When it comes to health and fitness we women, have really taken charge.

Long ago, being fit was just a thought, today it's a state of mind as well as body.

However, there is one woman who can claim to being fit both mentally and physically, former Miss World, wife and mother, Giselle La Ronde-West.

Though she does not claim to being a "fitness buff', La Ronde-West is an all around busy-body. With her time-consuming job as Public Relations Officer at the Trinidad Hilton; attending to her three-year-old son, Kyle; public speaking now and then; and the occasional modeling stints, the former beauty queen's life is a hectic routine.

A member of the Shotokan Karate International Federation of TT (S.K.I.F.T.T.) for the past six years La Ronde-West believes that one needs to be active in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It is necessary for one to keep their whole body in synergy. Also, under the guidance of her Sensei, Neville Mason, she has learnt the importance of incorporating mental fitness into her daily routine, because as she pointed out "healthy living is not all about the physical."

La Ronde-West admits to being a competitor and a great lover of any type of sporting activity having been involved in sports like badminton, volleyball, athletics and swimming since her teenage years.

Though she laughingly admits to not eating as healthy as she should, she does however drink a lot of fruit juices, and also eats lots of salads. "Salads can be varied in so many ways and are so healthy, you can have seafood salad, your plain salad or a simple fruit salad," she says.

When asked about whether or not she follows some sort of fitness regime or pattern other than her karate, she mentioned that she tries as much as possible to incorporate subtle stretches and positions into her daily routine, and recommends that other women try this at home.

"When lifting my son off the floor," says La Ronde-West "I don't just bend, I may squat or step in a lunging position to pick him up. Moving around furniture, sitting with my legs crossed to watch television, and doing isometrics helps me to achieve that toned look, plus of course my karate."

"Being active as I have noticed, also allows one to be more aware and more sociable," she points out. "And in the long run it allows me to be more confident about myself both mentally and physically."

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