Chemoné Van Der Westhuizen loses 90kgs

Good day Sleeks, 

I started with my weight loss journey in 2008, when I looked at myself in the mirror one morning and realized, “Wow you are 160kg and you will not see the age of 40 if you don’t do something fast”.

I started with a simple lifestyle change of just cutting out carbs and sugar and I took small steps in climbing the stairs at work.  Believe me at 160kg a flight of stairs is torture!

The beginning:

I was a thin child until I hit high school then my weight started ballooning out of control because I was bullied. Believe me, kids can be very mean so I found my comfort in food.  I am an emotional eater so when I was sad I ate and when I was happy I ate.

When I started working in 1995 I discovered takeaways and when you earn your own money it’s easy accessible to eat very unhealthy every day.  This was much easier than preparing food at home and taking it to work for lunchtime.

In 2001, I met my first steady boyfriend, but very quickly realized that I was in a very abusive relationship. I turned to food for comfort once again. He was also big guy and was a force feeder and always used to say “You are big for me so that no other man would look at you” and that is probably the way he liked it.  

I eventually found out that he was bipolar and after a relationship op 8 years I had the courage and left him.

Disease and turnaround

That’s when I decided to take my life back and do something about it. I was diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2, High Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol due to my weight at that time.  This news was not easy nor pleasant to hear!

Although I was not on a specific eating plan, I started to eat salads and cut out carbs completely – pretty much just did my own thing of cutting out what I considered bad foods.  I started with little exercises every day like walking a flight of stairs.

For six years this was my daily regime and lost 74kg. I was ecstatic, without any supplements and doing this all on my own by only exercising a little and eating healthy.

Relapse 

I started a new relationship in 2014 and thought “Ok I’ve met someone and just let lose a little bit on the dieting and exercise”.  Time rolled by so quickly and in 2016 I found out that he was cheating on me. Needless to say, the scale once again indicated that I had pick up another 18kg and I was in the double digits again at 104kg. I was so sad that all my hard work went down the drain just because you let go a little and don’t watch what you eat.

Enough!

There and then I decided enough is enough and I got a personal trainer and started to train 4 times a week, doing cardio and boot camp, boxing and yoga. I started again with the healthy eating and lost from October 2016 until September 2017, 17kg.

I lost a further 17kg and still going strong every day and my aim is to lose another 10kg before June 2018.  More than ever before, I am and remain motivated in ultimately having lost a total of 100kg!

Sleeks my journey was very hard and many days I was lying in my bed crying because I was hungry.  It is not easy to lose weight I know and I can relate with each and every person struggling with their weight.

Because I have lost 90kg, the down side to such weight loss means that I have a loose skin problem.  I wish Medical Aids would assist in procedures to remove loose skin …They tell you to lose weight because of your health, but when you have lost a lot of weight,  they don’t support you to remove your excess skin – which I feel is also a health risk.

I think by removing this excess skin, the 10kg that is my last milestone, will be so much closer!

What I have learned on my journey is that weight loss is 80% food and 20% exercise. Stay positive and just remember if I could do it you can do it better.

Good luck on your journey and never give up.  

This is really worth it and I am so thankful for all my friends and family that supported me through this and last but not the least a big thank you to my heavenly Father for giving me the strength to do this every day no matter how hard it was for me to even wake up in the morning.

I am truly blessed and thank the Sleekgeek Community for all your compliments and blessings. Stay strong my friends and good luck to each and every one on their journey of becoming a healthier thinner person.

Always Remember:  Losing weight is a mental challenge not a physical one. If you can take control of your mind and body. The weight loss will follow.

Weight loss for Life, 

Chemoné