a positive way?

I call my programme Bikini Body Guide, but I showcase bodies from all over the world, and all different types – but they’re all still bikini bodies. A bikini body is any body.