Fairlady Lose It: Handbook 2025

1. You must not use the content in The LOSE IT! Handbook as a substitute for medical advice from a health-care professional. You should seek medical advice from a qualified professional before starting any weight-loss programme. 2. The LOSE IT! Handbook provides educational information on weight-loss management and is intended to assist users in weight loss. The magazine team cannot give medical advice or a diagnosis. 3. The information and material in The LOSE IT! Handbook are intended as a general guide to assist with weight loss and do not take into account individual circumstances. The magazine team will not provide any form of assistance or support in individual cases, nor give feedback on any information you submit to the magazine. 4. You use The LOSE IT! Handbook and the information…

People are only just beginning to discover how powerful the gut microbiome really is, but we already know that it has a profound influence on so many areas in our lives. It’s called the ‘second brain’ for a reason: it controls everything from whether or not we tend to gain weight to how well we respond to medicines and how likely we are to suffer from obesity, diabetes and some cancers. It controls our moods, our energy and how well we sleep. It determines how well we cope with stress and is a strong indicator of whether we will be depressed or anxious. It controls our cravings: You know how you thought you had a sweet tooth? It’s actually bad bacteria in your gut that are causing you to crave…

Eat dinner before dark Your circadian rhythm makes your body start producing more melatonin as night falls because melatonin is the hormone that, among other things, helps you sleep. The problem is, it also stops insulin from working properly. And that, according to nutritional expert Dr Mindy Pelz, is why we should eat dinner while it’s still light outside. ‘You’re going to get that insulin spike [from your dinner] and then your insulin levels are going to start to come down again,’ she says, just as they should. ‘And then melatonin is going to start building and building and building. The melatonin’s going to get you a good night’s sleep and let you recover from your insulin spike from dinner. What’s happening to those of you who are having a…

VICKIE DE BEER is a writer, photographer, professionally trained chef and food stylist. She knows all about eating low-carb, from experience. When her 8-year-old son Lucca was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2010, she immediately started testing and developing low-carb recipes for him, with amazing results for his blood sugar control. With paediatric dietician Kath Megaw, she wrote The Low Carb Solution for Diabetics, which was awarded the Best Cookbook of the Year by the Sunday Times Book Awards. It has sold more than 40000 copies worldwide. Vickie has also written two other cookbooks, My Low Carb Kitchen and Low Carb Express. GLYNIS HORNING is an award-winning freelance writer based in Durban. She is the recipient of the Discovery Health Journalism Award for Best Health Consumer Reporting and Feature Writing,…

fashion Brazilian flair The collaboration between the Brazilian brand FARM Rio and adidas is basically dopamine dressing in the form of activewear. The range – which is full of vibrant kaleidoscopic prints inspired by the landscapes of Brazil in mood-lifting colours – includes a onesie, long-sleeved shirts, sports bras, pacer shorts, leggings and a backpack. It’s exactly what you’d want to wear going from the gym to the streets. adidas.co.za The perfect fit Your whole day can be derailed by bad underwear – it can pinch, pull, tug, and end up in all the wrong places. Enter Seamfree underwear, which is made using seamless circular knitting technology, so it adapts to your body and feels like a second skin. The Seamfree range includes bras, panties, vests, crop tops and shapewear;…

‘I could never do that,’ Claire says. just couldn’t do without my____.’ Insert your go-to comfort food here. In my neighbour Claire’s case, it was pasta. ‘But it’s only for one month,’ I told her. She shook her head vehemently. ‘I can’t.’ Claire had just let loose a litany of things that had been plaguing her: gout, bloat, aches and pains, exhaustion, excess weight she just wasn’t able to shift. We hadn’t seen each other for a while, and when she told me I was looking exceptionally well, I told her about the gutrepair regime I was on that had revolutionised my life, and started to outline the basic principles. Instead of leaning in, she looked frightened. It’s amazing how attached people can be to things that are harming them…