AAP

FIX your diet, get active and change your lifestyle.

Michael Collins says the three-part formula offered by his weight loss business, fauk, is common sense.

But Mr Collins says common sense is in short supply when it comes to weight issues in this country.

He says that quick-fix milkshakes and magazine diets are sold in the media as the way to slim and trim instead of the sensible and healthy lifetime solution: eat better, move more.

“Like I say to clients, even though it's really common sense, the trouble is, no-one has given anyone any common sense,” he says.

Fauk's multi-pronged approach to weight revolves around eating, activity and lifestyle habits. Participants sign on for a program of a suggested six to 12 months, which gives them regular contact with and monitoring by experts in diet and nutrition, personal training and lifestyle choices.

Mr Collins acknowledges the basics behind the programs offered by his business are not new, but sees it as his job to steer clients to make the correct choices.

“It's an educational program. We talk to them and help them look at what they can achieve,” he says.

Mr Collins talks from experience.

Although trim, taught and terrific now, he was once a fatty – an obese teenager who managed to shake the kilograms with a popular weight loss program, only to pile them all on again.

His weight yo-yoed until he joined a gym, began exercising regularly and watched his diet. When his lifestyle changed, so did his body.

Mr Collins' weight has never been an issue since, and he pursued what has so far been a 17-year career in the health and fitness industry as a personal trainer.

After years of watching others ride the same weight yo-yo he did, it was apparent to him that people needed help making the permanent lifestyle changes needed to maintain a healthy weight, and fauk was born.

The name is a play on the word fork, chosen because of the business's multi-pronged approach to weight, although it lends itself to catchy – and slightly naughty – slogans on t-shirts that are sure to appeal to younger generations.

Mr Collins sees the younger generation as an obvious target for his program, as younger people are in a position to make lifestyle choices that are meaningful and permanent changes to their lives.

“We're trying to make it really appealing to the 18–40 age group. Nothing works like prevention. The older age group are set in their ways but the younger age group can change things now to prevent health issues in their 50s,” he says.

He says it is unfortunate that many people need to reach a health crisis before they are motivated to change.

“Some people have to have a major medical event. We're just aiming for people who are in that space at that time.”

As part of his commitment towards changing habits and obesity patterns, Mr Collins has taken his program into schools, starting with Woodridge. He is particularly keen to target schools in low socio-economic areas.

“People in the low socio-economic areas need to get good advice. There's a bit of confusion. The information that's out there in the public domain available to everyone is not necessarily correct all the time,” he says.

Mr Collins hopes to introduce his program to schools on the Sunshine Coast. For information, go to www.fauk.com.au