I’ve always struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. I was a provincial gymnast at the age of 5, we would get weighed and our body fat tested every 1-2 weeks. My coach told my parents at the time that I should watch my diet because I had a lot of ‘fat cells’! So I had to limit my intake of chocolates and sweets to keep my body fat down and remain competitive in my sport, of course often feeling deprived because it was all or nothing with me, my life revolved around gymnastics and there was no balance.

When I finally gave up at 15, I lost control and ate all the sugary and fattening things that I could get my hands on.  By the time I got to first year university my weight had spiralled to 70kg and I no longer felt comfortable in my own skin. I managed to start getting my weight down in 2nd year university, following a balanced diet and exercising regularly at the gym.  It was here that I first saw an ad to become an aerobics instructor.  I’ve always had a passion for sports and fitness and after giving up gymnastics something was missing so I decided to enrol, and I qualified as an aerobics instructor in 1994.  A year later I qualified as a Personal Fitness Trainer whilst studying for my Honours BCom in Business Management through correspondence through UNISA. Throughout my teaching aerobics and personal training, I can’t say I ever felt comfortable with my body image even though it never showed, I always came across as confident and professional but inside I felt people were judging me. As a result, I never pursued it as a full-time career.  Once I had my Honours Degree, I began my corporate career in 1997. Over the years I taught part-time but it was never my focus.

It was only in 2010, that I took a leap of faith to leave the corporate life and pursue my passion for fitness buying into a successful Boot Camp Franchise for women. Throughout my corporate career, my weight fluctuated from being between 62-68, but I was always able to buckle down following some or other diet and exercising hard to get back to an acceptable weight fairly quickly and easily. Once I started with the boot camp franchise it was the same story – losing weight, then gaining, feeling awesome when I was at goal then feeling depressed and not confident when I put on fearing my campers were judging me, like all women generally do. Despite fearing this judgement, I have always been able to help others from a place of compassion through my own personal struggle and can share so many success stories of campers and clients who have achieved phenomenal weight loss and fitness results with me and have maintained it over the last few years. I have never been able to consistently maintain my goal weight for more than 6 months, eventually I would put it all back on.  Yes I love chocolates and yes I don’t cope well under stress and eat for comfort. But I’ve always been in control eventually to get back and it has come off with ease.  Well that was the case until I turned 43!

Having been single for many years, I met a wonderful man – not just any wonderful man but a restauranteur who loves food and loves to feed others.  It happened over time, slowly creeping up on me – desserts after meals, eating out all the time, large portions my body wasn’t used to, buying me chocolates all the time that I couldn’t resist – my weight spiralled to 73 the highest I have ever been in my life.

Added to that, my mom who is now 86 was diagnosed with Dementia.  I am one of 4 siblings but the only one in South Africa, so the responsibility to make decisions fell on me.  My mom was in denial and resistant to change so it took almost a year to finally move her into a retirement home and pack up everything in her flat. It was probably the most stressful time in my life and my weight during that time spiralled to an all-time high of 81.5kg.

Even when I tried to eat healthy and exercise, my metabolism had slowed down and my hormones had completely gone out of balance so the scale would not budge.  My joints were inflamed and it was an effort to exercise.  My immune system had weakened and I was getting sick every 2 months. This is the crazy impact that stress can have on the body.

I honestly thought my career was over – how could I possibly continue when I could not practice what I preached every day.  People would judge me, I couldn’t demonstrate exercises, it was an effort just to turn up for work. I was depressed, withdrawn and it affected by relationships with family and friends.  I wanted to give up on life!

In May last year (2019), once my mom was more settled in the retirement home and I had my first break off from boot camp, I made the decision to go away on my own for a week to Umhlanga, a place where I have always been able to truly rejuvenate. I explained to my boyfriend that I needed to do some soul searching and get a grip with what had transpired over the last 2 years and that when I returned I needed to make some life changes with regards to my eating habits at home and when we went out and that he needed to respect that.

In the week that I was away, I ate 100% clean for 7 days and exercised twice a day aiming to burn 500+ calories a day.  This is not something I would be able to maintain as a lifestyle everyday but I knew it would be enough to kick start my metabolism again.  I lost 3kgs and that was the start I needed to move forward.

It took me 7 months (May 2019 – Nov 2019) to lose 12kgs and get just below the 70kg mark again. I did it slowly, day by day with small actions practiced consistently.  I fell off the wagon many times along the way and that was okay, each time I had to get back on it got a little easier by being mindful and putting in a little effort. There will always be cheat days, unexpected dinners and surprises and unforeseen events and that’s okay – life is about balance. My boyfriend has made a big effort to try not to bring unhealthy food into the house that he knows will tempt me, when he cooks it’s a lot healthier now and portions are smaller, if we go out he doesn’t pressurise me anymore if I don’t want dessert and if I do, I share something with him rather than ordering my own.

I’m not at my goal yet, the silly season took over in Dec/Jan but I managed to maintain my 12kg weight loss. Back in the swing of things now, I’m focused again to move forward and continue with my journey. I truly believe that it takes a full year to build consistent life-long healthy habits. I took before pics in December – this after already losing 12kgs. I look forward to seeing my progress over the next 3 months and sharing my transformation at the beginning of May 2020 which will mark a year since I have been on this journey.

I decided to do the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Coaching Certification so that I could apply the principles and guidelines that I have been successful with and help others.  I can relate to so many women in their 40’s-60’s who I see struggling daily with their weight, health and emotional well-being. As a certified nutrition coach, I want to be able to reach out to those struggling and coach them to be the best healthy versions of themselves.

There are no quick fixes, it has to become a lifestyle. Making this kind of change requires a complete shift in mindset: learning new habits, practicing them consistently and building life-long skills that can be maintained as part of a heathy and balanced lifestyle.

If you are someone who struggles with this, here is where I can help you as a nutrition coach. For more information on my Nutrition Coaching program and how the Precision Nutrition System works, click here