Johannesburg - Every year millions of people around the globe set about making New Year’s resolutions, hoping to spark positive change.
Among the most popular changes that people look to make is to improve their health and fitness.
But just how many actually stick to their resolutions?
Sadly, very few go through with their resolutions, with the majority giving up within weeks.
While sticking to your health and fitness resolutions may not be easy, South Africans have now been given a helping hand in 2022 with the launch of an all-new health and fitness show on social media platform YouTube.
The show, launched by South African TV presenter, media personality, fitness enthusiast, and entrepreneur Stacey Holland, recently went live and focuses on a number of fitness and health-related topics.
LiveFit with Stace is an online lifestyle show, in which Holland discusses health and fitness topics with a variety of guests; from celebrities to medical and fitness professionals.
The show also includes a limited series called ‘The Cover Series’ where Holland shows viewers a behind-the-scenes look at her preparation for a fitness magazine cover.
Viewers can look forward to exciting content in the pilot season of the show, with six episodes that will focus on important topics such as Health on a budget, What’s The Deal With Depression? , Venus vs Mars, The Healthy Vegan, The Sexisode, and Age Like JLo.
Holland says she’s delighted to have launched the channel and hopes it proves to be beneficial to all South Africans.
“I’ve been working in the health and fitness industry for over 10 years and one thing I’ve learnt from my personal journey and from coaching others is that health and fitness aren’t always mutually inclusive.
“I’ve met very fit people who still battle health challenges like chronic low-grade inflammatory conditions like dermatitis, arthritic conditions, mental challenges like depression and anxiety, and gut challenges like IBS.
“Conversely I’ve coached clients to a place of being quite healthy but they have yet to achieve a measurable level of fitness.
“I realised that we say “fitness is a lifestyle” but we neglect to talk about the factors in life that hamper our road to becoming fitter like mental, financial, and even relationship obstacles.
“I also hosted a health talk show on TV for seven seasons and realised that many people over the age of 35 were focusing less and less on physical fitness and it wasn’t incorporated into the show effectively, so I decided to create a show format that was more in line with my philosophy.
“The biological definition of fitness is “to be suitably adapted for an environment”, so I started asking the question: am I really adaptable for the variety of environments I find myself in? If not, am I really as fit as I think I am. That led me to develop LiveFit: to become fitter in every aspect of our lives,” says Holland.
Her show will feature renowned guests, which includes the likes of Integrative Doctor and Hormone Specialist Dr Mark Opperman, Clinical Psychologist Dr Thuraisha Moodley, as well as 5FM DJ Nicole Da Silva who shares her raw and real journey with depression.
The show will also include financial experts such as Mlamuli Mbambo who will offer advice on how to be financially fit.
Doctor to the stars, Dr Nicole Kanaris, also features on the show.
“Doctor Nicole Kanaris shows us how JLo has managed to age so well and what’s natural versus where she got some help from the needle or scalpel,” Holland says.
The channel will also feature functional dietician Mpho Tshukudu and author Petra Laranjo talking about veganism and how to be healthier if you’ve adopted this lifestyle.
While launching her own health show has been in the pipeline for some time now, Holland believes the show could not have been launched at a better time with the world battling through a pandemic.
“I think health will always be important for as long as we are alive. However, I think the pandemic shed some light of specific health topics like immunity. We’ve all been forced to learn a little bit more about our personal health, about nutritional supplements, and even medicine.
“The pandemic re-ignited my passion for talking about health issues in a way that educates people from all walks of life. The general notion of being healthy is still somewhat elitist and we also have the idea that it cannot be achieved sans money.
“We talk about the nuances and simplicities of health and fitness and hopefully anyone from any background can take away a nugget or two,” Holland says.
Maintaining her health and fitness has changed her life and she hopes that her show can go a long way in helping others with their health and fitness.
“I have been plagued by a number of health challenges: skin problems, mental health problems, allergies.
“My immediate family members also struggle with motor-neuron problems, epilepsy and cardiovascular issues. The prognoses for both me and my family members weren’t good. Becoming healthier and fitter helped me manage and even combat some of these health conditions.
“Maintaining a healthy and fit lifestyle has made me more disciplined, more mentally and physically resilient. It’s made my immune system more robust. It’s introduced me to incredible people and allowed me to travel to some beautiful places off the beaten track,” Holland says.
Holland also has some health and fitness advice for South Africans as we look ahead to 2022.
“I always recommend that people start with their why. When your reason for being healthy is not fully and realistically developed you tend to fall off the wagon and struggle to get back on. Give yourself a minimum of three months and a realistic term of a year to experience noticeable but sustainable change.
“Make 2022 the year you fix your gut! Your gut determines an extraordinary amount of health factors in your body: from how you deal with stress, to your moods and even your metabolism. The best way to start is to eliminate trigger foods and see how it makes you feel. Trigger foods include commercial dairy, gluten, processed sugars, and poor quality processed meats.
“Try drinking bone broth daily (there are recipes on my website) and incorporate better quality veg and meat produce in your diet. Another free tip is learning to breathe.” “Practice doing 10 deep belly breaths, in and out through the nose, three to four times a day and before bed,” says Holland