Luxury superyacht cutting through ocean at golden hour

Navigating Balance

Nutrition for the yachting world.

Registered Dietitians and Personal Trainers who have lived the yachting life — guiding yacht crew towards a healthier relationship with food, improved fitness, and productive coping mechanisms for the yachting world.

Nutrition Fitness Mindset

Our Mission

To support yacht crew in finding food freedom in an industry that rarely makes space for it — through evidence-based strategies and personalised nutrition and fitness that fits into your unique life onboard.

Nutrition Fitness Mindset

Meet the Team.

Registered Dietitians & Yacht Crew

Tessa, registered dietitian and co-founder of Navigating Balance

Tessa Pillay

Founder · Registered Dietitian · Personal Trainer · Coach

Hi, I'm Tessa. Before joining the yachting world in 2023, I worked as a registered dietitian driven by both professional expertise and personal experience — I founded Navigating Balance. Having overcome a severe binge eating disorder (BED), I'm deeply passionate about helping others heal their relationship with food through sustainable nutrition, emotional resilience, and mindset work.

Since entering yachting, I've worked as a deckhand, stewardess, and chef. I started Navigating Balance after noticing how the industry often fuels poor body image and disordered eating habits. Now fully recovered, my mission is to support fellow yachties in creating lasting health habits and thriving both mentally and physically at sea.

On a day off you'll find me in the ocean, on the beach or at a good restaurant.

Bella, registered dietitian and co-founder of Navigating Balance

Isabella Panzenbock

Registered Dietitian · Primary Coach

Hi, I'm Bella, a Registered Dietitian based in Ballito, South Africa and former yachtie. After completing my community service year, I took a break from clinical work to explore the world of yachting — an experience that challenged and changed me in the best ways.

Now back on land, I'm a practicing Dietitian with a strong focus on preventative health, behavioural strategies related to food and rehabilitation within the clinical setting. I'm passionate about holistic wellness, mindful living and helping people build sustainable, nourishing habits.

I am also a firm believer in good coffee, slow mornings and long walks on the prom.

Our Services

Two ways to navigate.

01

Personalised Coaching.

Coaching that goes beyond meal plans and focuses on your life at every stage of yachting — charters, shipyard periods, crew dynamics, limited gym equipment and time off. Our dietitians have merged the latest nutrition science to the yachting lifestyle so you don't have to explain life on board to us, we already understand.

Learn More
02

Yacht Crew Masterclass.

10 self-paced modules and resources that will change the way you think about nutrition and fitness and how you can adapt it to your life onboard. Pure science, made understandable, designed by a yacht crew dietitian.

Learn More

Client Testimonials & Results

Client progress photo 1Client progress photo 2

86kg (Dec 2024) — 64kg (April 2026)

Consistent · Sustainable

Thank you so much for supporting me through this journey. I have learnt so much and I have always struggled with my emotional eating and with weight loss in general and you have helped me so much. You have made me feel supported and strong even when I'm at my lowest. I am so grateful for you and what you are doing for me and many others. I always look forward to our calls, I have felt safe to tell you the truth and not worried about how you would react when I didn't follow the plan perfectly. I can't tell you how much I had to deal with that with other coaches. Navigating Balance is a 10/10 for me. Can't wait to see where we go through small habit changes and bringing more awareness to my activity.
Rae, Superyacht Chef, 70m M/Y
I've struggled with my eating habits and self-esteem for a long time. Tessa helped me turn things around. Her guidance was not just about food but about understanding myself and building healthier habits that work for me. She provided practical advice, unwavering support, and encouragement every step of the way. Thanks to her, I've learned how to take care of myself better and feel more confident in my journey toward a healthier lifestyle. I couldn't recommend her enough!
Jade, Superyacht Chef, 35m M/Y
I've always struggled with low iron levels, even before becoming vegetarian, and things only got more challenging after the dietary change. On top of that, I've experienced occasional binge eating episodes, especially during stressful times. Working on a yacht has made things even more complicated—with easy access to unhealthy snacks and limited options for cooking nutritious meals when there's no chef on board. What stood out to me most about working with Tess is that she didn't just jump to the typical "you need to eat meat" response that I've heard so many times before. Instead, she took the time to really understand my lifestyle and dietary choices, and provided clear, science-based explanations of what my body needs and why. I left our sessions feeling more informed and empowered, not judged. Tess provided personalized meal plans and helped me set protein and nutrition goals that are actually achievable given my circumstances. But what made the biggest impact was the way she helped me unpack the emotional side of my eating habits. She offered insight into the triggers behind my binge eating and practical strategies to shift my perspective around food. Thanks to her, I'm developing a much healthier and more sustainable relationship with eating. I couldn't recommend Tess more highly—she is knowledgeable, supportive, and incredibly understanding.
Anonymous, Yacht Stewardess, 30m M/Y