Being overweight at a young age destroyed my self-esteem as a child because I was shy and had difficulty making friends. I hated the way I looked and felt like I was always being judged for being overweight.
As a coping mechanism, whenever people called me names, I would laugh and play along as though I was unbothered, yet deep down, it really tore me apart. I would cry when no one was looking and resort to food as my source of comfort.
When I joined SleekGeek SA in 2016, I wasn’t sure if I could lose the weight and keep it off.
Even though there were scores of testimonies from people who’d lost weight while on the programme, it was still hard for me to trust that I’d someday be one of them. I’d previously tried to lose weight on my own but failed dismally.
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I learned early on that quick fixes don’t do the trick — I’d struggle to keep the weight off, and would end up gaining three times the weight I’d lost.
I once took magic pills and shakes but they didn’t work for me, so I stuck to healthy eating and more exercises. However, this time around, I was mentally ready and knew why I wanted the change. The first step was educating myself on how to read food labels and learning what ingredients were good for my body. I stopped eating complex carbs like rice, pasta, bread, sugar, dairy, fizzy drinks, processed foods and alcohol.