Morne partners with Weigh-Less to shed 17kg!
Morne had always been a skinny child and only started gaining weight when he left school and started work. A busy schedule left him too tired to cook proper meals, exercise or take care of his general well-being. This began to take toll on his body and he gradually gained weight until it eventually dawned on him how big and unhealthy he had become. This is when he turned to Weigh-Less to not only lose the weight, but direct his lifestyle towards a much healthier and happier destination.
Facts and Figures
Height: 1.84m
Weight then: 99kg (117kg at heaviest)
Goal Weight: 82kg
Weight lost: 17kg with Weigh-Less (35kg total)
Time taken: 3 months
I needed something that was well-balanced and would work with my lifestyle. Weigh-Less was the winner.”
From turtlenecks to clothing wrecks
I use to be an incredibly skinny child. Although I lived in the hot and humid Lowveld, all I wanted to wear were turtlenecks to hide my stick figured neck. My big problem (excuse the pun) only started once I had joined the working world, where sitting in front of the computer all day and being too tired to cook allowed me to gradually gain weight. My unconditional love for all fast food, tasty treats and baked goods, coupled with no impetus for exercising and downing bucket loads of sugar loaded coffee a day, saw me balloon from being a skinny teenager to a very large 117kg man in his mid-twenties.
Being overweight ruined my self-esteem. I felt as though nobody found me attractive and I felt quite lonely. Weight gain turned me from a highly sociable man into an introvert. I didn’t want to go out or visit friends, and summer had become a hellish time for me. I would feel so hot and uncomfortable, yet I didn’t dare take off my shirt or wear shorts because I was too embarrassed of my body. Buying clothing was another horrific experience. I am a self-confessed metrosexual and so I found it incredibly frustrating that I couldn’t find clothing that I liked and would fit into.
Health wise, I experienced problems with my blood pressure and felt sluggish because of my weight. At one stage, my doctor became so concerned with my blood pressure that he ordered multiple heart scans for me. My immune system was weak and I would get sick regularly. My immediate family felt as though my weight gain was part of a hereditary natural progression as they all had a little excess weight. Although some of my friends would mention that I should try and lose weight, I would often change the subject because of how self-conscious I felt.
Eating clean and training dirty
I never thought that my diet was a problem. I simply thought that I needed to be more active. I joined a gym, thinking that exercise alone would sort out my weight problem. I vividly remember going to watch the movie 300, and all the actors had abdominal muscles up to their eyebrows. I thought to myself, “That is exactly how I want to look, abdominal muscles with two arms and two legs.” I joined a gym programme which taught me the basic principles of exercising and it helped me in the beginning.
From there, I trained obsessively and would never miss a gym session. The rigorous exercise I was doing helped me drop 17kg but I grew frustrated because I was working out seven times a week, 1½ hours a day, and yet I was nowhere near the weight I imagined I would be. My personal trainer eventually put me on a fat burner supplement and I lost another 10kg, but the supplement made me feel jittery. It wasn’t a pleasant experience and so I decided to stop taking it and eventually settled back on 100kg again.
Although being active is extremely important, I would soon learn that what you eat is even more important. I realised that even though I had taught myself how to exercise, my mistake was that I had not taught myself how to eat. I found a lot of fad diets out there. Only eat bacon. Don’t eat fruit. Cut out carbs. It all just seemed slightly irrational to me. I am a fan of bacon, but for every meal… no thank you! I needed something that was well-balanced and would work with my lifestyle, and through my research, I found that Weigh-Less offered just that.
Weigh-Less is for me
Weigh-Less was something that I was aware of since childhood, but for some reason I had always associated it with “tannies” (older woman). I imagined incredibly unhappy women, eating watery tuna salad and craving a nice piece of red velvet cake. I didn’t think that Weigh-Less was for me. I also thought it would be unbelievably difficult, but I was downright wrong on all accounts. I joined a Weigh-Less Group and our Group Leader immediately became like a surrogate mother to me.
I went to the Group meeting with my friend (who had joined two weeks before me), and so I already had an instrumental support system in place. At the first meeting, our Group Leader explained everything to me and I initially felt daunted by all of it. So daunted that I didn’t start the Eating Plan until two days after the meeting! The first week was the worst for me. I had to cut my coffee supply from eight cups a day to zero. This made me feel homicidal.
I did a little experiment by scooping 24 teaspoons of sugar into a cup to see exactly how much sugar I was consuming on a daily basis, and it was terrifying. I decided to draw up a daily chart which I printed out and stuck to my fridge. It had spaces for allocating the items to each meal and to keep track of how much I exercised or when I cheated. I felt as though I needed to be pro-active and organised throughout my entire journey. Within my first week I had lost 2.5kg and I felt untouchable. I was so proud of myself and realised that Weigh-Less was definitely for me!
Staying on-track
I was determined to not disappoint my Group Leader, as well as myself, at the weekly weigh-in. I would reward myself after a successful weigh-in with a treat, in moderation of course, for being so dedicated. When that craving had me in its grip on a Wednesday night, promising myself that I would get that treat on Saturday was a great motivator to stay on track. My final motivator was the weight loss itself and the reactions I got from people. I specifically remember walking into a store one day and the cashier asked if I was a model. I smiled for days about that!
My journey was not without wobbles though. I would often get late night sweet cravings and decided it was best to not keep the crave-able items in my cupboards. I found that planning ahead went a long way in dealing with the speed bumps. I was freakishly organised and manically weighed my food, something that eventually became second nature for me.
Pre-packing meals for work the night before, and using my chart that I had organised for myself, allowed me to count exactly what I had eaten for the day and what I could still eat for dinner. If I was going to entertain my friends or go out for dinner, I would pack less carbs and protein for the day so that I could have a little extra that night.
Appreciating my imperfections
Since achieving success with the Weigh-Less Eating Plan, I no longer feel deprived from anything, I now have the ability to enjoy all moments in life. I am now more aware of the importance of making good food choices and the power of portion control; this has in turn afforded me the opportunity to enjoy my social life, without compromising on my waistline.
My self-esteem is now at an all-time high and I feel more confident in my own skin. I can interact with people without the worry of being judged. The fact that I have learnt to appreciate my body and the person I am, has been my greatest achievement so far. I have returned to the gym and am trying out different types of workouts, and inspiring people who are also on their own weight loss journey.
I even dress differently; they are slim-fitting and boasting with colour. I take pride in showing my curves off and can pull off stylish outfits. My makeup has also become more natural because I no longer feel the need to hide anything, only to enhance my natural beauty. My friends are still amazed by my transformation and my family is relieved. My water retention along with my back pain have all successfully healed with help from a combination of physiotherapy and Weigh-Less.
The stylish new me
I reached my Goal Weight and the first thing I noticed was my muscle tone. All those years of exercising had finally paid off! I now realise that the muscle was there, it was just hiding under a layer of fat. I am still a big exerciser and have completely fallen in love with running. I run in various races and I am constantly trying to beat my personal best time.
I have regained so much self-confidence and I find it easier to engage with strangers. Something I could not do when I had all that weight. Shopping has become much more enjoyable because I am able to shop where I want and buy what I like. My size is no longer the limit. Although I still strictly adhere to the Weigh-Less principles, I am a lot more relaxed when it comes to weighing my food. I have developed the ability to eyeball a heap of vegetables and know if it’s the right quantity or not. Every night before starting dinner, I take my four plastic containers and I pack the next day’s meals. It’s part of the schedule. Pre-packing and planning your meals are essential principles to stick with.
My advice for anyone who is considering joining Weigh-Less, much like my family is now after noticing my weight loss, is to just do it, don’t even think about it. Weigh-Less will allow you to lose weight without feeling like you are depriving yourself. The support system is amazing and the results are unprecedented. If you are a Weigh-Less Member and you are struggling to reach Goal Weight, cut out all the little extras and simply focus on getting good clean food regularly into your body. There is nothing better!