“I now take better care of myself and my mood has definitely improved, I can now finally be the person my fiancé fell in love with”
Marilise had always had the best intentions of eating healthy but always started her day off on a bad note by not eating breakfast in the morning.
Marilise Archer
Occupation: Sales Consultant
Age: 25 years
City: George
Weight before: 91 kilos
Weight after: 78 kilos
Time taken to lose weight: 13 months
Secret weapon: When life knocks you down, do a burpee and never give up!
The Gain
Marilise has always been overweight since her childhood. Even though she’s always been active – played action netball in school, however – “I would be so hungry after gym and eat whatever is available instead of fuelling my body with healthy food,” she says. “For lunch I would have take-aways, either a pie or unhealthy sandwich followed by something sweet.” Late afternoon would be a packet of crisps time. “For dinner, my plate would be filled with carbs and something deep fried like hamburgers, chips covered in sauce,” she admits”.
She often craved sweet things and her water intake was at an all time low because she drink fizzy drinks on a daily basis.
READ MORE: “I Decided To Replace Alcohol With Water And Lost 11 Kilos”
The Change
April 2016, Marilise got engaged. She took lots of pictures to celebrate her moment but had difficulties choosing a picture to send to her family and friends as she didn’t like what she saw on the photos. Marilise knew that her life needed a turnaround, “the next Monday, 9th May 2016, I wanted to change my lifestyle, so I tried many diet plans but would always fail,” she admits. Seeing those photos opened her eyes to an awful realisation of many other things she didn’t like about herself; how she quickly got out of breath, how none of her clothes could fit her well, and how all this was affecting her self-confidence.
READ MORE: 3 Diets You Should Try If Your A Total Carb Lover
The Lifestyle
To motivate herself, Marilise asked her fiancé to take “before” pictures of her – just to keep the eyes on the ball. She also planned her meals for the week; salads, meal replacement shakes and snacks. She also started eating oat meal for breakfast, drank 3 litres of water per day and consciously thought about what she was putting into her mouth. “I would always read motivational weight loss stories and think how will I be able to change my lifestyle to where these people are,” she says. Marilise exercised hard too, focusing a lot on cardio – she would attend group classes at gym and continued to play action netball. “I signed up at CrossFit George to up my game and exercised 4/5 days a week for an hour there after,” she adds. Just for control!
READ MORE: Tone Up The Fun Way With This Strength And Cardio Dance Work Out
The Reward
Marilise dropped 2 dress sizes and achieved her personal goal in the 5km parkrun. “I get compliments almost daily and I’ve never been this confident in myself,” she says . Often she’d rewards herself just not always with food, but by by doing her nails or buying new clothes. She says, “If I do reward myself with food or something sweet, I will do it in moderation”.
Marilise’s Tips
- Fuel your body, don’t feed it. Make sure you think about what you put in your mouth and DON’T SKIP BREAKFAST.
- Two words – “Social Media”. You are not alone in this, if you feel like giving up, read on success stories or chat on a platform where others feel the same.
- Don’t try change who you are. Strive to be a better version of yourself.
Ready to transform your life too? Sign up to Women’s Health’s expert-approved eating and exercise plan — Lean Body Blitz — and watch the weight disappear. Are you a weight loss winner? Tell us your story and you could be featured in the magazine! Read more weight loss success stories.
