Remember earlier this year, when Nadia Jaftha won SABC 3’s Tropika Island of Treasure reality show with her #TeamCoolRed teammate Trevor Lagerwey? Well, what you didn’t know was that barely a week after their winning episode aired, Nadia was on set shooting the August cover of Women’s Health. (Pretty cool, since Trevor himself is a former Men’s Health cover guy!) That adds reality TV show winner and WH cover star to Nadia’s already impressive CV. Which includes: social media influencer, entrepreneur, actress and musician. Did we mention she’s not even 30 yet? Sjoe. Yet confidence hasn’t always come naturally to Nadia. These are the lessons she’s learnt that help her back herself.
Women's Health August Issue
Stop comparing yourself to others.
Nadia’s self-love journey started with the realisation that the most harmful thing she could do to herself was compare herself to others. “If you’re bringing yourself down because of what someone else looks like, you’re treading in dangerous territory,” Nadia says. “I’ve experienced various stages of depression and anxiety and this heavily contributed to how I saw myself and how I viewed my body. My body would be fine, but because of my mental state, I saw something else.” Having “big legs and broad shoulders” was the bane of her existence as far as her body image was concerned. “For the longest time, I just wanted to have thin legs and skinny arms,” she explains.
Know what will work for you.
Now, her entire perspective on how she views her body has changed. She’s learnt that before even trying to pursue a “body goal” she first has to know and understand what’s attainable and realistic for her body type. She has to accept and love the body that she’s in and then decide on how she can work towards an amplified version of that self.
Behind the scenes: Nadia’s genuine energy comes through on camera. It’s impossible to take a bad shot of her!
Speak positively to yourself.
“While I love that the media is opening up and representing a lot more body types, I didn’t want to have to wait for the media to tell me that my body was beautiful,” Nadia says. “I think a lot of women wait for someone else to tell them the things that they want to hear, but what’s worked excellently for me is telling myself the things I want to hear as daily affirmations.”
In The August Issue Of Women’s Health…
Nadia speaks about her experience of Tropika Island of Treasure – and how she never expected to win! She reflects on her career and how starting a blog to promote her small business turned into an Instagram following over 380 000 strong and more than 50 000 YouTube subscribers. She also shares how she keeps fit and looks after her mental health. It’s on sale now – don’t miss it!
