Have you ever tried going to do a couple of dance classes instead of going to the gym all the time? I used to weigh 80 kilos, then I started going to funky jazz classes and the weight dropped off me! Of course I was eating right — I was going to the gym once […]

By Judy Davie “I make a sandwich every day for lunch with canned tuna. I’ve noticed there are a number of flavoured varieties on the market. Are they any good?” — Marie For convenience and variety there’s nothing terribly bad with the gourmet tuna in the supermarkets, although gram for gram they contain around 20% […]

By Judy Davie **”It’s the same story every time I try to lose weight. Even weekends are easy compared to weekdays in the office. Almost every day at around 4.00pm my energy plummets and I make for the vending machine. Can you suggest anything I can do to overcome this?” — Fiona** There’s a clue […]

By Michaela Ryan Did you know there’s no muscle in your breasts? Skin actually provides the main support. And there’s also some support from fine, hair-like ligaments called Cooper’s ligaments. “The breasts are not very well supported for the amount of activity we want to do,” says Deirdre McGhee, sports physiotherapist and lecturer in functional […]

When all around are snuffling and sneezing into tissues, you can breathe easy with this immune-building cold and flu prevention plan. Stay well and lose weight with an eating plan full of vitamin C-rich fresh produce and live cultures from miso and natural yoghurt, aimed directly at strengthening the immune system. Buy natural yoghurt with […]

While weight loss is an individual journey, I often see people facing common challenges even though they are in different occupations and at different life stages. So if you’ve decided the time has come to get in shape, check out if any of these challenges apply to you. Don’t worry if some of them sound […]

Let’s take a closer look at one of the lesser known midyear fruits, custard apples. Custard apples originate from Peru in South America and were introduced into Queensland around 1874. They are also known as cherimoya, atemoya and bullock’s heart. Custard apples look like an artichoke — heart-shaped with a leathery, bumpy green skin. The […]

Carnitine, an amino acid derivative, is one of the more commonly popped supplements. It’s touted as a fat mobiliser and weight loss aid, but is also said to improve athletic performance. Support for the weight loss benefits of carnitine is very slim to say the least, but what about its use as a sports supplement? […]

If you spend a large part of your life sitting at a desk, it makes sense to ensure that it’s safe and comfortable. These stress relieving ideas should make deskwork a breeze. Keep it clean The average desk harbours 400 times more bacteria than an office toilet seat. Disinfect germ-laden troublespots like phones regularly. Ease […]

Doctors tend to be reluctant to encourage alcohol consumption and when they do, it’s usually red wine that gets the tick of approval. However, a growing number of research papers indicate that perhaps beer is the better option when it comes to adding up disease-fighting benefits. For example, Japanese scientists have found that antioxidants in […]