WEIGHT WATCHING

CHERISE DISCOVERS THAT BEING THIN DOESN’T FEEL AS GOOD AS BEING HEALTHY.

WHILEI WAS PREGNANT, I LOVED MY ‘BOEPIE’. I LOVED THE FACT THAT I WAS GROWING A LIVING BODY INSIDE ME, AND PICKING UP WEIGHT DIDN’T

BOTHER ME. I enjoyed not having to watch what I ate – a little bit too much, perhaps. In total, I picked up 13kg.

But after Thomas was born, my weight and flabby skin started bothering me. I began taking drastic measures. I watched what I ate like a hawk, and trained as much as I could. Then I got a wedding dress that showed every piece of flabby skin on my body – and that gave me all the motivation I needed to lose weight quickly, but in a healthy way. At first.

I rode my bike about four times a week, and tried to run two or three times a week and do at least 30 minutes of core training two or three times a week too.

All the training mixed with high stress levels got me back to my pre-pregnancy weight within seven months. But I still wasn’t happy; so I lost another four kilos… and felt terrible in the process. I had no energy, and felt dizzy throughout the day. I realise now how much pressure society puts us under to be skinny, and how quickly this can become dangerous. Luckily Benno saw what was happening, and gave me a reality check. My eating habits weren’t sustainable for the long run; if I wanted to train and look after my baby, I had to change my mindset, especially in terms of what I thought I needed to look like.

I don’t have all the answers yet, but I have picked up some weight and feel much more relaxed about my body. What scares me is how quickly my weight became an obsession, without me realising it. I hope that this will remind people that being healthy is much more important than being skinny.

I realise now how much pressure society puts us under to be skinny…