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Melany regains her willpower after losing 31.6kg

Melany was slightly overweight at school, but decided after getting married that she needed to make a change. She joined Weigh-Less and lost 12kg before falling pregnant. After a difficult pregnancy and gaining more than 20kg, she turned to Weigh-Less in the hope of regaining her body and healthy lifestyle. In the process, she not only lost 31.6kg, but she also built a strong bond with her daughter and developed a love for exercise. This is her story…


Weight issues

As a child I was an overweight toddler and I remember that my Aunty Lynn used to call me “Dikkes” (Afrikaans for fatty). At school I was slightly overweight but I was very sporty, so I managed to maintain my weight. Sadly, there was never a point in my life where I was truly happy with my weight.

I gained even more weight when I met my husband as I always felt that it was my duty to make sure he was properly fed. By the time we got married I was certainly overweight. Knowing that I had a problem (and that I needed to change my eating habits), I joined Weigh-Less and lost 12kg. However, I fell pregnant soon after and stopped going to Group. I experienced a difficult pregnancy; I could not stand the smell of food and I was sick all the time. All I could keep down was Marmite toast and biscuits, which saw me gain 20kg.

In addition, Anton, my husband disliked vegetables. All he enjoyed was meat, rice and potatoes. Healthy meals containing any form of vegetables were simply not on the dinner menu, and vegetables became non-existent in our household. Between a full-time job, looking after a pre-mature baby, cooking for my husband and running our home, I became obsessed with making sure everyone else was okay, and I put myself and my wellbeing second. I remember having a big bag of chips, or a packet of biscuits for supper, just because it was quick.

Unpleasant experiences

Gaining the weight caused me to be less mobile and I was constantly out of breath. My chest took a lot of strain. The more weight I gained, the less I wanted to go out. I hated myself because nothing fitted anymore and I became very withdrawn. I constantly felt like people were talking about my weight. It was really hurtful to see people looking at me and sniggering to each other about the way I looked. Then there were those people who were less tactful in their approach saying to my face, “Gosh, but you have gotten really fat!”

I was embarrassed of my weight and I felt myself become more and more withdrawn, especially from family and friends. I started to hate going shopping, as nothing ever fitted me properly. My weight gain also affected my health and I battled with asthma. As I gained more weight, my asthma got worse and I started to worry that my health issues would only multiply with time. I was constantly on medication because I could hardly breathe. It was also discovered that I was only using 38% of my lung’s capacity!

Previous ambitions

I tried every diet that you can think of. From slimming liquids, to drops and tablets; I have tried it all! I even went as far as trying those horrible soup diets. I would lose one or two kilos, and then I would gain what I had lost. The worst thing is that I was often starving! I knew that I couldn’t lose weight on my own, and that I needed help!

My turning point came when I was in Johannesburg for a management meeting. There were five flights of stairs to get up to the floor where I needed to be, and by the time I had reached my destination, I needed half an hour to recover and catch my breath! During the meeting I remember a colleague saying that this year should be about the people. This got me thinking and I decided that I should focus on regaining my health, and making a change for my own personal benefit.

Going back to the beginning

A friend of mine had joined Weigh-Less after she had her baby. I joined Weigh-Less for the first time after seeing her positive results (I lost 12kg), so I knew that it worked. If I knew what I know now, I would never have left Weigh-Less the first time round.

I joined Weigh-Less for the second time and went to a Group in Kraaifontien. My Group Leader was extremely kind and encouraging. She kept me motivated, especially on those days that she could tell I was feeling down. She also taught me that every loss was a good loss, no matter the figure, while she also became a huge part of my support system.

My first meeting was the worst! Getting on the scale for the first time, and then realising how much I weighed (and the amount I had to lose), was a shock to my system. I felt like crying but I knew that I had no one else to blame but myself. My Group Leader and I calculated a Goal Weight of 70kg, meaning that I would need to lose over 30kg!

Although it seemed a lot, I told myself that if I could just lose 1kg a week, then I could reach my Goal Weight in six months! That didn’t seem so bad at first - 4kg a month was totally attainable in my mind. I also set myself a personal goal in that by August, I would be at Goal Weight, as that was when our company would hold their annual awards evening, and I was going to look stunning!

Feeling the difference

As the kilos started melting away, I felt my confidence coming back slowly but surely. I only really started noticing my weight loss when I had lost around 13 – 15kgs. Everything in my closet was all of a sudden too big! The more weight I lost, the harder I worked to get to Goal Weight!

My family (especially my sister) would tell me how great I looked after losing weight. She would always buy me new skinny jeans, skirts, or tops - anything to motivate me and show her support. My daughter, Melissa would also remind me on a daily basis that we needed to do our exercise. My husband was consistently complimenting me on my new figure and this motivated me even more to continue on my weight loss journey.

When I started at Weigh-Less, I made separate meals. But it became really time consuming, so I gradually started making meals for the whole family. I coped with eating out rather easily, because I avoided it as much as possible! When it came to entertaining and braai’s, I would always make sure I had my skinless chicken breasts and a coke lite or soda water on hand.

I bought a stepper and my sister gave me an old exercise bike. I started doing exercise 15-20 min on the bike and five minutes on the stepper. After a while it still wasn’t enough, and I strived to be fit and healthy! I soon started adding in jumping jacks, sit ups and stomach crunches. My daughter (who was five years old at the time), would do the exercises with me and push me a bit further when I couldn’t push myself any more.

Reaching a milestone

Just three days before our work function, I reached my Goal Weight! I will never forget walking out of the weigh-in room and everyone waiting to hear if I had reached my personal goal. My Group made me feel so special and I was bubbling with excitement. I couldn’t believe that I had overcome such a huge milestone.

I lost 31.6 kg in just eight months. I feel like a new person and I know it shows. I now have people coming to me and telling me how I have inspired them to want to lose weight, and how fabulous I look! It’s such a wonderful feeling and I suggest that anyone wanting to lose weight should trust Weigh-Less! Thank you Weigh-Less for changing my life!