“Here’s How I Lost 13 Kilos After The Birth Of My Second Child”

When 2020 started, Shanee Minnaar set out her last “I will lose weight” resolution. Just two months after giving birth, she was determined to build back her strength, and better her health for herself and her kids. Here’s how this mom of two lost 13 kilos and learned to put herself first.

Shanee Minnaar

Occupation: Marketing

Age: 27

City: Pretoria

Weight before: 75kg

Weight after: 62kg

Height: 1.66

The time required to reach current weight: 4 months

The secret weapon to her weight loss: Consistency is key

READ MORE: “I Lost 34 Kilos By Sticking To A Low-Carb Eating Plan”

The Gain

A “very lean” teenager, Shanee says that she never had much of a problem with her weight. It was only when she started working and wasn’t exercising as much, that the unwanted weight started creeping on. And her eating habits didn’t help, “[I would start] my day with a toasted cafe sandwich for breakfast, a takeout from the canteen for lunch and grab some chocolates and sweets for snacks while I worked. Dinner would be a usual home-cooked meal. And every meal was always accompanied by fizzy drinks.” she explains.

The Change

After the birth of her second child, Shanee says that she realised that she needed a change as she wanted to be a mother that was involved with her kids — and the excess weight was making that hard to do. “Even just a quick playtime had me exhausted,” she adds. Deciding that she would start 2020 on a healthier note, Shanee set her last “I will lose weight” resolution and was determined to stick to it.

 

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I was asked if I would share my @risewomen__ progress photo earlier this week and at first thought I was like uhm which one, the one in my undies?? I immediately felt vulnerable and overwhelmed. I even panic ate abit if im being completely honest here, one I was worried cause I’m sharing very intimate pictures and two I was so afraid there wouldn’t be much difference, and I’d end up dissapointing myself and the women at rise (the pressure we put on ourselves sometimes is ridiculous). I hadn’t looked at these pictures since it was taken either and actually deleted it off my phone and had to retrieve it from the mail I had sent. But then I remembered my answers to the questions that we were asked before we were chosen to join the #20in2020 challenge and once I read it, immediately I knew it was what I had to do, so i thought I’d share snippets of my responses as well. “How do you feel 20in2020 will benefit you?” I have just recently become a 2nd time mom and my my oldest is 2years old so I’ve gained a lot of weight being pregnant. I have also spent the last 3years focused on being a mom and not given much focus on myself. 20in2020 will give me the kickstart I need to focus on myself again and I firmly believe this will make me a better person and mom. I need to regain my confidence and feel beautiful again. The weight gain and flabby skin has made me feel trapped and I’m dying to feel comfortable in my own skin again. I know my body will never be what it was but I’m proud of what my body has brought me and want to look after it and value it again like I did before “Why do you feel like you should be selected as one of the 20 women? I not only want to make a change in my own life but I feel that alot of new moms feel the way I do and I could be an example and motivation to others that we too can be happy healthy and beautiful So I knew I had to share this because how can I motivate and inspire if im hiding behind closed doors. It’s in that moments of us being most vulnerable, that we dig deep and ultimately become our strongest!. Share and tag this message to friend that needs it❤

A post shared by Shanee Whiting (@shanzw) on May 9, 2020 at 2:48am PDT

The Lifestyle

The first to go was her beloved chocolate, sweets, and fizzy drinks. She stopped eating takeaways and instead opted for steamed veggies, lean proteins, healthy grains, and salads. “Once I was consistent with my meals, I started getting more creative and found that I really love wraps and can change it up and keep it interesting. Also, I love trying out new smoothies and smoothie bowls, it’s a great sneaky way to get in extra fruit and veggies,” she explains.

When it came to exercise, Shanee started off slowly as she was only two months postpartum. She began by following the postpartum workouts of the SWEAT app which had her doing 5 workouts a week, with three of those workouts being resistance/weight training and two 35-45 minutes walks. As she built up her strength, she began incorporating running and high-intensity interval training.

READ MORE: “After Doing Kate Hudson’s Workouts For A Week, I Understand Why She’s So Fit”

The Results

Since starting her journey, Shanee has lost a total of 13 kilos and says she feels amazing. “I feel more alive now, I have energy for days, and I can keep up with my kids, which is an absolutely amazing feeling. I also sleep so much better than I used to,” explains Shanee.

Besides having an abundance of energy, Shanee says that this journey has allowed her to prioritised herself, which has made everything else fall into place. “Taking time out for yourself is of utmost importance. It’s in our innate being as women to take care of everyone and everything else before we prioritize ourselves. But realizing that it isn’t being selfish and it’s the best thing that you can do is to take time out for something you love”.

 

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If you’ve been wondering if you’ll ever get your body back?? I hope this shows you that you can. I used to ask myself this very question so many times. And it took me forever to realize that my body is still there, it never went anywhere, it never left me, it has always been here. It just needs to be taken care of and molded again. It’s done this plenty times before. Its grown since I was born , it transformed in my youth and it allowed me to expand again and birth, so why will it fail me now? Your body is amazing, its done this before , its a pro and you should learn to trust it. This is 6months post partum with baby nr2 ?? swipe right to see where I started 4months ago. *ps set by @cottononbody . . . . . . #SAMOMBLOGS #SAmomblogger #sablogger #samom #joburgmom #fitmomlife #fitmoms #fitmomgoals #fitmominprogress #athomefitness #postpartumfitnessjourney #findyourstrong #fitlife #iworkout #strongnotskinny #workoutmotivation #sweatpink #postpartum #postpartumfitnessjourney #thisispostpartum #pwr #pwrprogress #pwrathome #sweat #kelseywells #kelseywellspwr #sweatcommunity #socialdistancing #homeworkouts #lockdown2020 #mycottonon

A post shared by Shanee Whiting (@shanzw) on Jun 6, 2020 at 1:25am PDT

Shanee’s Tips

• Water is life: “I never used to drink water as this is how our body flushes away all the weight. It’s like the elixir for weight loss, nothing works if you don’t have enough water each day”.
• Consistency is key: “You cannot see the results you want if you do not remain consistent”.
• Working out is nothing without a clean diet: “I’ve never done both simultaneously in the past I’d workout but still eat how I wanted and never saw the results like I have now. I finally understand the saying ‘you cannot outrun a bad diet’ “.