Kylie Gillies: "I have a treadmill but to use it I'd have to move the rake..."

TV presenter Kylie Gillies will happily give any excuse to avoid working out, but the truth is she'd rather just be outside with her family.

Kylie Gillies with her sons Archie (left) and gus. Picture: Nigel Lough.

TV presenter Kylie Gillies will happily give any excuse to avoid working out, but the truth is she'd rather just be outside with her family.

The Kylie Gillies photoshoot bears all the markers of impending disaster. Not only is it an outdoors, waterfront shoot on a wintery day, but her "props" include animals and her kids.

Fortunately, the presenter of Seven Network's The Morning Show isn't only a consummate professional, she's first and foremost a mum, wife and dog owner, so the shoot is a breeze - if also breezy, sandy and chilly.

"I'm a journalist, yes, and on TV two-and-a-half hours a day, five days a week, but my kids, hubby and Pepe [the family's French bulldog] are who count," Gillies says.

"Sure, today I interviewed Ralph Fiennes but I'm a mum and wife first and foremost - oh, and dog owner," she adds, brushing sand off her face left by a smoochy Pepe during the shoot.

This is Gillies' approach to life in general - no-fuss and down-to-earth. And the camera doesn't lie; she's as warm and easy-to-laugh off set as she comes across when she's entertaining viewers with co-presenter Larry Emdur.

Gillies credits her country upbringing in Tamworth for her easygoing and practical attitude, which also extends to her approach to health and fitness.

"I don't go to Pilates and have some strict fitness regimen," she says. "I'm more into 'incidental fitness'. With two boys [Gus, 11, and Archie, 9] who never stop, and a dog who's a little ball of energy, there's no chance for me to sit down and take it easy.

"The only time you'll really find me off my feet and sitting down during the day is when I'm next to Larry on the show."

FINDING THE TIME

Gillies had a small flirtation with being super-fit after a stint on Dancing With The Stars five years ago - in which she and her dance partner came third.

"After all the blood, sweat and tears that went into getting ready for that show, I didn't want to waste it so I hired a personal trainer for a while," she says.

"But I soon found that fitting in time to see the trainer was more stressful than keeping up my fitness so I stopped. OK, that's my excuse anyway…"

These days, she's more likely to "jog gently" with Pepe or next to her boys as they cycle at the park.

"I do have a treadmill but to use it I have to move boxes, the lawn edger and the rake, so I must admit I don't use it too often," she says. "I'm results-driven so I tend to need a goal. My personal fitness isn't motivating enough but making sure the dog gets walked and I play with the kids is."

While talking to Gillies, the chatter always comes back to family. She and husband Tony - who she's referred to as the love of her life - celebrated 25 years of wedded bliss in May.

The busy 47-year-old also makes sure she picks up her boys from school most afternoons, and the weekends revolve around transporting the kids to sport, walking Pepe and hanging out together. Meanwhile, family dinners aren't a gourmet affair. "It tends to be meat and three veg all the way - comfort food - and the chance to gather around the table and enjoy our precious family time."

GILLIES ON PETS, PEDIS AND GROWING OLDER IN PUBLIC

+ Her beauty regimen

"I don't have facials, I don't go to beauty parlours - but I do love to get my toenails done. That's my one guilty beauty indulgence."

+ Growing older on TV

"I'm more than my appearance but I also appreciate that if you're going to be on TV every day, it's important to make the best of what you have. But the pressure to look good comes only from me. I'm not paid to just look good - those people are models. I'm also paid to have something to say."

+ the work-life balance

"I'm a 'just do it' kind of girl. I don't try to analyse this work-life balance thing. Life is what happens. When I get stressed, I take my mum's advice - do one thing at a time and make sure you tick it off. "

+ Being a working mum

"I like that my boys see me working and busy and problem-solving. They see that while I love being a mum, I also really love my job. Sure, life is frantic, and I can get cranky, but hey, that's life - mums get cranky sometimes because we're not perfect."

+ Her French bulldog Pepe

"He's brought such joy to our lives, I feel he's really completed our family." Since Pepe came along almost two years ago, Gillies has been an ambassador for Hill's Pet Nutrition because, she says, "If we eat well, so should he."

This article first appeared on Body + Soul.