The Truth About Fasting

So, what’s a fast?

Simply put, it means you stop eating completely, or almost completely, for a certain stretch of time. A fast usually lasts from 12 to 24 hours, but some types continue for days at a time. In some cases, you may be allowed water, tea, and coffee, or even a small amount of food during the “fasting period.”

Turns out, we’ve been doing this for a while.

Fasting is common to just about every major religious tradition, like Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates believed it helped the body heal itself. During Ramadan, many Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, every day for a month. This has provided scientists with quite a bit of information about what happens to your body when you fast, and the news is mostly good.

What motivates people to fast?

Besides religious practice, there are several health reasons. First, as you might guess, is weight loss. There’s also research showing that certain types of fasting may help improve your cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose levels, insulin sensitivity, and other health issues.

Yes, You’ll feel like you’re starving.

Well, at least in the beginning. After a few days, however, the hunger usually gets better. Fasting is different from dieting in that it’s not about trimming calories or a certain type of food — it’s not eating at all, or severely cutting back, for a certain amount of time.

How safe is it to fast?

Brief fasting isn’t likely to hurt you if you’re a healthy adult, whether your weight is normal or you’re heavier. Still, your body needs good nutrition and fuel to thrive. So make sure to talk to your doctor first, especially if you have health problems or take any kind of medication. If you’re pregnant, breastfeeding or you have a history of eating disorders, you should avoid fasting of any kind. Kids and teens shouldn’t fast either.

What am I allowed to eat then?

When you’re not fasting, you can eat the food you normally would. Of course, you shouldn’t load up on lots of french fries and doughnuts. But studies seem to show that your health changes for the better when you fast, even if your diet does not. You should still add more fruits, veggies, and whole grains, too, if you don’t already eat enough of them.

“I’m likely to just eat more later”, you might reason.

You might. Still, you should try to eat a healthy amount of food and not stuff yourself after a fast. Quality still counts. But even among people who eat the same number of calories, those who fast tend to have lower blood pressure, higher insulin sensitivity, more appetite control, and easier weight loss.

What is Intermittent Fasting?

This is an off-and-on type of fasting. There are three main types that doctors have studied and people have used for weight loss and improved health:

1. Time-restricted feeding
2. Alternate-day fasting
3. Modified fasting

Time-Restricted Feeding

This means you do all your eating in a certain stretch of the day, often around 8-12 hours. One easy way to do this is to skip one meal. If you finish dinner by 8 p.m., you’ve already achieved 12 hours of your fast by 8 a.m. Make it to noon for lunch, and you’ve fasted for 16 hours. You could also stop eating after lunch until breakfast the next morning.

Alternate-Day Fasting

It’s sometimes called “complete” alternate day fasting because the time when you don’t eat lasts a full 24 hours. You follow that with one or more “feast” days when you can eat as much as you want. Even though the studies are very limited, the results suggest that alternate-day fasting can lead to weight loss and improve health. But it may be pretty hard to stick to it over the long term.

Modified Fasting

This type allows you to eat around 20% to 25% of your normal daily energy needs on scheduled fast days — just enough to remind you what you’re missing! One popular version, the 5:2 diet, requires 2 days a week (not in a row) of 24-hour “fasting” except for a very light meal. On the other 5 days of the week, you can eat whatever you want.

Too Tough?

Complete, alternate-day fasting could be very hard to stick with over the long term. But other versions of fasting seem to get easier over time. You and your doctor may want to look into the specific plans to see what might be best for you.

Diabetes

Some studies show that fasting might help people with diabetes or prediabetes control blood sugar, improve insulin sensitivity, and lose weight. Other recent research looking at time-restricted fasting disputes some of these claims. If you have either of these conditions, it’s very important to talk to your doctor before you make any changes to your medication, insulin use, or eating habits.

Athletes

Weight training may help you shed more body fat — but not muscle — when added to any weight loss program. Aerobic exercise like running, swimming or biking while on a time-restricted eating plan might help your cholesterol levels as well as cut down on belly fat. Still, you need good fuel. Make sure you cover your nutritional needs.

Strength & Conditioning

We offer a personalized, 1 on 1 10-week exercise and nutrition program with a certified personal trainer, in our private, purpose-built gym. Sessions would be three times per week, at 30 minutes per session. Participants perform three to six different strength exercises in a typical session, doing three sets of eight to 12 repetitions (each set lasting 25 to 35 seconds) for each exercise. The exercises change from session to session, progressing in intensity from week to week. Your personal trainer will gradually increase your weight load, roughly doubling in 10 weeks.

This is an intensive program and participants are carefully supervised by a Certified Personal Trainer. As your personal trainer, I highly recommend that before you embark on a similar program you book a consult with me, an exercise specialist who can help design a program for your needs and make sure that you’re doing the exercises correctly.

I also cannot stress the importance of consulting with your doctor or healthcare provider before you embark on a new exercise regimen. As your personal trainer all programs I offer require you to undergo a physical activity readiness questioner as your health and safety needs precede all aesthetic goals.

Tiger Athletic is a modern, private, appointment-only gym in Sandton, Johannesburg using a rigorous, results-focused methodology we are passionate about helping you be the healthiest version of yourself, so you can lead a more fulfilling personal and professional life.

Our sessions are strictly 1 on 1 just you and your trainer. There is nobody else in the gym and all equipment used is sanitized at the end of each session for the safety of all my clients.

Let’s Workout.

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Lacto – Vegetarian Diet For Weight Loss

Indian cuisine is known for its vibrant spices, fresh herbs and wide variety of rich flavours. Though diets and preferences vary throughout India, most people follow a primarily plant-based diet. Around 80% of the Indian population practices Hinduism, a religion that promotes a vegetarian or lacto-vegetarian diet.

The traditional Indian diet emphasizes a high intake of plant foods like vegetables, lentils and fruits, as well as a low consumption of meat. However, obesity is a rising issue in the Indian population. With the growing availability of processed foods, India has seen a surge in obesity and obesity-related chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.

This article explains how to follow a healthy Indian diet that can promote weight loss. It includes suggestions about which foods to eat and avoid and a sample menu for one week.

A Healthy Traditional Indian Diet

Traditional plant-based Indian diets focus on fresh, whole ingredients — ideal foods to promote optimal health.

Why Eat a Plant-Based Indian Diet?

Plant-based diets have been associated with many health benefits, including a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers such as breast and colon cancer. Additionally, the Indian diet has been linked to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers believe this is due to the low consumption of meat and emphasis on vegetables and fruits. Following a healthy plant-based Indian diet may not only help decrease the risk of chronic disease, but it can also encourage weight loss.

What Food Groups Does It Include?

The Indian diet is rich in nutritious foods like grains, lentils, healthy fats, vegetables, dairy and fruits. The diets of most Indian people are heavily influenced by religion, particularly Hinduism. The Hindu religion teaches nonviolence and that all living things should be valued equally.

That’s why a lacto-vegetarian diet is encouraged, and eating meat, poultry, fish and eggs is discouraged. Lacto-vegetarians do, however, eat dairy products. A healthy lacto-vegetarian diet should focus on grains, lentils, dairy, vegetables, fruits and healthy fats like coconut oil.

Spices such as turmeric, fenugreek, coriander, ginger and cumin are at the forefront of traditional dishes, adding rich flavour and powerful nutritional benefits. Turmeric, one of the most popular spices used in India, is celebrated for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anticancer properties. A compound in turmeric called curcumin has been found to fight inflammation in the body, improve brain function and reduce risk factors of heart disease.

Summary

A healthy Indian diet focuses on lacto-vegetarian guidelines and emphasizes grains, lentils, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, dairy and spices.

Healthy Foods to Eat

There are many delicious foods and beverages to choose from when following a lacto-vegetarian diet for weight loss.

What to Eat

Try incorporating the following ingredients into your daily meal plan:

1. Vegetables – Tomatoes, spinach, eggplant, mustard greens, okra, onions, bitter melon, cauliflower, mushrooms, cabbage and more
2. Fruits – Mango, papaya, pomegranate, guava, oranges, tamarind, lychee, apples, melon, pears, plums, bananas
3. Nuts and seeds – Cashews, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, watermelon seeds and more
4. Legumes – Mung beans, black-eyed peas, kidney beans, lentils, pulses and chickpeas
5. Roots and tubers – Potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, yams
6. Whole grains – Brown rice, basmati rice, millet, buckwheat, quinoa, barley, corn, whole-grain bread, amaranth, sorghum
7. Dairy – Cheese, yogurt, milk, kefir, ghee
8. Herbs and spices – Garlic, ginger, cardamom, cumin, coriander, garam masala, paprika, turmeric, black pepper, fenugreek, basil and more
9. Healthy fats – Coconut milk, full-fat dairy, avocado, coconut oil, mustard oil, olive oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, ghee
10. Protein – Tofu, legumes, dairy, nuts and seeds

Meals and snacks should focus on fresh, whole foods flavoured with herbs and spices. Additionally, adding non-starchy vegetables like greens, eggplants or tomatoes to your meals will provide a boost of fibre that can help you feel satisfied for a longer period after eating.

What to Drink?

An easy way to cut back on excess calories and sugar is to avoid sugar-sweetened beverages and juices. These drinks can be high in both calories and sugar, which can negatively affect weight loss. Water, Sparkling water, Unsweetened tea including Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri teas

Summary

A healthy Indian diet should focus on fresh ingredients such as vegetables, fruits, tubers, legumes, whole grains, healthy fats and unsweetened beverages.

Unhealthy Foods to Avoid

Choosing foods and beverages that are highly processed, loaded with sugar or high in calories can sabotage your weight loss efforts. Not only are items like sweets, fried foods and soda not good for weight loss, they aren’t good for overall health. Eating too much processed food and products laden with sweeteners can increase the risk of chronic diseases. For example, drinking sugar-sweetened beverages like soft drinks, fruit punch and juices every day has been associated with increased risks of diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Consuming unhealthy foods can make it harder for you to lose fat and maintain a healthy weight.

For optimal health, minimize the following foods or avoid them altogether:

1. Sweetened beverages – Soda, fruit juice, sweetened tea, sweet lassi, sports drinks
2. High-sugar foods – Sweets, ice cream, cookies, rice pudding, pastries, cakes, sweetened yogurt, high-sugar cereals, digestive biscuits
3. Sweeteners – Jaggery, sugar, honey, condensed milk
4. Sweetened sauces – Salad dressings with added sugar, ketchup, barbecue sauce, sweetened curries
5. High-fat foods – Fast food like McDonald’s, French fries, chips, fried foods, bhujia
6. Refined grains – Products including white bread, white pasta, biscuits
7. Trans fats – Margarine, Vanaspati, fast food, highly processed foods
8. Refined oils – Canola oil, soybean oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil

It’s okay to enjoy an occasional treat, limiting the foods and beverages listed above is best for overall health.

Summary

Avoiding sweetened beverages, fast food, fried items and products high in added sugar can help you lose weight and get healthier.

A Healthy Indian Sample Menu for One Week

Below is a healthy one-week Indian sample menu that focuses on fresh, nutritious food. You can adjust it according to your calorie needs, dietary restrictions and food preferences.

Monday

1. Breakfast – Sambar with brown rice idli
2. Lunch – Whole-grain roti with mixed-vegetable curry
3. Dinner – Tofu curry with mixed vegetables and a fresh spinach salad

Tuesday

1. Breakfast – Chana dal pancakes with mixed vegetables and a glass of milk
2. Lunch – Chickpea curry with brown rice
3. Dinner – Khichdi with sprout salad

Wednesday

1. Breakfast – Apple cinnamon porridge made with milk and topped with sliced almonds
2. Lunch – Whole-grain roti with tofu and mixed vegetables
3. Dinner – Palak paneer with brown rice and vegetables

Thursday

1. Breakfast – Yogurt with sliced fruits and sunflower seeds
2. Lunch: Whole-grain roti with vegetable subji
3. Dinner – Chana masala with basmati rice and green salad

Friday

1. Breakfast – Vegetable dalia and a glass of milk
2. Lunch – Vegetable sambar with brown rice
3. Dinner – Tofu curry with potato and mixed vegetables

Saturday

1. Breakfast – Multigrain parathas with avocado and sliced papaya
2. Lunch – Large salad with rajma curry and quinoa
3. Dinner – Lentil pancakes with tofu tikka masala

Sunday

1. Breakfast – Buckwheat porridge with sliced mango
2. Lunch – Vegetable soup with whole-grain roti
3. Dinner – Masala-baked tofu with vegetable curry

Drinking water, seltzer or unsweetened tea with and between meals will keep you hydrated without adding extra calories. Make sure to consume plenty of non-starchy vegetables at every meal, as well as sources of healthy fat and protein. This will keep you feeling full throughout the day and reduce the chances of you overeating.

Summary

A healthy lacto-vegetarian meal plan should be rich in vegetables, fruits, vegetarian protein sources and healthy fats.

Healthy Snack Options

Replacing high-calorie, sugary snacks with healthier options can promote weight loss and help keep you on track towards your weight loss goals. Like meals, nutritious snacks should revolve around w, whole ingredients.

Here are some weight loss friendly snack ideas:

1. Small handful of nuts
2. Sliced fruit with unsweetened yogurt
3. Vegetable chaat
4. Sprout salad
5. Roasted pumpkin seeds
6. Sliced fruit with nuts or nut butter
7. Roasted chickpeas (channa)
8. Hummus with vegetables
9. Bean salad
10. Salted popcorn
11. Unsweetened kefir
12. Homemade trail mix
13. Fennel seeds
14. Fresh fruit with cheese
15. Broth-based vegetable soup

If you are craving a sweet snack to have with evening tea, swapping out your usual dessert for fresh, sliced fruit might do the trick. For another healthy dessert option, top unsweetened yogurt with cooked fruit and crunchy nuts for a satisfying combination.

Summary

When choosing a snack, pick a nutritious option that is low in sugar and high in nutrients. Vegetables, fruit, cheese, nuts, seeds and unsweetened yogurt all make excellent snack choices.

Smart Ways to Lose Weight

Aside from focusing on fresh, whole foods, there are other lifestyle changes that can help you lose weight. What’s more, adopting the following healthy habits can help you maintain a healthy weight over your lifetime.

Increase Activity

To create a calorie deficit that will help you lose weight, it’s critical to increase the amount of activity in your day. Find an activity that you enjoy, whether it be a sport or working out at the gym. Even if you don’t exercise formally, try increasing the number of steps you take every day. It’s a simple way to burn more calories and get fit. To lose weight, aim for a goal of 10,000 steps per day and work up to that goal over time.

Practice Mindful Eating. Many people eat on the run or consume meals while they’re distracted. Instead, make a point to focus on your meals and pay attention to feelings of hunger and fullness. It’s a great way to get more in tune with your body. Eating more slowly can also promote weight loss by increasing feelings of fullness and decreasing hunger. Another useful habit to control your food intake is to avoid eating in front of the television or while surfing the web.

Make Smart Choices

Eating healthy can be a challenge, so set goals ahead of time and stick to them. This can help you maintain your plan, even when you are feeling tempted to make an unhealthy food choice, such as when you’re socializing with friends or family. Reminding yourself why you want to get healthier in the first place can make you feel empowered and lead you to make smarter food and lifestyle decisions.

Summary

Being more active, practicing mindful eating and reminding yourself of your health and wellness goals are excellent tools that can help you stay on track.

A Weight Loss Friendly Shopping List

Having ingredients on hand to prepare nutritious meals and snacks at home is vital for weight loss. Stock your refrigerator and pantry with healthy foods. It will motivate you to test out your cooking skills and try new recipes. Research shows that people who cook more meals at home are more likely to have better overall diet quality, a healthier weight and less body fat than those who eat meals at home infrequently.

Here are some healthy items to add to your shopping list:

1. Vegetables – Greens, cauliflower, herbs, carrots, peppers, garlic, eggplant
2. Fruits – Apples, strawberries, mango, papaya, banana, grapes
3. Frozen produce – Mixed vegetables and frozen fruits
4. Grains – Oats, millet, quinoa, whole-grain breads, brown rice
5. Legumes – Lentils, pulses, beans
6. Nuts – Almonds, pistachios, cashews
7. Seeds – Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, lotus seeds
8. Dairy – Milk, unsweetened yogurt, unsweetened kefir, cheeses, curd
9. Condiments – Sea salt, pepper, turmeric, ginger, paprika, cinnamon
10. Starchy vegetables – Potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnip, pumpkin, corn
11. Proteins – Tofu, dairy products, legumes, hummus
12. Healthy fats – Olive oil, unsweetened coconut, coconut oil, ghee, sesame oil, avocado, peanut butter
13. Beverages – Green tea, coffee, sparkling water, Darjeeling tea

Focus on filling your cart with fresh foods. These are usually stocked around the perimeter of the grocery store. The shelves in the middle of the grocery store typically house packaged and processed foods, which you should keep to a minimum in your diet. Buy grains, nuts and seeds in bulk to save money and stock up on staple items you use regularly. Steer clear of tempting foods by making a grocery list and purchasing only the items you jotted down ahead of time.

Summary

Cooking more meals at home will allow you to save money and experiment in the kitchen. It may even help you lose weight. To start, create a grocery shopping list filled with fresh, nutritious items.

The Bottom Line

Following a lacto-vegetarian Indian diet is a great way to lose weight. It will help you cut back on sugary foods and beverages, eat more vegetables and increase your protein intake. Regular exercise to your regimen to boost your health and weight loss even more. Incorporating even one or two of the foods or lifestyle changes listed above into your routine can help you get healthier and happier.

Tiger Athletic Fitness & Conditioning is a modern, private, appointment only strength & conditioning gym in the heart of Sandton. We offer custom in person or online exercise programs with a personal trainer.

Together Changes Everything. Let’s Workout.

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Sugar Addict?

It’s a fact that most of us love our sugar and sweet treats. Former US President Ronald Reagan famously always had to have jellybeans on his desk. Vending machines and even the aisles leading to till points in major shops almost everywhere feed our cravings for sweets.

South African sales of sugar-filled drinks and other sweets soaring, at 63%, we have the highest percentage of fat children and adolescents on the planet, as a nation, we are addicted to sugar in all its glorious forms.

While sugar is not literally addicting, (scientists long ago proved that people are born with a preference for sweets), this innate desire does not disappear as we grow older. Some people find it impossible to leave the dinner table without dessert; others can’t fathom a day without chocolate. Many women blame hormonal surges for the sweets cravings they get around the same time each month.

Sugar and other sweeteners add calories with few other nutrients and have no doubt helped contribute to our current epidemic of obesity. True, sugar is not alone in promoting obesity, a lack of exercise and excessive calories from poor nutrition habits also contribute.

Sugar has been blamed for everything from diabetes, tooth decay, obesity, and heart disease to disruptive behavior in the classroom. But sugar by itself will not cause any of these conditions, except for cavities.

A comprehensive review of scientific research, published in the journal Nutrition Research in 1997, showed that sugar is not a direct cause of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, or hyperactivity. A more recent American government report concurs that sugar is not by itself linked to any of those conditions. However, too many calories, in any form, can contribute to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Changes in our behavior are often attributed to changes in our blood sugar levels. When you consume a meal made up of simple, refined carbohydrates – like a doughnut or a soft drink – the result is a spike in blood sugar. Your body responds to this spike by secreting large amounts of insulin to normalize your blood sugar level. In response to the insulin, your blood sugar level drops quickly, leaving you with a feeling of sluggishness and irritability.

When your blood sugar gets too low, hunger reappears, and the roller-coaster ride resumes, that is, at least until your if your next ‘fix’ of simple carbohydrates. It’s simple carbohydrates that twe need to watch specifically, not the healthy, fibrous carbohydrates that come from whole fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

As your personal trainer, I help you choose healthy carbohydrates or give you nutritional advice that adds protein or fat to your meal, so your blood sugar will rise and fall more normally without the negative side effects.

When we say we have a sugar addiction, we may mean anything from a mild desire to intense cravings for sweet foods and drinks. Some people go so far as to equate the effects of sugar to a drug, saying it calms them and helps them deal with stress.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Guide Pyramid recommends we limit added sugars in our diet to 12 teaspoons per day, as far back as 2001, the average American ate and drank the equivalent of 31 teaspoons of sugar daily, however, even with these scary numbers, South African children still manage to feature as amongst the fattest on the planet.

Sugar finds its way into virtually every kind of processed food, from tomato sauce to soups and, especially, soft drinks. One 330ml can of your favorite soft drink contains approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar. As if that is not bad enough, some data suggest that we consume an average of 155 liters of soft drink per person annually. That’s a lot of sugar and extra calories!

Sugars have 4 calories per gram or 15 calories per teaspoon. If you want to shave calories, it’s a good idea to limit added sugar in your diet. Sounds simple enough, but what about those hard-to-ignore cravings? Here’s the trick: Gradually decrease the amount of sugar you eat, and how often you eat it. This will help you reduce your desire for sugars while lowering your caloric intake.

Old habits are hard to break but as your personal trainer, I guide you into making small and gradual changes in your eating style which will help you break free from your sugar addiction.

Many people, newly diagnosed with diabetes find that after they start eating fewer sweets and simple carbohydrates, foods like fresh fruit taste sweeter and can satisfy their cravings for sweets. Remember, moderation is the key. If you can control the quantity, you will be able to enjoy sweets on occasion.

The first step you take towards a healthier lifestyle is the most important and provides secure footing for your weightloss journey. Book a consultation and health appraisal with me and get some professional help.

One of your most important defences against sugar is by learning to understand food labels, being able to distinguish between unhealthy and healthier food options. Making a habit of always reading food labels and understanding what they mean will soon become second-nature with this 2-step guide.

To begin with, read the Nutrition Information table displayed on the packaging of most foods. This can help you to decide if a product is a healthy option or not as it lists how much of each nutrient it contains. All nutrients are listed in two columns – per 100g and per serving. The 100g column is great to use to easily compare similar products because serving sizes may differ, this way you are comparing apples-for-apples.

The “per serving” column tells you how much of each nutrient and energy (kilojoules) you’ll consume if you consume that suggested serving. Be careful here because the “suggested serving” is not always the same as the packaging size – for example, the suggested serving on a 500ml bottle of a sugary drink is often only around 250ml, half of the packaging size.

1. Use the table to decide if the food is high or low in fat, saturated fat, sugar and sodium (salt). Foods in the ‘low’ group can be eaten more often, but foods in the ‘high’ group should rarely be eaten or only on special occasions.
2. Become familiar with sugar terminology and find the hidden sugar in your diet. Recognize that all of these are sweeteners: corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, honey, molasses, turbinado, and brown sugar.
3. Keep up with your food journal, and use the notes section to document your mood, setting, and activity whenever you feel the urge to eat sweets. Review your notes and look for patterns or triggers that you can alter to help control your sugar intake.
4. Don’t put yourself under pressure. Select one behavior to change weekly. Try satisfying your sweet tooth with a snack-sized chocolate bar instead of a full-sized one. Next week, trade in a soft drink for sparkling water with a splash of fruit juice.
5. Fight your cravings. Satisfy your desire for sweets with the natural sweetness of whole fruits or no-sugar-added juices.
6. Buy unsweetened food and beverages and add small amounts of sweeteners if you need them. Enjoy whole-grain cereal with one teaspoon of sugar instead of presweetened cereals, which contain much more sugar per serving.
7. Gradually decrease the amount of sugar you consume in your tea and coffee, let your taste buds slowly adapt to change. Don’t substitute artificial sweeteners for sugar; this will do little to alter your desire for sweets.
8. Moderate amounts of artificial sweeteners are not unhealthy, but they won’t help you retrain your taste buds.
9. Allow yourself small portions of sweets on occasion. If you just go ‘cold turkey’, it will be hard to think about anything else. Rather reward yourself with a portion of one small treat ever so often to resist ‘pigging out’ when your resistance wanes.

Second, read the list of ingredients. These are always listed in order of weight, those used in the greatest amounts are listed first, right down to the ingredient used in the smallest amount listed last. Often the first three ingredients listed on the label make up the largest portion of the food item. Sugar, salt and bad fats are the ones to look out to avoid and come in a variety of which may often be listed under the guise of different names as listed below.

1. Sugar – Brown sugar, concentrated fruit juice, corn syrup, dextrose, treacle, fructose, glucose, glucose syrup, golden syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, malt, malt extract, maltose, isomaltose, maltodextrin, maple syrup, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose, sugar, cane sugar.
2. Bad Fats – Animal fat, beef fat, butter, chocolate, carob, coconut oil, cream, dripping, ghee, hydrogenated oils, lard, margarine, milk solids, monoglycerides, palm oil, seeds, nuts, coconut, tallow, shortening, trans fats, vegetable fat.
3. Salt – Baking soda, salt, MSG (monosodium glutamate), any word containing the term sodium, nitrates, nitrites.

If you’re a sugar “addict,” kicking the habit will do your body good. Doctors newest nutritional recommendations suggest a balanced diet, low in fat, with reduced sugar intake, along with regular exercise, as the best way to lose weight and keep it off.

My custom programs for fitness and weight loss are a smart combination of exercise and good nutritional advice basedon data from your consultation and health appraisal. My programs promote safe and effective weekly weight loss and to encourage the eating of healthy foods while weaning you from excessive sugar. Book a consultation and health appraisal and find out just how sweet better health can be!

Tiger Athletic is a modern, private, appointment only gym in Sandton, Johannesburg using a rigorous, results-focused methodology we are passionate about helping you be the healthiest version of yourself, so you can lead a more fulfilling personal and professional life.

Together changes everything. Let’s work out.

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Eat Smarter. Lose Bodyfat.

You’ve done the right thing and booked your consultation and health appraisal to give yourself the best possible chance of succeeding in losing the extra weight given, you’ve organised your fridge and are eating smart, working out and taking better care of yourself, yet the scale remains stubborn and refuses to move as quickly as you feel it should or just plain refuses to budge!

Your ‘smart nutrition’ may not be so smart after all, your diet may still contain some sneaky foods like salt and pasta sauce that can lead to water retention and significantly hike your calorie intake. Let’s start by cutting back on ultra-processed foods, bubbly drinks, chewing gum, and sugary beverages that can increase bloating.

Food that can “spot train” belly fat is pure urban myth however, there are some smart swaps can introduce to your diet that will improve your gut health, improving digestion, reduce water retention, eliminate cramps and gas while helping you feel and look less puffy.

Vegetables, fruit, seeds, nuts, fish, whole grains, and other smart choices are high in protein and fiber, keeping you feeling fuller for longer eliminating the snacking while fuelling you with healthier, tastier foods.

Certain foods have a thermogenic effect, you literally burn calories as you chew. Other have nutrients and compounds that crank up your metabolism. Stoke your metabolic fire by eating more of these foods, while cutting out unhealthy snacks and empty calories.

For those that eat meat, lean meats like biltong offer awesome snack options. Protein has a high thermogenic effect. You burn about 30% of the calories the food contains during digestion, for example, a 300-calorie chicken breast requires about 90 calories to break it down. Winning!

Low-fat dairy products are rich in calcium and vitamin D, which preserve and build muscle mass, essential for maintaining a robust metabolism.

When it comes to healthy eating and weight loss, plant-based foods offer greater options to add more wholesome taste to your diet without the extra centimeters to your waistline.Your body burns twice as many calories breaking down whole-grain foods, especially those rich in fiber such as oatmeal and brown rice opposed to processed foods.

Drinking four cups of green tea a day could help you shed as much as three kilograms in eight weeks, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports which gave credit EGCG, a compound in the brew that temporarily speeds metabolism after sipping it. To up your intake, keep a jug of iced tea in the fridge.

One cup of lentils packs 35% of your daily iron needs, fantastic news since up to 20% of us are iron- deficient. When you lack a nutrient, your metabolism slows because the body’s not getting what it needs to work efficiently.

Capsaicin is the compound that gives chili peppers their kick, heats up your body which in turn makes you melt additional calories. You can get it by eating raw, cooked, dried, or powdered peppers. Add as much cayenne or hot sauce as possible to soups, eggs, and meats.

Let’s look at olives and eggs. Two easily sourced superfoods that you may have overlooked or are misinformed about, that are awesome for your health and weight loss goals which add flavor, great taste and variety to any table.

Olives

This is the ultimate heart-healthy snack whether pressed into cooking oil or eaten cured and whole. When cold-pressed and consumed as true extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), this tiny Mediterranean fruit will help you to slim down by keeping you fuller for longer, while reducing your risk of heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis.

Long-term evidence suggests that people who consume extra- virgin olive oil daily are at a lower risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular mortality.

Olives are chock-full of monounsaturated fatty acids, a type of fat linked with lowering LDL (“bad” cholesterol) while maintaining HDL (“good” cholesterol”).

The powerful antioxidant properties of olive polyphenols help protect you against oxidative stress and chronic inflammation which is a key initiating factor of heart disease.

Compounds found in olives boost short- and long-term health because they can increase nitric oxide production which in turn improves vascular function by promoting blood flow to your tissues.

Better circulation improves everything, you could train harder, recover faster, even maybe improve your overall risk of chronic disease. Certain types of olives can provide up to 25% of your iron needs which helps deliver more oxygen to your organs when you need.

Polyphenols which are other compounds found in olives aid in the reduction of chronic inflammation, halting organ tissue damage before it starts.

Improve your health by improving your diet as a whole and adding olives to a diet that includes vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. These polyphenols may reduce degeneration in your bones by improving bone mineral density.

By reducing oxidative stress caused by inflammation, olives help protect vital organs like your brain from harmful and potentially irreversible damage.

This tiny fruit also contains the antioxidant vitamin E, linked to improved cognition and reduced risk of cognitive decline. Diets that rely on olive oil as a primary fat source are also associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is full of healthy, flavourful fats that boost not only the taste but the satiety of meals when used in cooking. Each tablespoon is about 120 calories, is worth roughly 30 olives depending on type and size. Snacking on a cup of olives provides 15% of your daily dietary fiber.

High-antioxidant foods like olives are great snacks that can also lower your chances of certain cancers, both by protecting cellular DNA, potentially preventing tumor growth and reducing oxidative stress.

Extra virgin olive oil could lower blood sugar as early as two hours after a meal by aiding insulin action. The oleic acids (a heart-healthier type of fat) and polyphenols in olives can help too. Research indicates diets high in monounsaturated fats and antioxidants may lessen the risk of type II diabetes.

Adding a tablespoon of olive oil to salads and drizzling it in veggie dips can help you better absorb the antioxidants found in many fruits and vegetables can help enhance your intake of carotenoids, which benefit your eyes and diminish long-term disease risk.

The bottom line is that eating olives, in addition to more vegetables and fruit not only makes a positive change that can benefit your health in the long term but crucially, also help you achieve weight-loss goals.

Eggs

High-protein breakfasts, that include eggs, have been linked to weight loss and a reduction in belly fat. You can add natures perfect ‘nutrient bomb’ to your stir-fry, sautés, salads or pair them with whole-grain toast and vegetables.

Eggs are delicious, leave you fuller for longer than that apple or banana you swipe out of the fruit bowl on your way out every morning, yet we claim to be ‘too busy’ to eat breakfast in the morning which is laughable because we are more often than not absolutely ravenous and totally distracted long before lunch which sets a bad tone for your day.

We settle instead, to make time to either snack or keep filling the coffee mug all the while cursing our trainer or new diet under our breath every time, we pass our reflection and see our ever-bulging midriff.  

Its time for a simple change…eat three eggs every morning. Try adding this simple yet comforting routine to your day for a week and feel how remarkably positive your days (and waistline) feel.

Eggs are natures perfect little package. They protein-rich with about 7 grams each, the yolks contain inflammation-fighting omega-3s; vitamins D, E, and B12; and minerals like selenium. Eating just two eggs a day gives you 50% of your daily needs for the memory boosting nutrient choline, which most of us severely lack.

Nutrition science has come a long way since the heyday of egg white omelets, and much of the ‘bro science’ advice about nonsense like the saturated fat and cholesterol in eggs would lead to your early demise.

Eggs contain all nine essential amino acids necessary to rebuild the muscles and tissues in our bodies additionally experts now say that, yes, there’s cholesterol in eggs, but, contrary to what we’ve previously been told, dietary cholesterol doesn’t seem to have much effect on blood cholesterol, the type that actually clogs your arteries, for the average person.

How many eggs you can safely eat per week as advised by your nutritionist, largely depends on how the rest of your diet looks, which makes it a pretty personal and variable recommendation. Get active by joining my 10 000 steps a day challenge or run for fun program and eat the whole damn egg!

We all have a bag of frozen veggies languishing at the bottom of our freezer that we have probably forgotten about. Ramp up the fiber content of your breakfast while adding some fun texture and subtle sweetness to your morning eggs by tossing in a handful of these into the pan with your eggs.

Ripe avocado and cilantro on top is delicious or just scramble them on their own, no milk or fancy additives just a knob of butter and eggs! Same time it takes to make a packet of instant cereal. We have been living a lie, people.

Making yourself breakfast every morning may seem tedious, but making the commitment to your three egg routine in the morning will provide 21grams of protein that will extend the hunger pangs that cause you to snack badly to stay at bay until midday significantly streamlining your morning and eliminating that food guilt you’ve been carrying.

Sit down for at least 10 minutes each morning and eat, give yourself a moment to relax and mentally prepare for the rigors of the day ahead.

Tiger Athletic is a modern, private, appointment only gym in Sandton, Johannesburg using a rigorous, results-focused methodology we are passionate about helping you be the healthiest version of yourself, so you can lead a more fulfilling personal and professional life.

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Post Workout Nutrition

Many of us are either truly famished or just feel like we deserve a reward after a really hard workout and end up eating rich foods and larger portions than we normally would. The end result is often eating back all or more than the calories we’ve just worked so hard to burn!

There’s nothing wrong with a small snack or a filling dinner after exercising, but before you dig in, it’s important to have a thorough understanding your body’s true nutrition needs so you don’t end up gaining weight and sabotaging your hard-earned gains.

If like me, you’re always hungry after you exercise, try working out right before a meal. Regardless of whether you ate beforehand or how many calories you burned, try scheduling your workouts before one of your main meals. That way, you can refuel with calories you would have consumed anyway, without having to add extra snacks into your day.

Try and make your workouts more fun or get me to design a program for you that will get you thinking about exercise less as a chore and more as something you do because you actually enjoy moving your body. This simple mind shift will help you eat less afterward.

In 2014, researchers at Cornell University conducted a study in which they led volunteers on a 2.25km walk, telling half of them that it was for exercise and the other half that it was a scenic stroll. The “exercise” group ate 35% more chocolate pudding for dessert than the “scenic” group. Similarly, in another experiment, volunteers were given post-walk snacks, and the “exercisers” ate 124% more calories than those who were told it was just for fun.

When you do need a snack to recover from a tough sweat session pair protein with carbs, try a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein. This will allow you to begin to replenish your energy levels and repair muscle damage resulting from the workout.

For workouts, less than an hour, keep your snack between 150 to 200 calories, try open-faced peanut butter on rye with honey, a portion of fish, a slice of chicken breast, cheese on crackers, or a handful of trail mix.

Low-fat dairy is another great recovery food with plenty of protein to help tide you over until your next meal. Refueling with dairy like low-fat chocolate milk specifically helps improve subsequent athletic performances better than traditional sports drinks.

Sometimes, overeating after exercise is more a consequence of routine than anything else. When you consistently consume a 500 calorie smoothie after you finish up at the gym, you start to get into that habit of consuming a smoothie no matter how long or intense your exercise was.

Choose different snacks for different workouts, the shorter the duration, the fewer calories you need to replenish. It’s important for weight loss and weight maintenance to get in tune with your body and learn to eat in response to hunger, versus eating in response to boredom, stress, or the idea of rewarding yourself for exercising.

Activity trackers like the Hauwei smartwatch and Apple watch have become a trendy way to estimate physical activity expenditure throughout the day. However, not all devices are accurate in estimating calorie burn during workouts. Even the most accurate trackers can still only provide an estimate of true calorie burn and it’s not smart to base your refueling strategy entirely on their calculations.

It may seem counterintuitive, but eating more throughout the day may be your ticket to consuming fewer calories overall, especially if you tend to pig out post-workout. Incorporating two to three healthy snacks throughout the day will help regulate hunger between meals, increase energy, and keep metabolism bumped up.

You may feel like you burned a million calories during your spin class, but the truth is we tend to overestimate our energy expenditure during exercise by as much as four-fold. In a study from the University of Ottawa, when volunteers were then asked to eat back all the calories they’d just burned after exercise, they tended to consume two to three times more than what they’d expended. If you are trying to lose weight remember this simple trick, energy out must always outweigh energy in.

Your number one priority after a workout should be replacing the fluids lost during a workout. Having a lot of water in the belly also reduces appetite. Try having a drink of water as soon as you finish training, being mindful that taking in too much water can cause water intoxication due to excessively low levels of salt in the body.

Talk to yourself, ask yourself if you really need to eat. You’re going to eat those calories eventually, so why not save them for your next meal when you’re really hungry?

For workouts lasting longer than two hours—like a long bike ride or a marathon training, sucking down a gel or sipping a sports drink will keep you from feeling ravenous afterward. Try to consume 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates, that’s about 120 to 240 calories every hour after your first hour. Avoid anything with protein, since it takes longer to for the stomach to digest.

Tiger Athletic is a modern, private, appointment only gym in Sandton, Johannesburg using a rigorous, results-focused methodology we are passionate about helping you be the healthiest version of yourself, so you can lead a more fulfilling personal and professional life.

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Vegetarian Day

Modern. Private. Strictly By Appointment.

A plant-based diet doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Vegetarians and vegans tend to have lower BMIs than meat-eaters, however, in America, less than 5% of adults consider themselves vegetarians, and 84% of vegetarians and vegans eventually go back to eating meat at least some of the time.

Having just one meat-free day a week has been shown to reduce risk for chronic preventable conditions including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, not to mention it may also help you lose weight.

You don’t have to be a vegetarian to love a meatless meal. Fruits and veggies are some of the healthiest items on your plate and should fill half of it. That’s where vegetarian meals come in handy. Tasty, flavourful, and meat-free, what’s not to love?

Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy

This classic serve 4, takes a total of 15 minutes to prepare and gets an upgrade with radishes, cashews, and chilli, perfect for weight loss at only 138 calories!

Ingredients

• 6 heads baby bok choy
• 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 2 spring onions or 1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 Whole chilli, very thinly sliced
• ¼ cup chopped cashews
• 3 small radishes, very thinly sliced
• 1 ½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Preparation

Trim leafy greens from bok choy; chop greens and reserve. (You should have about 2 cups.) Cut stalks into 1-inch pieces. Discard root ends.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet or wok over high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add bok choy stalks and onions. Stir-fry until just softened, about 2 minutes. Add reserved greens, soy sauce, sugar and chili. Stir-fry until liquid has thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture and sauce to a serving bowl. Top with cashews, radish slices and sesame seeds; serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

• Calories per serving: 138
• Fat per serving: 12g
• Saturated fat per serving: 2g
• Cholesterol per serving: 0mg
• Fibre per serving: 1g
• Protein per serving:        3g
• Carbohydrate per serving: 7g
• Sodium per serving:        420mg
• Iron per serving: 3mg
• Calcium per serving: 45mg

Super Green Salad

Shaved asparagus looks very elegant, the entire meal takes only 25 minutes to prepare, serves 8 people and this meal only packs 226 calories. This meal is low Carbohydrate, low Cholesterol, low Saturated Fat and is totally meatless.

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 2 x 500g. bunches large asparagus spears
• 1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
• 1 cup frozen or fresh English peas
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• ½ cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
• ¼ cup loosely packed fresh tarragon leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 60g shaved Manchego cheese

Preparation

Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a large pot; add 1 tablespoon salt. Have ready a bowl of ice water.

Trim tough ends from asparagus. Cut 1 bunch diagonally into 6cm pieces. Shave stalks of remaining asparagus with a vegetable peeler. Add diagonally cut asparagus, edamame and peas to boiling water; cook for 4 minutes. Plunge vegetables into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain well.

Process oil, almonds, garlic and lemon zest in a blender until smooth. Add herbs and process until smooth.

Place dressing, shaved asparagus, cooked asparagus mixture, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl; toss to coat. Top with Manchego.

Nutritional Information

• Calories per serving: 226
• Fat per serving: 18g
• Saturated fat per serving: 4g
• Cholesterol per serving: 8mg
• Fibre per serving: 5g
• Protein per serving: 8g
• Carbohydrate per serving: 10g
• Sodium per serving:        314mg
• Iron per serving: 4mg
• Calcium per serving: 160mg

Arugula Salad with Shaved Artichokes

Artichoke are related to thistles and sunflowers, are rich in magnesium and folate and this meal packs only 125 calories with a total prep time of 30 minutes for 6 servings. This Recipe Is low Carbohydrate, low Cholesterol, low Fat, low Saturated Fat and is meatless

Ingredients

• 1 cup cider vinegar
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 8 ramps or 8 scallions (white and light green parts only), trimmed
• 125ml cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons minced spring garlic or 2 cloves garlic, smashed to a paste
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 fresh globe artichokes
• ½ lemon
• 5 cups loosely packed baby arugula leaves
• 120g cremini mushrooms, very thinly sliced

Preparation

Stir together vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon salt in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Add ramps; reduce heat to medium-high and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain.

Process mayonnaise, Parmesan, garlic, 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon black pepper and ½ teaspoon salt in a mini food processor until smooth.

Stir together 4 to 6 cups water (enough to cover artichokes) and remaining ¼ cup lemon juice in a large bowl. Trim about 5cm from top of each artichoke. Cut each artichoke in half vertically. Remove fuzzy thistle from bottom with a spoon; discard. Trim any leaves and dark green layer from base. Rub edges with lemon and place in lemon-water mixture. Once all artichokes are trimmed, remove 1 at a time 
from water and thinly slice with a mandolin or sharp knife. Place in a large bowl. Add dressing, arugula and mushrooms; toss to coat. Top with ramps.

Nutritional Information

• Calories per serving: 125
• Fat per serving: 5g
• Saturated fat per serving: 1g
• Cholesterol per serving: 6mg
• Fibre per serving: 4g
• Protein per serving: 6g
• Carbohydrate per serving: 14g
• Sodium per serving: 618mg
• Iron per serving: 2mg
• Calcium per serving: 146mg

Greek-Style Baby Potatoes

Poaching potatoes in olive oil makes for a luxurious side to serve with a light main dish at only 368 calories and 15 minutes active. This low cholesterol dish serves 4.

Ingredients

• 1 red bell pepper, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 4 cups olive oil
• 1 ½ pounds baby new potatoes, halved (about 4 cups)
• 4 fresh bay leaves
• 12 Castelvetrano or other large olives, halved (about 1/3 cup)
• ½ cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• Salt and black pepper

Preparation

Preheat broiler. Place bell pepper halves cut-side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush tops with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Broil 4 inches from heat until charred, 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a bowl; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and cut into strips.

Combine potatoes, bay leaves and remaining oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Simmer until potatoes are very tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

Transfer potatoes to a bowl with a slotted spoon; discard bay leaves. Stir in olives, parsley, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information

• Calories per serving: 368
• Fat per serving: 25g
• Saturated fat per serving: 3g
• Cholesterol per serving: 0mg
• Fibre per serving: 4g
• Protein per serving: 4g
• Carbohydrate per serving: 33g
• Sodium per serving:        737mg
• Iron per serving: 2mg
• Calcium per serving: 37mg

Radish and Turnip Sauté

This dish uses radish and turnip greens, or you can sub in mustard greens. Active time is 15 min with 4 servings at an easy 127 calories. This Recipe Is low calorie, low in saturated fat and meat free.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch radishes (about 12 oz.)
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 300g young turnips (about 4 small), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 cups chopped turnip greens
• 1 ½ tablespoons cider vinegar
• Salt and black pepper

Preparation

Trim greens from radishes; chop greens and reserve. (You should have about 1 cup.) Cut radishes into quarters.

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add radishes and turnips. Sauté, stirring often, until lightly caramelized, about 7 minutes. Stir in turnip greens, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and reserved radish greens. Cook, stirring constantly, until greens are wilted, about 1 minute. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

Nutritional Information

• Calories per serving: 127
• Fat per serving: 10g
• Saturated fat per serving: 4g
• Cholesterol per serving: 15mg
• Fibre per serving: 4g
• Protein per serving:        2g
• Carbohydrate per serving: 10g
• Sodium per serving:        333mg
• Iron per serving: 1mg
• Calcium per serving: 98mg

Spring Beets with Rhubarb Vinaigrette

One cup of rhubarb packs 10 percent of your daily calcium, this recipe needs 35 minutes of active time and will produce 6 servings of 207 calories. This recipe is low calorie, low cholesterol and low in saturated fat.

Ingredients

• 300g finely chopped rhubarb
• ¼ cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
• 3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 750g beets, peeled and cut into small wedges
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 50g crumbled soft goat cheese
• ½ cup chopped pistachios
• 2 tablespoons honey

Preparation

Stir together rhubarb, 2 cups water, wine, honey, and vinegar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until rhubarb has broken down, about 10 minutes. Pour mixture through a wire-mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing solids to extract liquid. Discard solids. Wipe saucepan clean. Place strained liquid in saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; stir in shallot, 2 teaspoons of the thyme and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Place a steamer basket in a large stockpot with a tight-fitting lid. Add water to just below steamer basket and place stockpot over high heat. Place beets in steamer basket. Cover and cook until beets are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a plate; refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Whisk oil into rhubarb mixture. Add beets; toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl. Top with goat cheese, pistachios and remaining 1 teaspoon thyme.

Nutritional Information

• Calories per serving: 207
• Fat per serving: 12g
• Saturated fat per serving: 2g
• Cholesterol per serving: 3mg
• Fibre per serving: 5g
• Protein per serving:        5g
• Carbohydrate per serving: 21g
• Sodium per serving:        280mg
• Iron per serving: 2mg
• Calcium per serving: 75mg

Coastal Carrot “Fettuccine”

Slash carbs and boost fibre by shaving carrots into colourful “noodles” in these 104 calories, 15-minute prep and 15-minute cook Paleo pasta dish. This recipe is low calorie, low carbohydrate, low cholesterol, low saturated fat and meatless

 Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup grape tomatoes, quartered if large
• 2 ½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• 3 large rainbow or orange carrots
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, toasted, for garnish

Preparation

Heat oil over medium-low heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and 2 Tbsp. basil; sauté until tomatoes burst and release their juices, about 5 minutes. Shave carrots into ribbons, using either a spiral slicer (aka spiralizer) or a vegetable peeler.

Add carrots, tomato sauce, paprika, salt, and pepper to skillet and cook until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 Tbsp. basil and garnish with pumpkin seeds before serving.

Nutritional Information

• Calories per serving: 114
• Fat per serving: 8g
• Saturated fat per serving: 1g
• Cholesterol per serving: 0mg
• Fibre per serving: 3g
• Protein per serving:        2g
• Carbohydrates per serving: 11g
• Sodium per serving:        505mg
• Iron per serving: 1mg
• Calcium per serving: 35mg

Tiger Athletic is a modern, private, appointment only gym in Sandton, Johannesburg using a rigorous, results-focused methodology we are passionate about helping you be the healthiest version of yourself, so you can lead a more fulfilling personal and professional life.

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Organize Your Fridge

Modern. Private. Strictly By Appointment.

Putting on an extra kilo…Easy Work! Losing it…? Also Easy! Having Ice cream from the tub or cheese while standing in front of the fridge late at night is bound to lead to increased weight. Organize your fridge in a way that will help you shed unwanted weight.  

How you organize your refrigerator could be working against you. Make your fridge an ally with these pros’ tricks to make your fridge a weight loss ally.

1. Keep foods that are smart snack combos close to each other, like natural almond butter and apples, or low-fat cottage cheese and celery.
2. Place herbs like parsley and cilantro stems-down in a cup of water and cover with a plastic bag. The water keeps them fresh longer, change it every few days. Seeing the herbs will make you want to cook with them, a good thing, as they add flavor but hardly any calories or sodium.
3. If you love avocados, say, but don’t want to overdo it, store serving-size containers on a middle shelf. You can also get portion sizes of your guilty pleasures like cheese and chocolate too!
4. Ensure that calorie-rich meals such as macaroni and cheese should be in opaque containers and are hidden behind your healthier fair stuff so they’re not as top-of-mind and accessible when hunger hits and your natural tendency is to pick up and chew the first thing you see when you open the refrigerator door.-
5. Keep a container of pre-cooked grains, like barley or quinoa with your protein measuring scoop or half-cup measuring cup inside to make it easier to scoop out a portion when hungry.-
6. Jarred veggies, like roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and pickled beets are perfect additions to salads and soups that don’t require any prep time and add color to the front row of your refrigerator and plate.
7. Veggie salsas are versatile, filled with flavor, nutrients and contain very few calories, perfect to top chicken breasts or sweet potatoes.
8. Grainy Dijon mustard is a low calorie, savory condiment with rustic flavor, perfect for use as a salad dressing or marinade and in place of some or all the mayonnaise or dressing called for in a recipe, say, for tuna or any other salad
9. ‘Cut’ juice with sparkling water to slash calories and add fizz to keep it from tasting boring. Fill a pitcher one-third of the way with juice and two-thirds of the way with sparkling water and serve juice that way next mealtime.
10. Fruit-sweetened jams, which are relatively low in sugar are great natural sweeteners to substitute refined sugars and are tasty with peanut butter on a brown-rice wrap, on breakfast oats, or drizzled on low-fat ice cream for dessert.
11. Buying blocks of hard cheeses, such as Parmesan Asiago and Pecorino Romano, help in portion and calorie control when using cheese as a garnish in recipes because you must physically shred them with a grater when you’re using them. This makes you very aware of just how much cheese you’re adding as opposed to adding cheese slices or a block on board to slice at the table.
12. Save the date, write down the date on zip lock bags of leftovers, this makes you aware of how long they have been in the fridge and helps you to make sure leftover fruits and vegetables won’t go uneaten.
13. Keep big pitchers of water infused with mint or ginger and in-season fruit or citrus slices in the fridge at the very front of the shelf so they are the first thing that you see when you open the fridge door. It usually lasts a couple of days, and it’s a great way to stay hydrated without lots of sugar or calories.
14. Research suggests that we are three times as likely to pick up the first thing we see in the fridge, the problem is, we often put our favorite not-so-healthy foods at eye level. Store some veggies on the top shelf rather than just in the crisper to slow you down and help you make conscious healthier snack choices.
15. A tub of Greek yogurt in your fridge is a must. It’s not only a breakfast staple, it works as a substitute for so many fattening spreads, such as sour cream, cream cheese, and mayonnaise.
16. Boil a half dozen eggs at the beginning of the week for a high-protein, quick the go snack that is a satisfying and nutritious option that’s easy to grab and go. They’re simple to put in a breakfast wrap or slice on a salad to make it a full and easy meal on weeknights or morning that you are either too tired or too rushed to do meal prep.
17. Once a week, scan the fridge and pull forward items that need to be finished, like opened tomato paste or Greek yogurt. It’ll remind you to use them and to cook at home, which is healthier 99 percent of the time.

Tiger Athletic is a modern, private, appointment only gym in Sandton, Johannesburg using a rigorous, results-focused methodology we are passionate about helping you be the healthiest version of yourself, so you can lead a more fulfilling personal and professional life.

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Street Workout. Urban Bootcamp.

We all have an image in our hearts and minds of what our best body looks like… If only I could afford the best trainer, gym or nutrition advice. Well, guess what? You can stop dreaming, because you can. Tiger Athletic now offers an authentic workout experience for those who want to learn how to achieve that vision with Street Workout, simply the best boot camp group workout there is. Work with Tiger himself and achieve results from a world class fighter and coach who understands the science and art of fitness. 

Join our close-knit fitness community and get the best fitness instruction, nutritional counselling and motivational training packed with fun, energizing outdoor workouts in Sandton’s most secure and stunning office park. No worrying about personal safety or the safety of your car and belongings while you sweat.

Our mission is to inspire and motivate you to get to your best fitness, by training for 1-hour Monday to Friday in the morning or evening or both! Evening sessions run Monday to Friday from 17:20 to 18:20hrs and are full body workouts that constantly evolve so you keep developing and don’t get bored. Morning workouts are run on Tuesday and Thursday from 6 am to 7 am with Tuesdays focusing on core and upper body and Thursday focusing on core and lower body. 

Each bootcamp starts at the beginning of each month and runs for the duration of that month – you will feel like a champion through our best-in-class group fitness experience at only R400 per month for as many morning or evening sessions as you can attend in any given month.

We have no joining or cancellation fees and you can train on a month to month basis with pay as you go. Sessions are always motivational, safe, different and fun! Whether you are a beginner, an enthusiastic weekend warrior or a competitive professional, we will make you look and feel like the best version of yourself.

All you need to bring is a mat, small weights (2 or 3kg), a water bottle and wear comfortable, layered clothing. If you don’t have these, you can always order these and bottled water from Tiger Athletic when you register to work out.

Register by the 28th of each month and you and your partner or your bestie can come along for the first month’s camp!

Tiger Athletic is a modern, private, appointment only gym with personal trainers for every session. Revolutionize your present workout regime or find a new way to sweat with us. We have you and your pocket covered to tone and shape your body to new levels of excellence.

Let’s Workout.

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TigerFIT

Working out with a personal trainer in a modern, private, appointment only gym is the gold standard method of reaching your weight loss and wellness goals, we all  know this, however the reality for most people is that as great as having a Personal Trainer is, it’s simply too expensive for some in our present economic climate…..or is it?

We all have an image in our hearts and minds of what the best version of ourselves looks like. Tiger Athletic offers an authentic workout experience for those who want to learn how to achieve that vision with our strength and conditioning program, while getting in the best shape of your life in a high-intensity small group fitness setting.

Join our close-knit fitness community with morning, mid-day and early evening classes to suit every diary. Build the strength, confidence and passion needed to realise your dream body with great people and industry leading personal training.

Developed as a result of a rigorous education in Coaching Science, over two decades of boxing, martial arts and high-performance strength and conditioning training as an athlete, Tiger Fit provides the most effective group fitness and conditioning workout in the market with each class capped at 8 people to retain the personal training attention that is at the centre of our workout philosophy.

Each session is run like a championship boxing match, consisting of a 3-minute dynamic warm-up followed by 12 x 3 minute ’rounds’ comprising of 12 strength and conditioning exercises, for a total body workout. Each round is 3 minutes of all out action with 1 minute of active rest and hydration between rounds for the best in class workout experience.

Burn upwards of 1,000 calories per class whether you are a working professional, a home executive or looking for a new challenge to get you to your dream body, for 50 minutes a day you can train like a professional athlete in a modern, private, appointment only gym with a world class trainer and not break the bank at R 400 per month!

Tiger Athletic is a modern, private, appointment only gym with a personal trainer for every session. Revolutionise your present workout regime or find a new way to sweat with us. We have you and your pocket covered to tone and shape your body to new levels of excellence.

Together Changes Everything. Let’s Workout.

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Signature Workout

In shape, out of shape, haven’t trained for years or a complete beginner, our clients are trained as individuals by intensley trained trainers. Its always you, a training partner and your coach in our off peak fitness and weight loss classes run on the hour every hour between 9am and 4pm weekdays.

Our personal trainers are trained to cater for every spectrum of physical ability, we assess your genetic potential, present state of health and goals, then train you to realize your potential in modern, effective and fun 60 minute sessions. All you need is the right attitude and the desire to do your best. Leave the rest to us. Your success begins with your willingness to try.

Tiger Athletic is Sandton’s premier private gym. Sessions with our industry lading personal trainers are strictly by appointment, our signature fitness and weightloss program combine thorough sport science assessments, strength and conditioning and kickboxing in our state-of-the-art private gym.

Superior Instruction

Your personal trainer holds multiple black belts in karate, is a coaching science graduate with years of competitive and coaching experience and train hard every day to stay current with the latest and most effective developments in coaching science, nutrition and strength & conditioning programming.

We offer industry leading sport science assessment and instruction, you can expect unparalleled results. No matter what shape you’re in, our aim is to make sure you reach your goal while having so much fun that you won’t realize you’re getting the workout of your life…until you look in a mirror.

The ‘Total’ Workout

Fun, high-quality instruction makes learning easy, interesting and fun. You’ll be so engaged you won’t even notice that you’re burning 700 -1200 calories in every class.

Preferred Service Provider

As a private client you’ll be in great company. We train the hardest period. Tiger Athletic has been the training system of choice for many senior executives in Sandton’s top banks and law firms, law enforcement officials, professional athletes, educators, and fitness enthusiasts.

Results

Amazing fitness results, increased energy levels and constant improvement will keep you motivated and looking forward to each workout. You will gain endurance, muscle, and flexibility at the same time, every time. Plus, you get the added benefit of learning to move, kick and punch the right way, on bags and pads so you stay injury free and walk with extra confidence.

Practical Life Skills and Total Fitness

Increased self-discipline, focus, and confidence in everything you do.
Muscular Development + Cardio Conditioning + Flexibility = Total Fitness.

Strength & Conditioning

Injury prevention is the most important reason to follow a strength and conditioning program. Our well-designed program will strengthen muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints, leading to fewer injuries in sport participation and life by addressing flexibility and strength deficits.

Every session targets every muscle in your body, helping you develop greater strength and muscular definition. Whatsoever your goal, you will get leaner, stronger and more flexible.

Cardio Conditioning

Through intense cardiovascular conditioning, punching, kicking, squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling and other primal movements you’ll expand the capacity of your heart and lungs while burning calories. The result, increased stamina to keep you energized all day.

Flexibility

In order to increase your range of motion, while protecting you from injury, we’ve incorporated stretching exercises to keep you feeling young and agile and active for life.

Practical Self Defence

We guarantee you will receive well-rounded, streetwise self-defence skills that work! To achieve this, we combine the greatest benefits of kickboxing and sports science with a highly educated approach in a state of the art strength and conditioning facility.

Kickboxing incorporates the most effective hand, knee, elbow, and foot techniques for an intense cardio workout. This method of defence enables you to protect yourself in stand-up confrontations before an attacker gets close enough to physically restrain you.

Key to Success

It’s easy to want to be in shape, it’s not so easy to find the motivation to go to a health club regularly, or the dedication to run on a treadmill or cycle after or during a long day, it’s not easy. Almost any workout done consistently will produce results, but not all workouts will give you the motivation to continuously train. In short, gym workouts are boring…so boring, in fact, that most people watch TV or stare at their smartphones to distract them from how slow the time goes by.

Tiger Athletic classes are motivating, exciting and fun. You’ll enjoy learning how to fight while training and getting into the best shape of your life. The combination of a fun workout, total body results and gaining the life-skill of self-defence is the ‘Total Workout’. This gives you three key reasons to take our classes. Finally, a fitness program you’ll be able to stick with and win!

Let’s Go!

Taking the first step is easy as contacting us below and starting is with a complimentary class on us!

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Evaluate, Customise, Communicate.

A Modern Approach To Fitness

For most of Sandton’s residents, a trip to the gym means waiting on line for machines and sharing the humid, dank air with dozens of sweaty people. For those who don’t want to stand in line for machines, trainers or parking there is Tiger Athletic, no membership or cancellation fees rather an appointment only policy that entitles clients to buy sessions with an intensely trained trainer.

Our gym is designed for private training only. No distractions. No crowds. Generous space. Workouts are supervised, charted, studied, and supplemented with nutritional advice and referrals to Sandton’s medical elite should it be necessary. Clients enjoy private showers and dressing rooms in spaces reserved only for you before and after your appointment.

Evaluate, customise, communicate. These three simple steps are at the core of every exercise regime for every Tiger Athletic client. Through a series of proprietary tests, we evaluate your current fitness level, review injuries or restrictions and set short, medium- and long-term training goals. Everybody is unique, so are our workouts. With your goals in mind, we capitalize on your strengths and coach you through your weaknesses. Together we listen to your body.

Tiger Athletic is a one of a kind fitness facility. Black rubber floor, white walls, plate loaded machines, boxing bags and no-frills dressing rooms. Membership is capped at between 50 to 60, chiefly Sandton’s tycoons and captains of industry. Aspiring clients who don’t seem motivated are encouraged to train elsewhere. After all, if you’ve made it to Tiger Athletic, you are someone who’s used to reaching your goals, and then some. No one leaves Tiger Athletic without a purple face and a better body.

The gym tends to be sparsely populated, as members are only permitted to turn up for training when they have an appointment; the locker rooms never have more than two people in them, in separate spaces at that. Tiger Athletic’s training philosophy employs exercises that are designed to increase balance and stability, strength and conditioning and several plate loaded Powercore machines are double-sided—one lever for each arm—in order to achieve greater symmetry and strength balance.

Clients here are evaluated by a trainer, and referred if necessary, to a Sports Medical Doctor, Doctor of Chiropractic, Physiotherapist or Registered Dietician, after which individual programs are prescribed by Aubrey Ndisengei, a Coaching Science graduate and Black Belt who founded Tiger Athletic in 2010.

Basic membership is ZAR 3025 for 10 x 1-hour long fitness sessions with no joining or cancellation fees. Enjoy discounted off peak rates up to 50% when you train between 9am and 4pm, with the flexibility of online training or pre designed, custom sessions to go for the frequent traveller. We are committed to your fitness, your comfort and your state of mind

Our trainers are the pulse of Tiger Athletic. They are here to rouse, rally and educate an equally energetic, intelligent, discerning clientele. We hire and retain state of the art trainers, drawn from the most respected exercise science programs. They possess exhaustive practical knowledge and are dedicated to the potential of body and mind

Finding a gym or a great workout in Sandton City can be just as overwhelming as seeking out a new restaurant or bar in the City of Gold, here, you’re seemingly spoiled for choice. Whether you’re looking to diversify your workout regime or find a new way to sweat, we have you covered to tone, shape, or maintain your already enviable frame in Sandton’s most progressive and exclusive gym.

Start today with a fitness evaluation.

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Bring Your Bestie :-)

We Train The Hardest

“The universe doesn’t give you what you ask for with your thoughts – it gives you what you demand with your actions.”

― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

How about, 8 weeks, you and your bestie, in a modern, private, appointment only gym with an intensley trained trainer chasing a simple goal, to get you into your favourite outfit again! It’s easy, sign up to lose 5kg with our 8-week Get Fit program, and you can bring your bestie to all your workouts!

If ditching the gym to have brunch with your best friend makes you feel a tad bit guilty, cut yourself some slack and just bring them along, on us!  It turns out friendships can impact our health just as much as working out and eating properly do. Research proves, having an active and fulfilling social life is crucial to maintaining physical health. Turns out, you can have the health benefit of your friendship and working out, all at the same time!

In your teens, social isolation is equivalent to the effects of getting no exercise says Kathleen Mullan Harris, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the lack of social connections in old age is equivalent to having diabetes, in terms of increasing hypertension. Working out with your best friend is a sure way of staying active and healthy for life.

In each of four studies tracking more than 20,000 teens into young adulthood, a survey on midlife and two surveys focusing on retirement and aging adults, the number and quality of an individual’s social life was compared with the four measures of physical health: BMI, inflammation, abdominal weight and blood pressure.

Researchers discovered a positive correlation between the number of social connections an individual had and his or her health. “With each additional social connection that you have, you get an added beneficial effect for your health,” Harris explained. “The more, the better.”This research validates previous research finding that individuals with active and thriving social lives can reduce the risk of mortality by 50 percent!

If you really want to lose the extra weight, eat better, get better quality of sleep, reduce stress and look good in your favourite clothes, try working out with your best friend. After all, working out with a companion has been scientifically proven to improve your exercise game and overall happiness!

Have you noticed a correlation between your health and the quality of your relationships? Do you make your social life and personal wellbeing a priority? Do you ever exercise with your friends?

Tiger Athletic is a private, appointment only gym. Whether you’re looking to diversify your workout regime or find a new way to sweat, we have you covered to tone, shape, or maintain your already enviable frame in Sandton’s most progressive and exclusive gym. 

Together Changes Everything. Let’s workout.

Book your complimentary workout below, and yes….Bring Your Bestie 🙂

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FitMums #StrongHER

Together Changes Everything

Having a strong, fit and healthy body can really help you in packing everything you need to into your day. This is especially true for mums and mums to be with all the lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling that comes with the job! Whatever your situation, needing to lose a little weight and “tighten” up, new mums, mums with young kids or pregnant we provide modified workouts that maximise conditioning benefits while minimising injury risk.

Our qualified trainer designs safe, fun and innovative aerobic endurance workouts for improved cardiovascular fitness, as well as resistance training for increased musculoskeletal fitness in one on one or small group sessions depending on your need…. train on your own with your trainer, with a workout partner or best friend or in a small group of four!

We recommend that when embarking on a weight loss exercise program or post-natal exercise program, you play it safe and get the “all clear” from your health care provider before hiring our qualified personal trainer. A correctly designed exercise program with proper coaching that corrects, motivates and assesses you can help you feel stronger and more energised, lose ‘baby weight’, correct stress incontinence, improve tummy separation (diastasis) and your belly’s appearance, and improve your posture.

Perhaps you’re a mum with older children and still feeling the impact of birth years on or just wanting to shed some weight, look and feel younger and give yourself a new lease of life, whatever your situation, Tiger Athletic personal training has the right mixture of qualifications and experience as an athlete and coach to safely and effectively strengthen your body with a simple, effective strength and conditioning program.

Tiger Athletic Fitness & Conditioning is as appointment only, strength & conditioning gym offering custom, personal trainer led fitness solutions in a modern, private facility in the heart of Sandton. Your preparticipation health screening and goals are the foundation and corner stone of the efficient, effective 50-minute workouts.

Together changes everything. Let’s workout!’

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#StrongHER

Together Changes Everything

When pregnant, you may seek out exercise programs for several reasons. You may feel self-conscious about your changing body, be concerned about having a healthy baby, want to stay in shape during your pregnancy, want to be able to handle the rigors of labour and delivery, or need additional social interactions and support during this phase of your life.

If you were physically active pre-pregnancy, you may continue, with the appropriate medical advice participating in appropriately adjusted sessions of physical activity to maintain cardiovascular and muscular fitness during pregnancy and post-partum.

If you were previously sedentary, you may also benefit from regular exercise during pregnancy although a program that is consistent with your physical capabilities would involve additional support, motivation, and professional guidance.

In all cases, being pregnant and wanting a personal trainer from Tiger Athletic, you will be required to consult with your health care provider before we can design or initiate you in an exercise program or modify your current exercise program.

Recommendations regards exercise during pregnancy relate to three key concerns:

• Insufficient oxygen or energy substrates to the foetus
• Hyperthermia, induced foetal distress or birth abnormalities
• Increased uterine contractions

A well-designed fitness program with correct assessment, doctor advice, additional support and motivation should pose a low risk for these problems in uncomplicated pregnancies.

Benefits of Exercise During Pregnancy

Most pregnant women who follow their doctor recommendations can attain maternal health and fitness benefits. The following are some of the benefits for pregnant women who engage in exercise and follow their health care providers recommendations in a properly designed prenatal exercise program. (adapted from ACSM 2000, reference 4):

• Improved cardiovascular and muscular fitness
• Facilitated recovery from labor
• Faster return to prepregnancy weight, strength and flexibility levels
• Reduced post-partum belly
• Reduced back pain during pregnancy
• Increased energy reserve
• Fewer obstetric interventions
• Shorter phase of active labor and less pain
• Less weight gain
• Enhanced maternal psychological wellbeing that may reduce feelings of stress, anxiety and depression associated with being pregnant
• Increased likelihood of adopting permanent, healthy lifestyle habits
• Participation in an exercise program may also be beneficial in the primary prevention of gestational diabetes. The effects of regular exercise training on insulin secretion, insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism may improve glucose tolerance.

In the absence of either medical or obstetric complications, exercise during pregnancy appears to be associated with many of the physical and health benefits typically observed in non-pregnant women.

Exercise Guidelines

The following exercise guidelines from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists apply to women who would like personal training from Tiger Athletic and do not have additional risk factors for adverse maternal or prenatal outcome. (Adapted from International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics 2002, reference 3):

• 30 to 45 minutes of moderate exercise up to 6 days per week
• Avoid exercise in the supine position after the first trimester
• Exercise should not continue past point of fatigue or reach exhaustion
• Non-weight bearing exercise such as cycling, and stretching are favoured for reducing injury risk and continuing the program throughout pregnancy
• Exercises that present potential for even mild abdominal trauma are avoided, as well as activities that present a high risk for loss of balance or falling are discontinued prior to the third trimester.
• Large increases in body temperature are minimised through adequate hydration, appropriate clothing and optimal environmental surroundings during exercise.
• The many physiologic and morphologic changes of pregnancy persist 4 to 6 weeks post-partum, exercise programs should be resumed gradually after giving birth.

Tiger Athletic Fitness & Conditioning is a modern, private, appointment only strength & conditioning gym in the heart of Sandton. Our custom exercise programs stem from personalised assessments, strength & conditioning, motivation and education.

Together Changes Everything…

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Sandton’s Private Gym

We Train The Hardest

Tiger Athletic Fitness & Conditioning is a private, appointment only gym in Sandton, Johannesburg. We use sport science to assess client’s health, set SMART goals and design custom fitness and lifestyle programs delivered through personal training.

Our programs cater for Sandton’s most influential minds, with many of the precinct’s top executives being part of our clientel. Our pragmatic, scientific approach develops the physical and mental strength of champions that transcends the playing field into the work arena.

Our approach is simple, a full body assessment to start the process and provide the foundation for a custom fitness and lifestyle program, plate loaded strength equipment, boxing gear and your personal trainer Aubrey, whose philosophy is built around coaching science and experience as a black belt, elite level fighter and instructor. Tiger Athletic is more than just another ‘exclusive’ fitness club, we are a portal to a healthy and productive way of life. A VIP pass to lifelong health, fitness and wellbeing.

Monthly membership starts at R5000. A 10 hour investment of your time each month with an intensly trained trainer to live our motto, “We Train The Hardest”.

Our assesment and health appraisal process is our competitive advantage. We screen for risk factors and symptoms of chronic cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, and orthopaedic diseases in order to optimise safety during exercise testing and participation as well as assessing health status and stratifying risk as a basis for referral to our network of health care professionals where necessary.

Assessment data provides a platform to initiate fitness and lifestyle interventions for our clients. Creating a new, pre emptive path where data highlights the possibility of future injury or illness. Through our approach we can go beyond aesthetics, not managing to create beautiful, toned bodies but being able to forge a holistic approach to health.

We design safe, effective exercise programs and provide the guidance to help clients achieve personal fitness and health goals.

Together changes everything. Let’s workout

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New Year. New You.

There is no time like the present especially when it comes to gaining control over your health and lifestyle after an indulgant festive holiday. We’d like to make your fitness goals a reality in 2019. Become a new client and book 10 fitness sessions for January in December and get up to a 50% cash back to spend as you please!

Tiger Athletic is a private, appointment only strength and conditioning gym in the heart of Sandton. We offer a modern approach to fitness using exercise and nutrition programs based on your health assessment and goals.

We use our personal trainer and modern, state-of-the-art equipment, to provide you with a structured, action-oriented exercise and nutrition solution, improving fitness and appearance, reducing health risks and promoting healthy behavior through extraordinary 50 minute workouts that are simple, efficient and effective.

Our entire approach is designed around you as an individual, your unique physique, capabilities and goals. We assess, motivate, educate and coach you towards your personal goals in a professional and supportive environment.

Our assessment procedure and expert medical network ensure that you are looked after in the best possible way. Ensuring health first and lots of fun while you work towards your dream aesthetic.

Together changes everything. Let’s chat about your health?

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Implementing a Wellness Plan Within Your Law Office.

Your law office is only as healthy as your team members. If you find merit in this statement, you may also find merit in implementing a wellness plan within your firm. The legal profession is notorious for its prevalence of poor physical and mental health. The unique pressures of the modern legal environment leaves lawyers significantly more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than other professionals.

A successful wellness plan establishes resources to help your attorneys and staff members maintain optimal physical, mental, and emotional wellness. A successful wellness program requires a partner skilled in thoughtful development and execution. This short paper aids that process, providing some tips on implementing a wellness program within your law office.

Why?

The mental and physical health of your team members is vital long term, aiding increased periods of peak performanc. A strategically aligned plan directly impacts the success of your legal practice in numerous ways:

1. It takes time to build an effective team of skilled attorneys and reliable support staff. You put in the effort to attract them to the firm – why not put in the effort to keep them there? Wellness programs help bolster employee satisfaction by providing tools that employees find useful in their professional and personal lives. Health screenings empower employees to stay on top of their physical wellness. Custom personal training, nutrition programs and office exercise programs encourage physical activity. Flexible work schedules send the message that it’s okay for employees to take time for themselves. Each of these resources provides value that increases team member satisfaction and long-term productivity.
2. It’s not necessary to beat your employees over the head with demands for healthier living. We can help your firm to develop a ‘culture of wellness’. Data from our assessment designs modern lifestyle programs that become engrained in the fabric of the law office, where attorneys and staff members are consistently exposed to healthier options and opportunities. As stated in the Harvard Business Review article How to Design a Corporate Wellness Plan that Actually Works, “It is first and foremost about creating a way of life in the workplace that integrates a total health model into every aspect of business practice, from company policies to everyday work activities.”
3. Combine, a culture of wellness with satisfied employees and you get increased productivity. Healthy employees are happier at work and play, are more efficient and are more effective in their execution of targets. There is a large percentage reduction in illness related absenteeism and team members can think clearer and communicate better because they are not going through the day exhausted and feeling overwhelmed. We effectively implement employee wellness programs that directly result in more productive teams translating into higher profits for your firm.

How?

It’s more than just starting a weight loss program or offering an incentive to quit smoking. Our assessments provide data that highlights the areas for physiological development that would most contribute to peak mental and physical performance. A short, in depth health and lifestyle questionnaire achieves the first step. These assessments are essential for determining where your team members find challenges and concerns both in their professional and personal lives.

Data from assessments is used to create personalised wellness plans. Common issues among your team members are also identified, this data is used to create the inhouse component of the program.

1. Smoking Cessation
2. Strength & Conditioning
3. On-Site Exercise Solutions
4. Short-Term Health Challenges

Communication.

Team members need to know that you have implanted a wellness program and what it entails. The framework of the plan is laid out with the appropritae mix of short video and face to face engagement is laid out at greater lenghth via targeted email. The goal is to create a create a culture of wellness.

Opinions are split on the issue of incentives and milestones for employee participation in wellness plans. According to the Harvard Review article, financial incentives have not been proven effective for long-term behavioural changes.

In fact, they may even foster some resentment and ill-feelings among team members. Instead, use team-based incentives to build camaraderie and encourage support among employees like competitions where strategic teams work as a unit to meet specific health goals. These options are more effective for creating a community of support, which leads to long-term changes.

Personal SMART goals are next. Quartely screenings provide data that demonstrates the development of the perticipant. Quarterly surveys, evaluate their participant impressions. Our wellness plans are never static, each team and team situation are unique, so there is always room for change and enhancements.

Whether you are a mid-sized law firm, a small practice or inhouse department with only a few members, a wellness plan can be of great assistance to your employees and the firm. It takes a bit of effort, but the result is more than worth it.

Tiger Athletic Fitness & Conditioning is a modern, private, appointment only strength & conditioning gym in the heart of Sandton. Our custom exercise programs stem from personalised assessments, strength & conditioning, motivation and education.

Together Changes Everything. Let’s Get Stronger!

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Benefits Of Back Training

You can’t readily see your back in the mirror however, NEVER skip back in your workouts. A sculpted back always looks however back exercises have a deeper impact, too, as a strong back keeps your posture pristine and facilitates a healthy spine.

Most folk love to work the ‘show’ muscles’. These “mirror” muscles are the ones you flex in your reflection to prove you’re looking good, usually, your chest, biceps, fronts of the shoulders, quads and abs. No part of your physique is more important than the other. You to develop your back muscles, particularly the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids and traps to provide symmetry between the front and back of your body. Whatever your end goal or vision for your physique, back training is critical.

Exercises that are often used to build the superficial muscles of the back are:

1. Lat Pulldowns
2. Rows
3. Pull-ups
4. Pull-overs
5. Rear Flys

Neglecting the muscles that you can’t see front on in the mirror, particularly your back muscles, has negative structural consequences for your body. A weak back doesn’t have the musculature to prevent rounded shoulders, causing upper back, neck and shoulder pain, also reflecting in poor posture that says weak, timid or lazy.

Lower back pain is however a result of weak muscles of the middle and lower back. You develop support for the spine and pelvis another pain/injury prone area by strengthening the deeper muscles of the back, particularly the erector spinae, multifidus and quadratus lumborum, making running your park run, pressing a weight for developing the rest of your body, moving furniture, carrying groceries or twisting to pick up a toddler or pet, easy injury and pain free tasks

These functional back exercises address these stabilizing muscles:

1. Back extension
2. Plank holds
3. Bird dogs
4. Cobra lifts

Muscular balance is developed by working the muscles of the back in conjunction with the muscles of the front of your body, apart from making you a fully functional human being you are less likely to develop muscle/strength imbalances that increase the likelihood of injury while performing primal functions, i.e. hinging, squatting, lunging, bending and twisting.

For example, while working hard at crunching exercises to develop the aesthetics, function and strength of your abdominal muscles, you set yourself up for lower back pain if you fail to do a commensurate amount of work on your back muscles. The muscles of your abs become tight and strong because of too many crunches, and pull on your low back, causing pain and possible injury to the discs.

Tiger Athletic Fitness & Conditioning is a private, appointment only strength & conditioning gym in the heart of Sandton. Our personal trainers are health and fitness professionals who use an individualised approach to assess, motivate, educate and train clients. We design safe, effective, fun exercise solutions for the individual who is accustomed to personalised attention and a modern approach.

Your initial interview’ or first session, is to assess client – trainer compatibility, discuss goals and a client – trainer agreement. This includes the preparticipation health appraisal, essentially a questioneer to identify known diseases and “red flag” positive risk factors associated with heart disease, assess lifestyle factors that may require special considerations, and identify individuals who may require medical referral before starting an exercise program.

Tiger Athletic’s health first approach helps you reach your goals safely and effectively through health and fitness assessment, personalised coaching, modern resistance and cardio equipment, calisthenics and boxing to provide a pragmatic, extraordinary 50-minute workout that is simple, efficient and effective.

Together changes everything. Let’s workout.

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Superfoods & Your Health

If you are searching for a way to make any meal healthier, superfoods are the most concentrated mineral and nutrient dense organic foods on the planet, with nutrients in their natural form. Eating a diet rich in superfoods should help to control weight, curb hunger pangs and cravings, protect from diseases and boost the immune system. But knowing what to eat and how to eat it can be confusing. Here are a few simple options to get you going!

Water is a keeping-weight-off superfood, it’s a great alternative to other, high calorie beverages like sweetened hot drinks or fizzy cold drinks and you are not likely to ‘compensate’ by eating less food. Research suggests that people who drink liquid carbohydrates (such as fizzy cold drinks) are more likely to consume more calories than their bodies need, compared with people who ate the same amount as a solid carbohydrate.

A recent study focused on a group of obese adults who ate three, 180-gram servings of fat-free yogurt a day as part of a diet, reduced their normal daily caloric intake by as much as 500 calories. Further, this group lost 22% more weight and 61% more body fat than another group of participants who ate a reduced-calorie diet that didn’t emphasize calcium-rich foods. Even more impressive? the yogurt eaters also lost 81% more stomach fat!

The acai berry is a relative of the blueberry, cranberry, and other dark purple fruits. This reddish-purplish fruit is touted as one of the elite superfoods with anti-aging and weight-loss properties. The berries come from the acai palm tree (Euterpe oleracea), which is native to Central America and South America. Research on the acai berry has focused on its possible antioxidant activity. Theoretically, that activity that may help prevent diseases caused by oxidative stress such as heart disease and cancer.

Lycopene is a beneficial nutrient and the red pigment that gives tomatoes, watermelon, red grapefruit, and navel oranges their color. Lycopene is said to have protective effects against prostate cancer, though more quiet research has shown it has tremendous health benefits for women as well, including proof that lycopene may help protect against breast cancer.

Antioxidants are vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that protect and repair cells from damage caused by free radicals, which are often by products of oxygen use by the body. Many experts believe the damage from free radicals plays a part in several chronic diseases, including hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), cancer, and arthritis.  Free radicals can also interfere with your immune system, so fighting off damage with antioxidants helps keep your immune system strong, making you better able to ward off colds, flu, and other infections.

Black and green teas both have different types of antioxidants from fruits and vegetables. More than a decade’s worth of research about green tea’s health benefits — particularly its potential to fight cancer and heart disease — has been more than intriguing, as have limited studies about green tea’s role in lowering cholesterol, burning fat, preventing diabetes and stroke, and staving off dementia. The detoxifying effect of the antioxidants found in green and black teas protects cells from free radicals, which can cause damage leading to blood clot formation, atherosclerosis, and cancer.

Vitamin D is important for bones because it assists the body in calcium absorption. Most people know that calcium is needed for strong bones, but it’s also needed to help blood vessels and muscles contract and expand; to send messages through the nervous system, and to secrete hormones and enzymes. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in your body and makes up 1%-2% of adult human body weight. Over 99% of it is stored in bones and teeth, with the rest stored in blood, muscle, and other tissues.

Tiger Athletic Fitness & Conditioning is a private, appointment only strength & conditioning gym in the heart of Sandton. Our personal trainers are health and fitness professionals who use an individualised approach to assess, motivate, educate and train clients. We design safe, effective, fun exercise solutions for the individual who is accustomed to personalised attention and a modern approach.

Your initial interview’ or first session, is to assess client – trainer compatibility, discuss goals and a client – trainer agreement. This includes the preparticipation health appraisal, essentially a questioneer to identify known diseases and “red flag” positive risk factors associated with heart disease, assess lifestyle factors that may require special considerations, and identify individuals who may require medical referral before starting an exercise program.

Tiger Athletic’s health first approach helps you reach your goals safely and effectively through health and fitness assessment, personalised coaching, modern resistance and cardio equipment, calisthenics and boxing to provide a pragmatic, extraordinary 50-minute workout that is simple, efficient and effective.

Together changes everything. Lets workout.

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Pre-emptive Assessment & Training

Pre – emptive training (alternately preventive medicine, preventative healthcare/medicine, or prophylaxis) consists of measures taken for disease prevention, as opposed to disease treatment. Just as health comprises a variety of physical and mental states, so do disease and disability, which are affected by environmental factors, genetic predisposition, disease agents, and lifestyle choices. Health, disease, and disability are dynamic processes which begin before individuals realize they are affected.
Annually, millions of people die of preventable deaths. About half of all deaths are due to preventable behaviours and exposures. Leading causes included cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, unintentional injuries, diabetes, and certain infectious diseases. Millions die each year due to poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle.
According to estimates made by the World Health Organization (WHO), about 55 million people died worldwide in 2011, two thirds of this group from non-communicable diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and chronic cardiovascular and lung diseases. This is an increase from the year 2000, during which 60% of deaths were attributed to these diseases.
Pre – emptive fitness assessment and training are especially important given the worldwide rise in prevalence of chronic diseases and deaths from these diseases, thus screening and risk assessment is the spine that supports all Tiger Athletic personal training programs.
There are many methods for prevention of disease. It is recommended that adults and children aim to visit their doctor for regular check-ups, even if they feel healthy, to perform disease screening, identify risk factors for disease, discuss tips for a healthy and balanced lifestyle, stay up to date with immunizations and boosters, and maintain a good relationship with a healthcare provider.
Some common disease screenings include checking for hypertension (high blood pressure), hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar, a risk factor for diabetes mellitus), hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol), screening for colon cancer, depression, HIV and other common types of sexually transmitted disease such as chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhoea, mammography (to screen for breast cancer), colorectal cancer screening, a Pap test (to check for cervical cancer), and screening for osteoporosis. Genetic testing can also be performed to screen for mutations that cause genetic disorders or predisposition to certain diseases such as breast or ovarian cancer.

The Tiger Athletic scope of practice involves the responsibility of interviewing potential clients to gather pertinent information regarding their personal health, lifestyle and exercise readiness. This is a vital mechanism instrumental in appraising health status and developing comprehensive programs of exercise to safely and effectively meet the participants individual objectives.
We are a health and fitness company whose modern approach is based on an individualised approach to assessments, motivation, education and coaching of clients for maximum health and aesthetic benefit. We use the client consultation and health appraisal process to design safe and effective exercise programs and provide you with the guidance to help you achieve your personal goals. Recognizing our area of expertise as strength and conditioning professionals we refer you to other health care professionals when appropriate.
The primary principle underlying the client consultation and health appraisal process is to screen participants for risk factors and symptoms of chronic cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic and orthopaedic diseases to optimise safety during exercise testing and participation. Assessing a client’s health status and stratifying risk is our basis for exercise program design and referral to healthcare professionals.
Obesity and being overweight is a major risk factor for a wide variety of conditions including cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, certain cancers, and type 2 diabetes. To prevent obesity, it is recommended that individuals adhere to a consistent exercise regimen as well as a nutritious and balanced diet.
A healthy individual should aim for acquiring 10% of their energy from proteins, 15-20% from fat, and over 50% from complex carbohydrates, while avoiding alcohol as well as foods high in fat, salt, and sugar. Sedentary adults should aim for at least half an hour of moderate-level daily physical activity and eventually increase to include at least 20 minutes of intense exercise, three times a week.
Preventive assessments and fitness training offer the safest most effective avenue to mitigate or side step potentially catastrophic medical events. The medical system in South Africa is geared largely toward curing acute symptoms of disease after the fact that they ‘arrive’ in the emergency room rather than screening for symptoms and initiating preventative measures. An ongoing epidemic within South African culture is the prevalence of obesity. Eating healthier and routinely exercising plays a huge role in reducing an individual’s risk for type 2 diabetes.
Tiger Athletic Fitness & Conditioning is a modern, appointment only, strength & conditioning gym in Sandton, offering custom, personal trainer led fitness solutions. Our workouts are based on your health screening and goals. This initial process is instrumental in screening participants for risk factors and symptoms of chronic cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic and orthopaedic diseases to optimise safety and benefit during exercise testing and participation.
Three and a half million South Africans (about 6% of the population) suffer from diabetes and there are many more who are undiagnosed. It is estimated that another five million South Africans have pre-diabetes, a condition where insulin resistance causes blood glucose levels to be higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be type 2 diabetes.
The highest prevalence of diabetes is among the Indian population in South Africa (11-13%) as this group has a strong genetic predisposition for diabetes. This is followed by 8-10% in the coloured community, 5-8% among blacks and 4% among whites. 90 to 95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is among the leading cause of kidney failure, limb amputation, and new-onset blindness in adults.
Tiger Athletic Personal Training offers benefits and results that dieting, and supplements alone just can’t give you. The exercise component of our programs boosts your metabolism and turns your body into a fat blasting furnace, while the benefits of our ‘smart nutrition’ go beyond weight management.
Good nutrition can help reduce the risk of some diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, some cancers, and osteoporosis. Our programs build muscle in the places you want and improves body shape to give you a firm, toned body, which when coupled with smart nutrition safely speeds up the weight loss and strength gain.

Our programs consist of strength & conditioning, healthy eating and portion control – eating the right food in the right quantities at the right times with a weekly weight loss target of half to one and a half kilograms. We keep track of your progress with monthly body fat percentage and girth measurements to show progress and motivate performance.
Tiger Athletic workout plans are based on your consultation and health appraisal, with a lot of variety and progressively harder sessions. Why? Not just to make you stronger and more fit, but to make sure you keep burning fat and toning muscle. When you do a workout repeatedly, it eventually gets easier, which means your body doesn’t have to work as hard and therefore burns fewer calories.

Our motto is “We train the hardest”, therefore each week the workouts evolve to a higher intensity, keeping your body interested and guessing by never doing the same workout twice.
Together changes everything. Let’s workout.

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