FASHION

and train for a whole week that you’ll step on the scale and see a massive
difference in your weight. It takes at least a month or two to see proper
results, and even then it’s not much. If you commit to getting in shape,
you have to work hard at it and be in it for the long haul, the results you
see eventually make it all worth it.” It took her nine months to lose 47kgs
and she couldn’t be happier with her results. “You have to work for it; it’s
the only way.”
Stephenie is so grateful to her old friends who have supported and
encouraged her, her new friends from the gym, who have motivated
and pushed her, but she is especially thankful for her parents. “My mom
and dad are my everything, they are so supportive. My mom looks after
my son, Khelan, when I’m working and going to gym. My dad is always
Googling new workouts and healthy eating plans for me. They are so
encouraging and they help me so much – I would never have been able
to commit to getting in shape without them.” Stephenie, who still lives at
home, says that her father even went so far as to create a home gym at the
“Me getting healthy has been a good
thing for the whole family; even my son
eats more healthily now – he likes to
eat what I’m eating; he even steals my
plain yoghurt sometimes.”
house for her and he himself is into fitness too now. “Me getting healthy
has been a good thing for the whole family; even my son eats more
healthily now – he likes to eat what I’m eating; he even steals my plain
yoghurt sometimes.” She smiles.
“I would get on the scale, see that my
weight was the same, and cry and cry.
It was depressing. It’s so difficult when
you’re in that place and you don’t see
a way out.”
After a less than pleasant split from her ex, Stephenie is weary of rushing
into relationships, but that hasn’t stopped the attention she’s been getting
since she got her shape back. “I do get a lot more attention from men
nowadays; when I go out, I don’t even have to take my purse out of my
bag, people just want to buy me drinks!” On the other side of the scale,
there are those who are not so fond of her new look, “people are strange;
when I was overweight people would say ‘you’re obese’, now that I’m in
shape, people tell me I’m too skinny.” She’s slowly starting to realise that
she needs to ignore what others have to say and focus on herself, and how
she feels. She also doesn’t plan on losing any more weight – her goal is to
stay at 61kgs, but keep toning up and maintaining her healthy lifestyle.
Besides the gym, she loves to dance, attend zumba classes, workout with
her yoga DVDs and walk along the beach.
When I ask her for her advice to people in a similar situation as her, she
says “it is not easy at all. But never give up. Keep at it; get advice, get
people to support and encourage you. Remember to earn it and own it.
You have to go and sweat it out – even when you don’t feel like it, just get
up and get active. Soon it becomes a part of your lifestyle and you can’t
wait to get to the gym and you can’t wait to eat a healthy salad. It gets
easier the longer you do it, just believe in yourself.”
Young in age, but wise beyond her years – Stephenie is proof that the
harder you fall, the higher you bounce!
7 MARCH 2015 | POTPOURRI