‘I WANT TO BE A HEALTHY ROLE MODEL’

ELENA GRACE, 37, AND CHILDREN MARIAH, 9, EBONY, 7, CALVIN, 11.

After a tumultuous marriage and subsequent messy separation, Elena Grace, 37, was eventually hit with a reality she’d desperately tried to avoid for many years.

The years of being trapped in an abusive, unhappy marriage had led her to emotionally eat and her weight had spiralled out of control.

For years, she’d avoided looking in the mirror. Now, she couldn’t run away from it any longer. “After regaining some of the strength after leaving my ex-husband, I set on a weight-loss journey and lost 55kg within 12 months!” Elena reveals.

Elena felt amazing with her new healthy 65kg figure. But unfortunately her roller-coaster of emotional eating came back to haunt her the following year as she once again fell on tough times. Over the past couple of years, Elena’s weight has yo-yoed and she desperately wants to get back to being fit and healthy – and this time she’s determined to make the results last.

“I currently weigh 85kg and this year I’d really love to finally reach my ultimate goal weight of 60kg. This challenge is just the motivation I need to help me achieve it,” Elena says.

With her key motivation to be a healthy role model for her children, Elena also worries her bad eating habits have started to rub off on them.

“My children are all above the average weight for their ages, so I want to overhaul our eating patterns and exercise together as a family,” Elena says.