And today I’m joining them. Gulp. As my lumpen form is winched into the air from the ground like a sack of spuds, suspended by just two thin straps of leather, I get a sense of how much those spectacular circus performers suffer for their art.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1194957_now_im_a_highflying_career_girl?rss=yes#comments 2010-03-08T12:03:41 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1193827_i_love_me_the_key_to_responsible_drinking?rss=yes According to the number of units I down on an average Friday night, I am officially a binge drinker.

Drinking four standard glasses of white wine in one evening may seem perfectly reasonable, but convert those drinks into units and it adds up to a whopping 8.4 – more than double the daily recommended amount of two to three units for women.

It’s the second most common cancer in women under 35 with the human papilloma virus being the major cause.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1193828_i_love_me_hpv_vaccine__controversial_or_crucial?rss=yes#comments 2010-02-25T10:31:58 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1193829_i_love_me_makeover_when_bright_is_right?rss=yes For mum of three Joanne Ramsden, 2010 has already been a year of major milestones. This year, she’ll send her three-year-old son, Charlie, to school and she’ll also celebrate a very significant birthday – her 40th.

Charlie’s first day at school is another seven months away but the celebrations for Joanne’s big 4-0 have been and gone.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1193829_i_love_me_makeover_when_bright_is_right?rss=yes#comments 2010-02-25T10:48:30 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1193830_i_love_me_home_is_where_the_hurt_is?rss=yes When the new domestic violence court hears its first case at Bury Magistrates on March 1 this year it will be a major step forward in the fight against an escalating crime.

During 2008/9, there were more than 70,000 incidents of domestic abuse recorded by Greater Manchester Police. Research indicates that even this figure vastly underestimates the scale as only a minority of cases are reported.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1193832_i_love_me_help_to_stop_smoking?rss=yes#comments 2010-02-25T10:56:17 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1192482_the_stigma_of_a_size_20?rss=yes As I zip up the fat suit, I look in the mirror and don’t recognise the big person looking back at me.

This suit has doubled my clothes size – from a 10 to a size 18/20. In rough terms, if I was this size, I would have gained six stone.

For 22-year-old Jack, music is his life. But he believes being exposed to loud music at gigs, clubbing and DJ-ing, has caused permanent damage to his hearing in the form of tinnitus.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1191991_i_love_me_djs_warning_for_lovers_of_loud_music?rss=yes#comments 2010-02-09T12:22:01 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1191989_new_year_new_you_keeping_fit_with_the_wii_?rss=yes Now, let's be honest – keeping fit is not all that much fun. I think of it as a daily chore designed only to make me ruddy of face, moist of skin and frizzy of hair.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1191989_new_year_new_you_keeping_fit_with_the_wii_?rss=yes#comments 2010-02-09T12:25:53 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1191075_foundation_of_modern_beauty?rss=yes We've all seen those extreme makeover programmes where the prematurely aged woman subjects herself to radical, painful cosmetic surgery in a bid to look 10 years younger.

She's typically a middle-aged female smoker whose garish blue eye-shadow and harsh red or pink lipstick only serves to enhance her wrinkles and downtrodden demeanour.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1190812_i_love_me_why_your_very_good_health_is_andys_goal?rss=yes#comments 2010-01-28T18:39:18 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1190813_i_love_me_the_big_message_for_mumstobe_is_stub_it_out_to_protect_your_baby?rss=yes STOPPING smoking is the single most important action a pregnant mother can take to protect the health of her unborn child. When a pregnant woman smokes, her unborn baby shares more than 4,000 chemicals from the smoke she breathes. Smoking during pregnancy causes greater risks of miscarriage, premature birth and low birth weight – even stillbirth.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1190813_i_love_me_the_big_message_for_mumstobe_is_stub_it_out_to_protect_your_baby?rss=yes#comments 2010-01-28T18:15:17 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1190815_i_love_me_i_want_to_quit_so_badly?rss=yes Elizabeth Baker and partner Chris Lloyd are proudly decorating their new home in time for the arrival of their baby in May - and the couple are determined to keep the house smoke-free.

The young couple from Wythenshawe had already banned cigarettes from their previous home, even installing non-smoking signs.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1190815_i_love_me_i_want_to_quit_so_badly?rss=yes#comments 2010-01-28T18:18:29 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1190816_i_love_me_a_happy_healthy_lifestyle__served_on_a_plate?rss=yes FAMILY OF THE MONTH: Mum of three, Joanne Ramsden has two life-changing milestones to reach this year.

In a few days she turns 40 and come September, her youngest child Charlie, three, will start school.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1190816_i_love_me_a_happy_healthy_lifestyle__served_on_a_plate?rss=yes#comments 2010-01-28T18:39:41 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1190817_i_love_me_new_book_brings_asthma_advice?rss=yes WHEN a child is diagnosed with asthma it can be a shock for the family and a worrying time for all concerned. But help is at hand.

A new book called “Let’s Talk About Asthma” has been launched by a number of healthcare partners across Greater Manchester to help both children and adults cope with the problem.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1190817_i_love_me_new_book_brings_asthma_advice?rss=yes#comments 2010-01-28T18:23:48 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1190818_i_love_me_josef_turns_to_asthma_book_to_understand_all_about_his_condition?rss=yes SIX year-old Josef (correct) Stevenson-Hornby knows exactly what to do if he starts wheezing at school.

The youngster goes to the drawer in his classroom at St Peter’s Primary School in Hindley where asthma inhalers are kept, gets his own and starts taking in the relieving drug.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1190818_i_love_me_josef_turns_to_asthma_book_to_understand_all_about_his_condition?rss=yes#comments 2010-01-28T18:26:31 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1189525_new_year_new_you_part_2?rss=yes AS a determined dieter over many, many years, I've always been looking for the “miracle” cure to shift those excess inches with the minimum of effort.

The founder of the Pineapple dance and fashion label was still a young model when an underactive thyroid led her to pile on the pounds and threaten her career.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1189523_healthy_the_hard_way?rss=yes#comments 2010-01-19T13:50:47 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/s/1189526_new_year_new_you_part_1?rss=yes I'VE always been a bit of a Strictly Come Dancing fan.

And having watched the hit BBC show religiously over the past six years I've seen how learning to dance has helped celebrities whittle the weight off in super-quick time – this year the pounds have dropped off the likes of Eastenders stars Natalie Cassidy and Ricky Groves after all that foxtrotting for our entertainment.

]]> news http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/s/1189526_new_year_new_you_part_1?rss=yes#comments 2010-01-19T13:55:44 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1187486_i_love_me_back_in_the_game?rss=yes PREMIER League referee Mark Halsey and his wife Michelle will breathe a huge sigh of relief when midnight finally strikes on December 31 and they can wave goodbye to 2009.

“It’s been a nightmarish year,” admits Mark, rubbing his hand over a head made bald by the chemotherapy treatments needed for a particularly aggressive throat cancer.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1187486_i_love_me_back_in_the_game?rss=yes#comments 2009-12-29T09:42:53 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/holidays/holiday_review/s/1188327_spa_special_molton_brown_manchester_?rss=yes WHEN I popped in to Molton Browns day spa I needed a reprieve from Christmas shoppers.

A brass band was playing, the German markets were in full swing and I was cold and crotchety.

]]> holiday review http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/holidays/holiday_review/s/1188327_spa_special_molton_brown_manchester_?rss=yes#comments 2010-01-07T15:01:41 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/holidays/holiday_review/s/1188328_spa_special_ragdale_hall_leicestershire?rss=yes THE fat burner class was full of women of all ages, sizes and backgrounds united by a common desire.

It was a chilly Monday morning, 10 days before Christmas and we could have been lounging around in squidgy chairs, lazing in a Jacuzzi, or sweating it out in a sauna. Instead we chose to sweat it out with an aerobics teacher.

Foul moods and bad tempers disappear with every stroke of the masseuse's hands, but with so much on offer these days it's hard to choose the spa which has it all - top treatments, expert staff with a spot of fine dining thrown in.

]]> holiday review http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/holidays/holiday_review/s/1188330_spa_special_the_malvern_malvern?rss=yes#comments 2010-01-08T11:11:51 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1184919_steal_cheryl_coles_style_with_a_fakeover?rss=yes EVER wanted to look like a WAG a la Cheryl Cole?

Well, me neither. But those women who do – but lack the obligatory millionaire footballer boyfriend – might be pleased to know that the look can be created without going under the knife and for less than you might think.

As is often the case in soapland, he’s nothing like the character he plays.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1184922_i_love_me_corries_conor_is_no_bad_boy?rss=yes#comments 2009-12-03T13:38:46 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1184916_how_you_can_look_sharp_on_hd_tv?rss=yes AS if celebrities didn't have enough to worry about, I hear the dawn of High Definition TV is sending some of those sensitive little lambs into a bit of a tizzy.

Because HD TV promises to give a sharper picture, it means potentially a five times closer look at every tiniest line on our TV stars' faces.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1184916_how_you_can_look_sharp_on_hd_tv?rss=yes#comments 2009-12-03T13:23:09 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1184080_i_love_me_a_safe_night_out?rss=yes SO you’ve got on your coolest outfit and you are definitely looking good. The last thing you want to know about is anything to do with a "safe night out"!

But, hang about. Perhaps you’d like to have plenty more good nights out, especially over Christmas when everywhere is buzzin’.

And when it comes to drinking too much, especially when we are out and about, we put ourselves into a potentially dangerous situation where we could become the victims of crime, violence or even sexual assault.

No-one wants to be thought of as a party-pooper or a Scrooge, but with a bit of careful planning you can cut both the cost and the calories of Christmas without losing your festive cheer.

Jade says: "The children learned of the dangers of smoking at school and when they said that it really made me think, plus it was costing so much money as well."

While shops are experiencing record footfall at this time of year, so too are doctors surgeries and A&E departments across the region.

"Christmas is a time when your home is likely to be full of people and it is in the excitement of the season that accidents can easily happen," says spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Jo Stagg.

Most of us know that whatever the advertising tries to sell us, there is no perfect Christmas. However, that doesn't make the pressure any less to try and achieve it.

England netball star Jade Clarke had just winded me with a clobbering chest pass and it was all I could do not to crumple to the squeaky gymnasium floor.

]]> health and beauty feature http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1183716_i_love_me_new_era_for_the_playground_game_?rss=yes#comments 2009-11-24T10:58:50 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1182906_beyond_the_pale?rss=yes TO be fair skinned is to be beautiful. Well that’s what I was told by my Asian neighbours when I was eight.

Skin colour had never been an issue for me but then I found myself looking at my brown skin and I was a bit confused. Was I really not beautiful because I was brown?

Hickman is thought to have made £6m selling fake and unlicensed Viagra-like prescription drugs – enough to buy a £500,000 country house, a £2.4m Chelsea flat and a home in Marbella.

"I felt a bit dizzy, and my eye started going all over the place," he recalls. "I started squinting. I thought I was going to pass out, so I went to the accident and emergency at Manchester Royal Infirmary."

Helen Tither meets Marple designer Yvonne Gillon to find out more about her 'cami confidential'.  

Helen Tither finds out what you could be doing to keep your cardiovascular fitness levels up at work.

Our experts came up with some top recipe ideas and store cupboard staples for Family of the Month winner Melissa Bell.

Helen Tither finds out how the I Love Me team got the health message across at some very special gigs - with help from Peter Andre, JLS and The Noisettes.

Helen Tither catches up with two volunteers who have tested it out and are looking forward to a flawless new start.

Read on to discover the best course of action for your situation.

Angela Kelly, one of the thousands who will drive all around the houses to avoid them, goes in search of a cure. 

Just think of how great you will look in that bikini...

She talks to Angela Epstein about how she is still finding the positives in life.

Staying active helps patients cope with the side effects of treatment and to maintain mobility.

Recent studies also suggest that higher levels of physical activity are associated with a reduced risk of the cancer coming back, and a longer survival after a cancer diagnosis.

He talks to Sarah Walters about his role in a charity football match on May 4 in support of the RNID - and a few of the other challenges in his life.

Our trainee athletes Dianne Bourne and Helen Tither joined the Bury-born actress for a jog and some advice ahead of the big day.

But when the chance came to tackle a military fitness course he couldn't wait to enlist.

Would he rise to the challenge? See how he fared playing soldier for the day.

Well, I was so bad I wasn't even picked for our junior netball team - I was made orange juice monitor. For the B team.

Since then I've done everything to avoid PE. But that's one of the things that sucks about being a grown-up. You can't get out of things with a note from your mum...

We meet one man with a stress-busting solution - after jacking in his job in investment banking to become a yoga teacher.

So, when I heard about a `revolutionary new non-surgical weight loss product' the Sweatz Vest I couldn't resist giving it a try.

According to researchers a good old chuckle can cut your risks of many diseases - from the common cold to cancer, boosting your life-expectancy rates into the bargain.

So when I was offered the chance to try some shoes promising to do just that, I was first off the starting block.

At an age when many women will reach for anything and everything in a bid to fight the signs of ageing, the 67-year-old fitness fan is so in shape she even keeps the Coronation Street cast on their toes.

Just weeks after pledging to turn over a healthy new leaf - and I've already fallen off the wagon (or should that be treadmill?).

Keep up with our column each week to see how our team are training - plus ideas on how you can get in shape for the big race.

Over the next few months, we will be trying all kinds of keep fit regimes to get in shape for the big day. But first, read why two of our team have decided to run for it.

As new figures reveal our ever-increasing enthusiasm for going under the knife, we speak to those still willing to pay for plastic surgery.

As new research reveals we are drinking  more than ever before, at home, we took to the streets of Manchester to find out who could work out the alcohol in an average glass.

New mum Nadine Smith kitted out her nursery, and had enough money left for a fab new wardrobe. We gave her an I Love Me makeover to celebrate.

We've rounded up top tips from health experts across Manchester to see what simple steps could change your lifestyle for the better. 

One mum from Prestwich, who has had the disease, explains why she thinks the jab will be a good idea. 

But can virtual world white lies lead to sucess finding a partner?

The valley was a patchwork of scorched earth interspersed with smooth yellow-green paddocks, a microcosm for the fires that ravaged everything in sight in some areas but left others unmarked.