Tatenda lost 62 pounds

Weight Loss Story of the Day:  Our African sista Tatenda lost 62 pounds. This petite diva’s emotional eating and not exercising resulted in weight gain. She also gained weight during pregnancy.  Feed up with the drama that can come with being overweight, she decided to change her lifestyle.  Here is what she shared with us…

Hi, My name is Tatenda. I am a 30 year old woman with one daughter. About three years ago, I had some issues, got into a bad space and I gained 20kgs (44 pounds) because I did a lot of emotional eating. I was a total junk food addict and didn’t exercise. Then, I got pregnant and I gained another 24 Kg (53 pounds) and my total weight then was 112Kg (246 pounds) and I am a short woman. I looked and felt horrible. I gave birth to my baby last year and I felt terrible that I couldn’t fit all my old clothes. I also hated taking pictures because I looked too awful. I started wearing a size 42 (US size 12) yet I had always been a size 34/36 (US size 4/6) in the past.

I tried to go to the gym but after my caesarean birth I had developed a problem with my sciatica nerve so exercise caused terrible backache. I had to focus on my diet but it was very difficult because I was breastfeeding. For several months, I just did bits of walking, drank warm water with lemon juice each morning and over a period of a year I lost about 18kg (40 pounds). A friend of mine had a wedding about two months ago and I was her maid of honor. I thought I had really lost weight. However, when I saw my photos I was taken aback. I knew that I really had to get more serious and claim my body back. That’s when I decided to accelerate things a bit. I reduced my carbohydrate intake and completely cut out junk food, fast food and sugar from my diet. I also went on the 13 day metabolism diet. Exercise wise, I began to do a lot more power walking and in a space of two months I lost another 10kgs (22 pounds).

I have reached the halfway point to my desired weight goal. For almost a year, I had been trying to shed the weight after my caesarean birth but I wasn’t really serious. I gave myself excuses until I decided enough was enough I decided to make some changes and I am still going on! I have about 20kg more to lose to have a normal BMI and I believe I can do it and so can you!