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      This 17-Day Slimdown Plan Will Help Get You Back In Shape

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      It’s three weeks to the big day and your weight-loss goal is just a faded note-to-self on last year’s calendar. Don’t freak out – this 17-day slimdown plan from WH’s nutrition advisor will have you zipping up your cocktail dress in record time.
      This eating plan contains mostly whole, minimally processed foods, limiting processed, high-salt foods and added sugars. To reduce the risk of bloating, typical gas-forming foods like beans, cabbage, onions, peppers, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and dried fruit have not been included.
      READ MORE: 28 Easy Food Swaps That’ll Help You Lose Weight
      Also avoid raw apple, watermelon and chewing gum that contains sorbitol if these make you bloated. Build your own meals according to your preferences by choosing one of the five to six options provided for each meal and snack. You can have the snack whenever it suits you. If you prefer not to snack, you can add it to one of your three meals. During the 17-day period, avoid caffeine: caffeinated coffee, tea (except rooibos), chocolate and energy drinks.
      READ MORE: 5 Ways To Measure Healthy Portion Sizes Without A Scale
      To maintain your new size, incorporate these eating tips into your diet going forward, or use this eating plan as a basis for creating a new, sustainably healthy way of eating.
      Download the meal plan and follow these tips for a new you in just 17 days!

      READ MORE: 3 Meal Prep Hacks That Will Make It Way Easier To Eat Healthily More

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      28 Easy Food Swaps That’ll Help You Lose Weight

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      There’s a simple hack that can boost your weight loss, leave you feeling fuller for longer and have you feeling more regular. It’s called fibre and this often-overlooked food can deliver major benefits to your body. Not only does it keep your system nice and clean, fibre has a genius move in its arsenal: the ability to keep you feeling fuller for longer, boosting satiety. That feeling of fullness is a major key in weight loss, prompting you to eat less instead of more. These genius food swaps find the high-fibre substitutes of other foods, which are often healthier, too.
      Why you need to switch up your food
      We all know our bodies need calcium for bones, vitamin C to fend off colds and chocolate to save relationships. But when it comes to losing weight, the nutritional information is a little more confusing. The mighty trilogy of nutrients – protein, carbohydrates and fat – garners most of the food industry’s attention, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that fibre needs to be the fourth leg of the dietary table.
      Study after study shows that not only does fibre help lower your risk of cancer, heart attack and high blood pressure, it also keeps you full and helps you decrease the total amount of kilojoules you consume every day. Trouble is, most of us think that getting the recommended 30g of fibre a day means eating cereal that tastes like the box it comes in. But that isn’t the case. You can sneak fibre into your diet anywhere…
      Food Swaps At Breakfast
      1. Spice up your eggs: A third of a cup of chopped onion and one clove of garlic will add one gram of fibre to scrambled eggs.
      2. Drop a whole orange into the blender to flavour your morning smoothie. One peeled orange has nearly three grams more fibre than even the pulpiest orange juice.
      3. Make your own fruit juice. Blend peeled, sliced and cored or pitted fresh fruit with a little cold water in a food processor. Drink immediately for the best nutritional value. A 250ml glass has more than one gram of fibre.
      4. Cook a bowl of oat bran instead of oats; it has nearly two grams more fibre. Add even more flavour and fibre by stirring in a quarter of a cup of raisins or chopped dates before popping it into the microwave.
      5. Sprinkle ground flaxseeds over your favourite cold cereal or stir a few spoonfuls into a cup of yoghurt. Two tablespoons of ground flaxseeds deliver almost an extra two grams of fibre.
      6. Grab an Asian pear. Similar in taste to other pears, the red-coloured Asian variety has an apple-like crispness and shape and, at four grams a pear, it delivers significantly more fibre.
      7. Buy spreadable fibre, like peanut butter, for your wholewheat toast. Two level tablespoons add three grams of fibre, along with a healthy dose of heart-protecting fats and nutrients like vitamin E.
      8. Make a smoothie using fruit or oats, as these contain at least two grams more fibre than blends that aren’t fruit-based or don’t include oats.
      READ MORE: 5 Ways To Measure Healthy Portion Sizes Without A Scale
      At lunch
      9. Try rye bread if you don’t like wholewheat for your sandwich. One slice has almost two grams of fibre – twice the amount found in white bread.
      10. Opt for quinoa instead of white rice and you’ll get six times more fibre per serving. Mixing in half a cup of lentils with the quinoa will add a nutty flavour, another six grams of fibre and a boost of folate and manganese.
      11. Stow a tin of microwavable soup in your desk for when you need to work through lunch. Woolworths’ Chunky Vegetable Soup packs as much as five grams of fibre per 400g portion.
      12. Shower your pasta with origanum or basil. A teaspoon of either chopped herb adds one gram of fibre. Order it with mushrooms and you’ll get an extra gram.
      13. Build your burger with a sesame-seed roll instead of the plain variety. Sesame seeds add half a gram of fibre per roll.
      14. Order your boerie roll with tomato-and-onion relish Every quarter-cup of the relish you pile on adds up to two grams of fibre to your meal, and having a wholewheat roll tops that up with another three grams.
      READ MORE: 3 Meal Prep Hacks That Will Make It Way Easier To Eat Healthily
      In the afternoon
      15. Drink chocolate milk, not plain milk. The combination of chocolate and the compounds needed to keep it suspended in the milk provides a gram of fibre in every 250ml serving.
      16. Pop a pack of reduced-oil popcorn instead of popping open a bag of potato chips. There are eight grams of fibre in every bag of popcorn.
      17. Enjoy a tomato juice and its two grams of fibre per 200ml tin. Go with the plain juice and avoid the cocktail version, which is high in sodium from the added salt and Worcester sauce.
      18. Graze on trail mix instead of a granola bar. Most granola bars have only one gram of fibre, while trail mix with dried fruit has nearly three grams.
      READ MORE: ‘Keto Crotch’ Might Be A Surprising Side Effect Of A Low-Carb Diet
      At dinner
      19. Toss half a cup of chickpeas into a pot of your favourite soup. They’ll absorb the flavour of the soup and tack six grams of fibre onto your bottom line.
      20. Swap a sweet potato for your standard spud. Sweet potatoes have two grams more fibre per tuber than the typical variety. Not a fan? At least eat the skin of the regular potato – that alone contains one gram of fibre.
      21. Go wild when you make rice. Cup for cup, wild rice has three times more fibre than white.
      22. Add some green to your red sauce. Doctor your favourite pasta sauce with half a cup of chopped spinach. The spinach will take on the flavour of the sauce and pad your fibre count by more than two grams.
      23. Cook wholewheat or spinach pasta instead of the usual semolina kind. A cup of either contains five grams of fibre.
      24. Cook broccoli, cauliflower and carrots and you’ll take in three to five grams of fibre per serving – nearly twice what you’ll get out of them if you eat them raw, as heat makes fibre more available.
      25. Add beans to give your bolognese a fibre boost. Substitute one part chopped, cooked beans for one part lean-beef mince. Cook both together to allow the beans to absorb the juices and seasoning. For every 100g of cooked beans, you get seven grams of fibre.
      READ MORE: Calories Vs Nutrients: What You Need To Know About Losing Weight
      For dessert
      26. Say nuts to chocolate bars. Bars with nuts, like Cadbury’s Whole Nut chocolate bar and Lunch Bars, have up to two grams of fibre – almost twice the fibre content of bars without nuts.
      27. Top a bowl of ice cream with sliced fresh berries in lieu of a chocolate topping. Half a cup of raspberries provides four grams of fibre; strawberries and blueberries pack half that amount.
      28. Try a slice of apple tart or a bowl of fresh fruit salad and you’ll add at least an extra three to five grams of fibre. Cake doesn’t have nearly as much. More

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      in fitness and body

      5 Genius Treadmill Hacks That Shave Off More Kilos

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      If you’re trying to lose weight but run at the same speed and incline every time you hit the treadmill, you can run right into a rut that’s boring and lacking in kilojoule-torching power. The good news is jogging on the treadmill can go from a tedious trek to a quick fat-burning session. All it takes is a bit of know-how and strategic programming that’ll not only improve your speed, but your weight loss capacity, too.
      1. Mix It Up
      Exercise’s role in weight loss may seem easy: To lose weight, you need to burn more kilojoules, says Janet Hamilton, an exercise physiologist at Running Strong. You can do that by upping your intensity or your duration. The problem is that if you work too close to your maximum heart rate, you might tire out too quickly. But if you run slow and steady you’ll have to go a long time to see results.
      The happy medium is variety, says Hamilton. On some days, take your usual 20 to 30 minutes a little bit faster. On other days, go longer and slower – for about an hour or so.
      READ MORE: 10 Ways To Motivate Yourself To Hit the Gym After Work
      2. Master Your Speed
      Intervals – or short bursts of sprinting sprinkled throughout a workout – are one of the easiest ways to cut time off your workout (score!) and centimetres off your waist. In fact, a study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that ladies who ran hard for two minutes (then slowed down for three minutes) burned more kilojoules the day after their workout than those who went the slow and steady route.
      What’s even better: They dropped four per cent of their body fat in the coming weeks. The group who did low-intensity, steady workouts didn’t lose any.
      Start with intervals in 1:2 or 1:1 ratios, says Hamilton. That means upping your speed for 30 to 60 seconds, then dropping it for the same amount of time or double that. Choose a speed that’s an effort you could hold for between two and five minutes, says Hamilton. You want to feel invigorated, not exhausted. You can build up to higher intensities, but how hard to go all depends on your experience – so first check out where you fall with this new treadmill workout you have to try.
      3. Do Hills the Smart Way
      Up your incline, up your kilojoule burn – it sounds simple. Unfortunately, running or walking on a steep incline can be hard on your body. “Most people instinctively know that, but when we get on the treadmill, we lose that common sense, crank up the incline, and hold on for dear life,” says Hamilton.
      READ MORE: How To Get A Strength-Training Workout On The Treadmill
      Instead of setting the incline and forgetting it, pretend you’re outside, says Hamilton. Learn to go up a hill at the same effort you’re going at a flat road. That might mean dropping your speed a little, but “this is an opportunity to build strength in your hips and legs, working them a little harder.”
      You can also try incline intervals, she says. Crank the incline up between 2 and 4 per cent for one to two minutes, let your speed drop 0.1 or 0.2, then bring your incline back down to 0 for that same amount of time and repeat. Once you’ve mastered maintaining your effort on a hill, work to maintain speed.
      4. Some Days, Just Keep Going
      We’ve all had those miraculous days where eight kilometres feels like four. “Just doing a longer workout will burn about 50 percent more kilojoules,” says Hamilton. Instead of running for 30 minutes, going for 45 increases your duration and calorie burn by 50 per cent. While this isn’t a good everyday technique (hello, boredom and plateaus), switching up your routine with some longer runs is a great way to up your kilojoule burn without a ton of effort.
      READ MORE: 19 Slider Exercises That Will Make Your Abs And Glutes WORK
      5. Don’t Ditch Other Workouts
      Research published in The Journal of Applied Physiology suggests that the best way to lose weight isn’t doing the same routine over and over again. Finding the perfect mix of resistance training, intervals, endurance, and stretching will help you meet your goal faster. More

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      5 Ways To Measure Healthy Portion Sizes Without A Scale

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      The Association for Dietetics (ADSA)  in South Africa held a Twitter Talk on #HealthyNutrition4All, which highlighted how South Africans are becoming one of the most obese populations in the world! Some of that is attributed to unhealthy lifestyle habits, but a hefty portion can contribute a lot to the statistic. Here, dietitians, The Heart & Stroke Foundation SA, FoodBank SA, Soil For Life and the Department of Health share tips on measuring your meal’s healthy portion sizes – without a scale.
      Use The Plate Model
      The Heart Foundation recommends using a plate to estimate how much starch, meat and vegetables you should eat. Half your plate should be veggies, a quarter starch and the rest protein.
      READ MORE: 5 Portion Control Tips You’ve Probably Never Heard Before
      Use Your Hands
      Dietician Maryke Gallagher advises that you should measure food with your fist. One portion of fruit should be the size of your fist. Also use your palm to measure how much protein, etc. you should be eating. A palm is the size estimate of your protein portion, your fist is the size of a starch portion and your full hand (or more) is the size of a veg portion.
      Know When You’re Full
      Dietician, Karlien Duvenhage, believes it’s important to be in tune with your body and start learning when you are hungry or full.
      READ MORE: What Really Happens To Your Body (And Brain) On A Detox Diet?
      Go Mini
      The Heart Foundation suggests you eat out of a small bowl, with smaller utensils and cups to make the meal appear ‘fuller’. Use a smaller bowl for rice and noodle dishes instead of a giant one; try eating your regular meals from side plates instead of full-size plates. This tricks your brain into thinking you’re eating a bigger meal and also makes you feel more satisfied with what you’ve eaten if it looks like a large portion of food, when really it’s a healthy portion.
      Your Portion Size Go-To Guide
      Meat should be the size of a deck of cards; carbohydrate portions (rice, bread, noodles and spaghetti) the size of a tennis ball; fat (bacon rind, oil, mayonnaise), the size your thumb; and veg is a free for all, according to dietician Jade Seeliger.
      READ MORE: Here’s Exactly How To Start Working Out Again, After A Winter Hibernating More

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      Caley Jäck’s Simple Formula For Sticking To A Healthy Lifestyle

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      If you’re anything like a normal person, you’d almost always pick a pizza over a salad. Or an extra hour’s nap over waking up early to work out. And like any normal person, you’d still much rather resemble the glowy, sculpted goddess that is our cover girl and Les Mills trainer Caley Jäck. But to achieve this physique and look amazing, there’s a certain amount of resilience that comes with sticking to a healthy lifestyle.
      Of course, queries from people wanting to carve out such a healthy lifestyle are not unheard of for Caley, who’s been a fitness trainer for a long time. She’s also a pre-and post-natal instructor, and many women seek a return to their bodies before giving birth. Here, we’ve teased out bits of wisdom from our interview with her to reveal a down-to-earth approach that shapes her habits – and can help you, too.
      1. Keep It Simple
      A lot of modern-day weight loss and health messaging can be conflicting, misleading and downright confusing. There are so many superfood blends, protein powders and supplements that you’d be forgiven for not knowing where to start. “Keep it as simple as possible,” says Caley. “If it’s creating too much anxiety to integrate into your week, why implement that?” If you can’t find the time to cook a full breakfast, find a way to make it quick and easy, like a fast smoothie or overnight oats.
      READ MORE: Calories Vs Nutrients: What You Need To Know About Losing Weight
      2. See To Your Baseline
      When it comes to supplements, powders and health tonics, Caley is reluctant to jump on the bandwagon. “I really feel that you need to prioritize your baseline nutrition,” she says. “If you can’t consume a full meal, a protein shake is maybe the best way to get your body to absorb [nutrients]. Do that because it works for your lifestyle,” says Caley. “But don’t let that be your meal replacement. Rather try and if possible, prioritize a good, wholesome plate of food.”
      READ MORE: Can CLA Safflower Oil Supplements Really Help You Lose Weight?

      3. Spend Time Learning About Portion Sizes
      “I’ve never been one that’s able to follow a diet or like an eating plan as such,” says Caley. “I do find there is a benefit in learning more about how to balance your macros.” While physically cutting and measuring portions might be too finicky for you, a simple chart about the correct portions of food goes a long way in figuring out a good balance on your plate. For Caley, this means happily allowing herself to have a muffin – with butter and cheese – but halving her portions. She demonstrates with her plate: “So like okay, I’m not going to have this whole piece of butter. But I’m going to have that section of butter because that is proportion to what my body needs,” she says. Focusing on what your body needs rather than what you want can be a big driver of change.
      READ MORE: I Tried The Planet Fitness FitBuddy App – Here’s What I Think
      4. Commit To The Change
      If you’re trying to stick to a healthy lifestyle, you’ll have to accept that it’ll be uncomfortable for a little while. But that’s the case with any change. “I feel like if you create a of change within your lifestyle, and you integrate that every day, that’s when it becomes habitual. And when it’s habitual, you don’t have to think about it,” she says. “Anything that requires change takes time and it feels uncomfortable in the beginning. But if you’re wanting to create change, and if you’re wanting to hit certain goals, you need to create change.”

      READ MORE ON: Health Goals Healthy Eating Tips Weight Loss Tips More

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      I Tried The Planet Fitness FitBuddy App – Here’s What I Think

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      The Planet Fitness FitBuddy app to marries your gym membership with your goals and your real-life schedule.
      When it comes to workout apps, there are truly no shortages. The global lockdown did nothing if not create an even sturdier offering as we all attempted to get buff within the confines of our four walls.
      But as we came out of lockdown, some apps stuck around on our phones. I tried the Planet Fitness FitBuddy app and wondered if it was going to be a staple addition in my phone’s fitness folder – and it delivered.
      What is the Planet Fitness FitBuddy app?
      It’s a workout app, but like the term “fit buddy” denotes, you’re held accountable. When you sign up, you’re assigned a real coach at Planet Fitness, who loads workouts for you in the app to hit your desired goals. You’re also asked to log your meals in an associated app that’s sent to you to download.
      Unlike other workout apps, where you scroll through a variety of workouts and pick the one you feel up to, FitBuddy has scheduled workouts loaded in it, and you do the workout designated for you by your trainer.
      If you have a smartwatch, you can sync the data to the app so your steps, caloric expenditure and heart rate information can be tracked, too.

      READ MORE:  “I Did A 30-Day Push-up Challenge—Here’s What Happened”
      I Tried The FitBuddy App
      When I downloaded the app, I expected to scroll through workouts, pick one, do it, and share my achievement, like every other fitness app. But this app is a bit more involved than others – and it’s great. I got an email from my trainer, Tokey, who scheduled a call with me to chat about my fitness goals, how often I exercise and any other niggling issues I had. I told him I wanted to improve my surfing ability and that I’ve been trying to ditch about 10 kilos for a few years. We spoke about my eating habits, how often I train, the kind of training I do, and a few other lifestyle preferences.
      Then, he devised a training programme for me and input the data into my app. I was to do three workouts a week, totalling 20 minutes each, and he left room for my surfing sessions (which I can also log in the app, along with any other extra activities).
      READ MORE: 11 Best New Running Shoes That’ll Inspire Your Next PB
      At first, I struggled to find my way around the app, until I realised that I didn’t necessarily need to explore anything, but rather just open it, navigate to my scheduled workout and do it.
      Taking the brain work out of losing weight and being healthy is one of the huge benefits of an app like this. Without having to think about anything, you’re less likely to come up with an excuse or feel fatigued after scrolling through different workouts before actually committing to one.
      READ MORE: Quick HIIT Warm Up: Blast More KJs By Doing These 3 Moves First
      Added to that, Tokey sends me regular messages, checking in on my progress. He’s also able to see if I’ve skipped a workout or failed to log a few meals, which is excellent if you’re serious about making progress. Because there’s a real human being at the other end of the phone, if anything is bothering you, it can be fixed, which I really appreciated. I have a niggly back that’s been lousy from overuse, and my workouts are adjusted nicely to make up for that.
      Overall, this is one app I’d recommend if you’re looking to get serious about your progress and goals. Plus, you don’t have to be a Planet Fitness member to join at all. Keen to try it? Book a consultation here.

      READ MORE ON: Fitness Gear Fitness Trackers WH Tests It More

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      Is When You Eat More Important Than What You Eat?

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      Many people worry about gaining weight if they eat later than a certain time. But does it matter when you eat? Is this time really more important than what you eat?
      There’s been a ridiculous amount of research into whether you’ll gain weight if you eat (dinner) after 8pm. The results of the studies are not always consistent. In one study, there was no association between eating late and being overweight, while other researchers found that those who ate after 8 p.m. consumed more calories than previous eaters. Those extra kilojoules can actually lead to weight gain. In general, you do not seem to gain extra weight if you eat late at night, but then you should eat a healthy and varied diet during the day.
      READ MORE: Can Acupuncture Really Help You Lose Weight? We Asked The Experts
      Food Choices
      Don’t be blinded by the times. In reality, what you eat is much more important than when you eat. In addition, the problem is that late eaters often tend to eat more, and less healthily. Regardless of the timing, eating more kilojoules will automatically lead to weight gain. So eating in the evening can only lead to weight gain if you eat a surplus of ‘joules.
      Furthermore, eating late can affect certain food choices. Late at night, you are more likely to choose unhealthy foods. These foods often contain little nutritional value, such as chips, soda and ice cream. This is partly due to emotional eating and fatigue. In either case, you crave less healthy, high-kilojoule foods .
      READ MORE: 12 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight While Doing Intermittent Fasting, According To An RD
      Meal Timing
      While the total number of calories you eat ultimately affects your weight, research shows that there are ways to regulate your appetite through meal timing and frequency.
      Several studies indicate that eating a high-kilojoule breakfast can keep you feeling full for longer and potentially prevent overeating in the evening. In one study, people who ate a 2510kJ breakfast had less appetite and significantly less hunger throughout the day than people who ate half the kilojoules for breakfast. In particular, the appetite for sweets was reduced.
      Late night snack
      Also, eating several small meals can help control your appetite and reduce hunger pangs throughout the day. So experiment with the timing and size of your meals. If you still feel like a late night snack, it is best to go for these foods.
      This article was first published on womenshealthmag.com/nl
      READ MORE: 5 Obesity Causes That Prove It’s Way More Complicated Than Just Eating Too Much

      READ MORE ON: Healthy Eating Tips Weight Loss Tips More

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      Ace Your Body Goals And Make A Killer Comeback!

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      Have you been struggling to find your groove and stay on track when it comes to eating, living and thinking healthily? Sounds like the effects of spending too much time in the comfort of your home with only your own mind to bounce your thoughts off of. We get the struggle. Life in our new normal can be a positive experience on one day and completely depressing the next – and our eating habits can easily follow the same trend. All in today and all out tomorrow. While practicing self-care means being kind to yourself when you make mistakes, it also means being able to stand your ground when it comes to doing what is best for your body, even when you don’t want to.
      Get on track
      We get that it is hard to stay motivated when the world can seem like a pretty dark place right now, but we also know that a healthy lifestyle can keep your immune system strong and save you from the downward spiral in your mood and wellbeing in general. That is why we’re looking at different programmes that can help keep us motivated and on track…
      iNova Pharmaceuticals’ iLiveLite2Gain plan, is one such programme, made to help you get back into the swing of things by creating a community to keep you accountable and excited about your goal.
      iLiveLite2Gain
      The 12-week programme is designed to help you reach your weight-loss goals by equipping you with expert-led tools and tips to change your life. iLiveLite2Gain takes a holistic approach that incorporates long-term changes to diet and increased physical activity. It also helps with realistic goal-setting, community support and regular weigh-ins to help you stay motived along the journey.
      What you get when you sign up to the iLiveLite2Gain programme:
      12 weeks of nutrition support including expert-designed meal plans, recipes and a food diary
      Tips on increasing activity levels, an exercise programme and an exercise diary designed by a personal trainer
      Regular weigh-ins and a measurement tracker to help you feel a real sense of achievement when reaching your goals
      Tons of tips and motivation through videos from experts such as doctors, dietitians and personal trainers
      Sound like something you’d need to help you get back on track? Visit www.ilivelite.co.za to find out more about what the plan entails, or to sign up!

      READ MORE ON: Sponsored Weight Loss More