Mommy Mandisa maintains her Goal
After her second child, Mandisa’s eating habits and weight gain escalated, until she lost her self-confidence and disliked the way she looked. Now Mandisa’s children are thrilled with mom’s new slimmed-down look, and she feels more confident to tackle her corporate career.
Facts and Figures
Height: 1.70m
Weight then: 74.6kg
Goal Weight: 60kg
Weight lost: 14.6kg
Culture shock
When you get to the stage of having kids and or getting married, in my culture, you are automatically expected to just let go, having a fuller figure at this stage in life, according to the elders, is a sign that you have grown and you are treated well by your in-laws and your husband. Growing up I was never a thin girl, but considered myself full-figured, rather than overweight. However during and after my first pregnancy I picked up some extra weight, but not a lot. The large gains came with my second pregnancy, when my eating and weight gain became something I just couldn’t seem to control. I loved to cook, and enjoyed my food and so I would just eat. But I ate excessive amounts of unhealthy food. I also had challenges and a few complications in my personal life during my second pregnancy, so I turned to food for comfort. I would justify my uncontrolled eating by telling myself that I was pregnant and so it was okay.
Being overweight had an immense effect on my personality, home and work life; I lost my confidence and my self-esteem was at an all-time low. When I looked at myself in the mirror, the person looking back at me was not what I wanted to see – I was desperately unhappy with the way that I looked! I had out-grown most of my clothes and the thought of starting a whole new wardrobe was just not for me!
I was also shocked by the comments I received from some of my friends, and was subjected to hurtful remarks, especially from friends I had not seen since my weight gain. The most hurtful of these was being questioned about my size; “What happened to you?”, another common question was, “Are you pregnant?” These comments were killing me inside, and sent my self-esteem plummeting.
Being overweight also had an adverse effect on my job, as I was required to do a certain level of public speaking as an Enterprise Development Manager for Absa Bank. It got to the point where I didn’t want to stand up in front of people, and have all these glaring eyes staring back at me; I simply didn’t feel good about myself and the way that I looked in public. And although I didn’t have any serious health problems, walking up a flight of stairs left me out of breath and tired.
After giving birth to my son Imaan, I decided that I needed to take some kind of control of my eating and so I turned to diet pills to try and suppress my eating. Some pills would work at first, but after a while I would just put the weight I had lost back on. Some of the pills also had a negative effect on my health and body, including sleepless nights. All of this was getting too much for me, and I knew I had to make a change; I needed to feel better about myself, but I just didn’t know how.
Life-changing testament
I was then invited to judge in a Weigh-Less regional competition, which a colleague had talked me into doing. At the time I was heading the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business Women Empowerment Desk which was a portfolio for the development of women entrepreneurs. I was a neutral person who was looking at the presentation skills, confidence levels and the way the finalists articulated their stories. I remember that day clearly; I didn’t look my best and had my very own weight complex to contend with – I kept thinking to myself that this is not the place for me to be seen. However, I attended and it turned out to be the best decision I could have made! I was inspired by a lady who gave a moving speech about her Weigh-Less journey; she, like me, had a baby, but she looked fabulous – you wouldn’t have said that she had child. After listening to her testimony I decided that I had to take charge of my situation, and join Weigh-Less, and so I did!
I joined a group and my Group Leader was very supportive throughout my journey, and had a way of making me feel so good about myself regardless of how little I had lost in a particular week. Her constant motivation kept me on the right path and inspired me to keep going. My first meeting was one of mixed emotions, I knew that I wanted to do this, but when I was told how much I needed to lose, I started to doubt if I could actually do this. It just seemed too much. My despair however, was soon replaced with hope and excitement as I went for my second weigh-in after a week and realised that I had lost 1kg! It felt like I had lost 10kg! This small achievement meant the world to me, as I knew that there was no possible way I was going to turn back!
Achieving my Goal
During my seven month journey to Goal Weight, I hardly ate anything that was outside my eating plan, even when I was at a party or event with a variety of food choices. I always tried to stick to my eating plan, but my job posed the greatest challenge – at the time my work exposed me to a number of functions, breakfasts, lunch meetings, gala dinners and so on. There was always a temptation to just indulge in food but I guess my discipline levels were very high.
The further along my Weigh-Less journey I went, the more loose-fitting my clothes became – I felt ‘lighter’ too! It was evident that I was achieving something, and at the same time I was enjoying my new way of eating. I was truly fascinated that I could eat so much, yet still lose weight. My average day menu consisted of bran and yoghurt in the morning, fish and salad for lunch, whilst dinners included a variety of veggies, curry or roast meat – I love cooking, so preparing meals was no problem. I enjoyed Weigh-Less meals with my family and would cook with these same principals for my children, the only exception was brown rice! Weigh-Less became a way of life for me, and I became very knowledgeable in terms of what was good and what was bad for my body, and the best part was that I ate everything I wanted, including cultural foods, but I did it the right way!
The compliments I received after reaching Goal Weight were inspiring, from my work colleagues to family and friends, they were all proud and impressed with what I had achieved. Although, I did get one or two strange reactions from people who thought that I was sick because of the rapid weight loss. Best of all however, my kids were pleased to have a healthy and good looking mom who could play and run around with them without feeling tired and embarrassed.
The knowledge that I have gained from Weigh-Less, my Group Leader and throughout my journey, has stuck with me. So whether it is eating out, at a party or on holiday I know what I should and can eat. If I happened to indulge in something more than is allowed, then I simply go back to basics to get myself back on track.
I feel good in everything I wear and the feeling of fitting into a size 32 is still amazing – my confidence has soared. I have gained back my self-esteem, and the comments are still coming in after three years of being at Goal Weight. I haven’t had the need to change my wardrobe and can fit into my old clothes, but whenever I feel the urge to buy something new I can without feeling embarrassed about the size of my pants! The Weigh-Less principles have became a daily practice in my life. Even though I am at Goal Weight, I still need to keep a positive mind, read success stories to keep me motivated, and enjoy all my Weigh-Less friendly meals. This keeps me on the right path to successful weight management