Author: Modern Athlete

 

1. Make oats your
best friend! Eating a cup of oatmeal (no instant) in the morning will
prevent you from gorging in the afternoon. Try to add a few drops of vanilla
essence instead of sugar or honey.

 

2. Make a list: Do your
grocery shopping with a list and a time limit – that way, you’re less likely to
stray into the processed foods section.

 

3. Don’t confuse
thirst with hunger. Drink a glass of water when you feel hungry
to see if that’s what you’re really craving.

 

4. Take a brisk walk
before lunch or dinner. Not only will you get in some exercise,
you’re less likely to choose something unhealthy after a little exercise.

 

5. Add red pepper
flakes to your pantry. When eaten early in the day, red pepper
lowers the amount of food you’ll eat later. Try adding it to some scrambled egg
or an omelette filled with vegetables.

 

6. Use a dash of
cinnamon: It
gives fruits such as apples and melons a richer dessert feel without having to
add sugar.

 

7. Small changes work
wonders:
If you’re having trouble getting started, make a small change such as starting
a food diary or buying new running shoes. You’re three times more likely to
follow through if you start with small gestures.

 

8. Beware
“fat-free” or “zero trans-fats” foods, as you
could be trading fats for large amounts of sugar or sodium.

 

9. Chew
gum:
Sugarless chewing gum can suppress your appetite in a pinch.

 

10. Dump
the junk food. If you want to avoid temptation, make sure you clean
out the fridge and the pantry.

 

11. Eat a
snack before a party. Arriving with an empty stomach is a recipe
for disaster!

 

12. Have a
Plan B:
Create a shorter training route for days when you’re busy and pressed for time.
It’s far better than doing nothing at all.

 

13. Read
first!
Make sure you check food labels and avoid anything with more than 4g of sugar,
especially high-fructose corn syrup, per serving.

 

14. Team
up:
If you’re trying to lose weight with your significant other, pack each other’s
lunches. The lunchbox surprises will keep the both of you motivated.

 

15. Start
healthy:
If you’re eating out, make salad the appetizer. Most starters are fried and
come with unhealthy dips or sauces.

 

16. Round
up support: Share your weight-loss goals with your friends and
family, make it a positive life change and ask for their encouragement.

 

17. Dress
sense:
Store-bought or restaurant salad dressings can be packed with calories. Make
your own vinaigrette and store it in a small spray bottle to coat your greens
without over-dressing them.

 

18. Wrap
it up:
Before you sit down to a meal, wrap up any extra food so you’re not tempted to
get seconds.

 

19.
Schedule your treats. Establish regular times when you get to indulge
in your favourite food. Once you’re conditioned to eat your treat at those
times – and those times only – you’ll stop obsessing about them.

 

20. Do it
yourself:
Cooking meals at home allows you to control both portion size and what goes into
the food. Restaurant and packaged foods generally contain a lot more sodium,
fat and calories, plus the portion sizes tend to be larger.

 

 

(Sidebar)

(Header) Healthy Recipes to Try

 

CAULIFLOWER RICE

 

Ingredients (serves 4)

?        
500g cauliflower (1
medium head)

?        
1 tablespoon olive
oil

?        
1 clove garlic,
crushed

?        
2 shallots (or yellow
onion), thinly sliced

?        
1 tablespoon soy
sauce (optional)

?        
Salt and pepper

?        
1 small bunch of flat
leaf parsley

 

Method

1.     Process the cauliflower, including the core in a food processor (or
grate) until crumbly.

2.     Heat oil in a large frying pan until hot, saut? garlic and shallots
until tender. Add cauliflower and cook, stirring until golden brown.

3.     Chop the parsley and mix it in with the cauliflower.

4.     Add soy sauce (optional) and salt and pepper (to taste), then serve.

 

EASY HERB VINAIGRETTE

 

Ingredients

9 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 ? tablespoons wildflower honey

? teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup canola oil

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

 

Preparation

Combine the first three ingredients in a medium bowl.
Slowly whisk in oil until combined. Stir in basil and chives. Store it in an
airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

 

It’s a combination of things that
motivate me to push as hard as I do – from an illness that changed my life
forever, to the people, past and present, who have influenced me in numerous
ways. When I was much younger, I looked up to my sister who was a Springbok
swimmer. At school, I took up gymnastics and swimming, which I think was the
beginning of my drive in sport, and it definitely instilled the discipline
required to achieve all the things I have!

 

OVERCOMING HARDSHIP

I remember getting into running
after I met Monika Kraushaar when I signed up for my first Adventure Boot Camp
class. We ran our first 10km at the RAC 10km and inspired each other to take
our running a step further. Monika went onto Comrades and climbing Kilimanjaro,
after overcoming some serious injuries along the way, and it motivated me to be
better. I don’t think I have ever met such a strong-willed individual.

 

It was a harder path for me. In
2010, I was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in my wrist, which
forced me to look at my life differently and make some radical changes in order
to manage the condition. The chronic disease causes swelling, severe pain and
changes in the skin. It took a while to be diagnosed properly and there were
little things I couldn’t do – like a job in an office with a computer! That was
a real low point in my life, but after a while, after getting out on the road
again, I figured that I needed to be strong. There was nothing wrong with my
legs, and I was motivated to do the rehab for my wrist, and at that point my
mind took over. I ran, ate healthily and meditated, and I knew that this
illness could give me the opportunity to give back to others in the fitness
lifestyle I adored.

 

FOLLOWING A PASSION

So I took the brave leap from the
corporate world to start my own Adventure Boot Camp franchise. I remember going
through the training as a franchisee and I couldn’t even manage a push-up! But
I had a strong mind and I remain grateful for the opportunity that was given to
me. I was always scared to do personal training, but I knew that I could
motivate people and myself. After all, exercise was my number one passion.
Despite having a hand that stuck out like a claw, leaving me unable to do
anything that meant using my left arm and wrist, I remained positive.

 

I believe that being a great
motivator is a gift that some people are born with, but it is a quality that
can also be honed if one is doing something that you are truly passionate
about. That’s me! I followed what I wanted to in life and after three-and-a-half
years, I’ve established two camps in Norwood and Illovo in Johannesburg. The
real challenge now is to change it up for the current members, keeping classes
fun and fresh. A lot of people come to class after a long day, so I like
motivating them to better themselves.

 

As for me? I’m planning to run my
first marathon soon, and want to take some Boot Camp members through with me. I
suffered a split cartilage in my knee at the Old Ed’s 21km, so I’ve been out
for a bit, but I’m ready to come back fighting again!

For more info about
Adventure Boot Camp franchises, call 021 447 2746 / 082 567 2267, visit www.adventurebootcamp.co.za
or e-mail [email protected].

Having finished second in Ironman Austria and sixth in
Ironman SA in 2009, James Cunnama qualified for the Ironman World Champs in
Kona for the first time, but he knew he was not experienced enough to race hard
in Hawaii. Instead he treated it as a recce and test his strengths on the course.
“It turns out I was weak everywhere! So I promised myself I wouldn’t go back
until I was properly prepared.” After a few near misses, he returned in 2013
and finished fourth, the highest ever placing by a South African in Kona.
However, his great showing caught the media totally unaware, despite the fact
that he set only the 19^th ever sub-8:00 Ironman time when he won the
Challenge Roth in 2012.

 

“I was barely on the media radar, despite my sub-eight
and winning a few races in the lead-up to Kona. I was the lowest qualifier, but
I had planned it that way, by cherry-picking races and doing just enough to get
in – the top 50 in the world get selected, but the World Champ goes
automatically, so I knew 51^st place was enough. I was considered a
dark horse, because I had not raced well in Kona before.” Well, after a solid
swim and leading the bike leg for a while, James overcame stomach cramps late
in the run leg to overtake two runners in the last few kays to clinch fourth in
8:21:46. “It’s
a little frustrating being one off the podium, but just four years ago I got
absolutely annihilated, finishing 82nd behind most of the girls, so I think I
proved something to myself!”

 

EARLY STARTER

Born in Pietermaritzburg to parents
who regularly competed in the Comrades and Dusi, James was waking early for
training runs from a young age, often running with his mother’s ‘Pukers’
training group, and at 16 he was regularly wining the junior category in local
races up to the half marathon distance. In 2002 he moved to Port Elizabeth to
study Human Movement Science, and at the same time turned his attention to
middle-distance track in order to improve his speed over all distances. Then in
2004 James worked as a race volunteer at the first Spec-Savers Half Ironman, which
allowed him to drive around the route and get a great perspective of the race.

 

The
following year the full Ironman came to town and the triathlon bug bit still
deeper. James did his first Ironman SA in 2007, finishing 21^st, and
the following year he finished 10^th and sixth in the Ironman 70.3
SA, then took a chance and wrote what he describes as a cocky e-mail to Team TBB-Tri-Cozumel, telling them he planned to win the
Ironman World Champs someday. “Six hours later I got an
invite to their Philippines training camp, so I scraped together a few pennies
and went. I did enough to earn a small contract for 2009, which meant I could
live the dream and turn fulltime pro.” That year he was sixth at Ironman SA and
second at Ironman Austria, and since then he has featured regularly on the
podium at Ironman SA and Ironman 70.3 SA, as well as various Ironman events and
other triathlons around the world.

 

IMPRESSIVE PARTNERSHIP

These days James
lives half the year in Stellenbosch and spends the rest of the year between
Europe and the USA. He is one half of the unofficial fastest triathlon couple
in the world with Brit Jody Swallow, a 2004 Olympian and current Ironman 70.3
World Champion. They have been together for two years and travel and race
together as much as possible. “We train at different speeds and intensities, so
often train separately – she actually trains harder than me – but we do about
50% of our races together,” says James. “It would be ideal to travel the world together, like a permanent
honeymoon, but we both treat events as our job, and we cherry-pick our races to
get the best results and maximum WTC points. As hard as it is being apart, we
have a pretty good set-up and see a lot of each other.”

 

Unsurprisingly, given his terrific fourth place at
Kona, James is now focused on winning the Ironman World Championship title, and
he reckons he has a good chance of claiming that coveted title. “I think 15 of
the last 16 winners finished in the top four the year before they won it… but most
previous winners have been at least 34, so at 30 I’m not putting too much
pressure on myself yet. I learnt a lot at Kona this year and know what I need to
work on. But I feel I can win it.”

The 35km Jonkershoek Mountain Challenge race in May
2013 showed exactly why Thabang Madiba is now such a respected trail runner in
SA. With 5km to go he was three minutes behind the leaders, but using his natural speed, technique on steep downhills and ability to
pick it up in the latter part of a race, he chased down trail star AJ
Calitz, Ian Don-Wauchope and Michael Bailey to grab gold in 2:59:56. With it came the title of SA Long
Distance Trail Running Champion, and a spot in the SA team for the World Long
Distance Trail Running Champs in Poland.

 

“I’ve become a technical runner and I love
taking the hills with speed,” says Thabang, “I’ve found the downhills the best
thing when I need to catch up in the last few kays of a race. I also remember
taking on AJ at the Red Bull LionHeart in November as well, where I was lying
third for a while but managed to close the gap and then pull about a minute
ahead of the third man, but AJ still just took the title.”

 

HITTING THE HILLS

Given the success that the man from
Ga-Rankuwa has enjoyed on the trails, it’s hard to believe that he only did his
first trail race in 2009, with little knowledge of the technicality of the
sport. “I was always an athlete, and I remember being quite good in the 1500m
in high school, but I started mainly on the road,” says Thabang. “But at home
there was a small mountain I could run on and I enjoyed it so much. Now I am driven
by the uniqueness of the trails I race. It’s great to get into it – you get to
view nature for free and there is always something new. Every trail is
different and that’s why it keeps me motivated!”

 

In the last few years, Thabang’s talent on
the bike as well as his feet gave him the opportunity to represent SA at the
ITU Duathlon World Champs in Spain in 2011, where he placed 21^st
overall. But it was after joining forces with coach Nico Sterk early in 2012
that Thabang showed he was destined for great things on the trails. He collected
wins at Hedianga Ridge, the Cradle Mayhem, Diamond Dash V and the Roodepoort
Ramble events, and also finished third in the Old Mutual Two Oceans Trail Run. In
2013 he secured another third place at the Two Oceans Trail Race, won in
Jonkershoek and also grabbed eighth at the Otter Trail Marathon.

 

“I always had my running, but it wasn’t
until I met my coach that things came my way. Nico showed me a little more
control in training and right now I’m training two hours a day each in the
mornings and afternoons, while cycling in-between for fitness and doing long
rides of three hours on the weekends,” says Thabang, who also does sessions on
the track to work on his speed. “I needed a programme I could follow properly,
and I’ve definitely grown from that. Now I’m used to six days of intensity a
week.”

 

SUPPORTING CAST

Thabang says the thing he is most thankful
for is the support he gets from family, friends and Nico. “It’s been hard,
because I have a three-year-old son, so there needs to be a balance always, but
my family supports my running, and I also have an amazing neighbour who drives
me to races, while the community always has a good word to say.” Fatherhood is
never far from Thabang’s mind, and after a hard training session he goes
straight home to play with his son. “It’s about commitment for me,” he says, “I
manage to do it all and make sure I support my family as well.”

 

He also says he finds it encouraging to
see how quickly trail running is growing in this country. A few years back, he
saw very little competition for the elites, but now there are athletes putting
their stamp on races all over. “In the last three years it’s changed a lot! Now
there’s more competition out there, which is great motivation for me!” And so,
looking ahead to 2014, Thabang will be chasing more wins: “I want to go back to
the Two Oceans Trail Run because for me it beats any race for scenery and the
atmosphere from the crowd. There are also the XTERRA competitions in the coming
months, and qualifying for the XTERRA World Champs. That’s my ultimate goal!”