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Growing up in Manenberg on the Cape Flats, food was always a big part of Farenaaz’s youth. As a child, she was constantly reminded about her ballooning weight by the people around her. Keeping an eye on it was difficult, as the culture Farenaaz calls her own celebrates life with food. Much thought and preparation goes into each and every meal provided at family events – of which Farenaaz attended many – and the foods are always high in carbohydrates and predominantly deep fried. There were always paper bags available for attendees to take what food they couldn’t finish back home with them, allowing Farenaaz to indulge long after the event had reached its completion. This unhealthy relationship with food continued throughout her childhood, as binge eating became her comfort in a world that was too quick to judge and too slow to apologise. Exercise was a word not found in her vocabulary, as getting sweaty in front of her peers was the last thing she wanted to think about. Farenaaz’s crazy carousel sped up as her peers would ridicule her, prompting her to abstain from physical activity, which would lead her to feel guilty and find comfort in the foods she psychologically relied on.
After school, Farenaaz met the man of her dreams and married him. Over the years her unhealthy eating habits continued, and her weight was thrown out of control by three pregnancies. The turning point came one day when Farenaaz took a long hard look at herself in the mirror, realising that she no longer recognised the person staring back at her. The woman looked unhappy – almost miserable – and without a purpose in life. Farenaaz did not remember herself this way, and decided that a lifestyle reboot was long overdue. She was going to find her purpose again – one way or another. She joined a Saturday Weigh-Less Group, and it fast became the highlight of her week. It was the one place where Farenaaz was not labelled; the one place she felt like she belonged. She needed to come into contact with people who were going through what she was – and the Group environment allowed for just that.
The first two days of her Weigh-Less journey were difficult,
as she would get mild headaches owing to the lack of refined sugars, caffeine and copious carbohydrates in her diet. These headaches were a side-effect of her body’s capacity to flush unhealthy chemicals from her system and soon passed. Nevertheless, her desire to become the woman she deserved to be overcame the 40 year love affair with food that she had subjected her body to, and she gently eased herself into the healthy Eating Plan. Farenaaz didn’t find it easy, and cheating now and then was inevitable for a creature of habit like her, but she never allowed those naughty nibbles to derail all the hard work she was putting in. She taught herself that food cannot be allowed to dictate one’s destiny. As a Muslim, Farenaaz had no issues when it came to fasting and abstaining from certain foods. She would simply steer clear of the deep-fried samosas and delicacies she used to enjoy, and would stick to eating chicken and fish as her protein serves. The Woman of the Year Finalist admits that,being on Weigh-Less is all about adapting to your specific cultural requirements – this adaption is easy with the help of your Group Leader.
Every time she weighed in, she lost weight. The amounts were often very small, but she never frowned upon these – she was losing the weight and that was all that mattered. Slowly but surely Farenaaz transformed into a slimmer, happier, and healthier version of her former self. Along her journey to Goal Weight, Farenaaz would use simple techniques, such as placing the exercise bicycle in the lounge, to make getting fit while sticking to a pre-existing routine doable. She kept herself accountable by sharing this journey with her husband and children, and they would be the constant reminders of
why she needed to reclaim her health.
You need your heart working alongside your head to succeed.
Farenaaz is no stranger to three digits on the scale, and has been rather far down the rabbit hole of self-loathing, but she took on the ultimate challenge of complete self-transformation and succeeded. How could I make others happy when I was not happy at all,
she recounts. One weight loss product actually landed Farenaaz in hospital, something she is noticeably still upset by. When first dieting, my motivation was up and down – causing my support base to lose faith in me. I needed some serious soul searching to find where I went wrong. This is where Weigh-Less came in – I went wrong by not going to Weigh-Less in the first place.
Along her path to Goal Weight, Farenaaz admits that she was never deprived of food in the slightest – every single meal she ate filled her up. So there she was, eating almost more than she could manage while still amazingly losing weight.
For Farenaaz, reaching her Goal Weight was a very emotional affair. Her hard work and commitment paid off, and it was something that nobody could take away from her. For the first time in her life, she was genuinely comfortable in her own skin. Farenaaz wants to offer every person out there the opportunity to change their lives. The best part about Weigh-Less, according to Farenaaz, is the fact that there are no lotions, potions, or shakes to take – it solely consists of healthy foods, in the right portions, with bucket loads of motivation and support. Farenaaz shares her Weigh-Less story with all who have the pleasure of meeting her, and believes that she is absolute living proof that the Weigh-Less Way is the only way.
I know where I came from, and I never want to go back there.
