TEAM GREECE’S PENNY: ‘MY WEIGHT LOSS SCARE’

HER MEDICAL CONDITION SUDDENLY TURNED DEADLY

Penny has always been passionate about being fit and healthy. However, when she became pregnant, she saw her weight balloon by almost 40kg.

“My husband kept telling me, ‘You’re pregnant, just eat!’. He also put on 10kg while I was pregnant!” Penny, 33, laughs.

But when Penny put in the hard yards of “dieting and exercising” in the months after her daughter Sia arrived, she was confused when the weight wouldn’t budge.

“I couldn’t even lose 100g at that time,” says Penny.

The Team Greece cook finally realised something was seriously “wrong” when she found herself falling asleep at the wheel.

“I couldn’t keep my eyes open in the middle of the day,” she recalls.

Knowing her sister had an underactive thyroid after pregnancy, Penny got herself tested and the news was confirmed.

“The doctor said my thyroid levels were so low that they couldn’t even give me a reading.

“MY THYROID LEVELS WERE SO LOW ... I WOULD HAVE ENDED UP IN A COMA”

“And she also said it was likely only a matter of weeks and I would have ended up in a coma – it was that bad,” adds Penny.

After seeing a specialist and commencing medication, Penny immediately saw an improvement in her overall health – and her weight.

“I managed to lose the entire 40kg all before my daughter’s first birthday,” says Penny, citing daily 6am gym sessions and a sugar-free and mostly carb-free diet for the transformation.

During her second pregnancy with son Panagioti, Penny admits she was far more careful and only gained 26kg, which she again lost after pregnancy.

However, the cake shop owner, who has since maintained her weight loss, admits she’s still mindful of her diet.

“I can’t keep eating sugar every single day because I’ll go back to those 40kgs very easily! I’ve learnt to adjust and have everything in moderation.”