RONALD’S POACHED EGG ON A BED OF AVOCADO

SERVES 1

• ¾ cup baby spinach • 1 medium avocado, sliced • 2 eggs • Himalayan salt and black

pepper 1. Place the spinach on a plate and top with the avocado slices. 2. Boil water in a small pot, create a whirlpool with the end of a wooden spoon and drop an egg gently into the pot. Once the egg white has gone from clear to white, remove the egg from the pot with a slotted spoon. Repeat with the remaining egg. 3. Top the avocado and spinach with the poached eggs. 4. To serve: Season and serve warm.

‘I’d take things to the extreme,’ says Ronald. ‘Food became the enemy; I’d sort-of demonised it. That was my relationship with food, so my weight would always yo-yo. I would do a 12-week diet and lose 20kg. Then I’d think, “Well, I’ve achieved my goal” and then binge-eat and put all the weight back on in just a month.’

ONChristmas day 2017, the pair resolved to go for a run together, and it proved a real turning point for both of them. ‘We made a pact to enter the Kearsney Striders race, barely a month later in January,’ says Shayna. ‘From then on we started training, doing lots of runs… we were really pushing. After the race in January we had both lost quite a bit of weight, but we wanted this time to be different. We said, “Listen, we’ve lost the weight, we enjoy running, why don’t we make this all for something good?” That’s when we came up with the idea to run for charity.’

Ronald and Shayna started NPO Running Kin, which raises money for charities by organising runs and walks that involve the community and strengthen family bonds. So far, they’ve raised funds for charities like Hope’s Anchor (an NGO for victims of sex trafficking) and for TAFTA (The Association for the Aged).

So what do they eat? For them, eating low-carb, healthy fat has proven to be the best: simple to follow and very effective. ‘My energy levels are up and I’m feeling great,’ says Ronald. ‘I love avocado and can eat it any which way. Last year October I was at my heaviest: 113kg. At the moment I am at 81kg. If I have a cheat meal I can put on up to 3kg, but I’ve come to realise the scale is not really a true reflection of my true weight. I can just train the next day and it falls right off.’

‘I was 75kg and now I’m 62kg,’ says Shayna. ‘My target is 59kg, but I’m happy because I’m almost there.’

Ronald warns that obsessing over the numbers on the scale can have a detrimental effect, especially if you’re already insecure about your weight. Depending on what your goal weight is, you will either starve yourself to stay there once you’ve achieved it or, if you haven’t lost the weight, the despair will have you binge-eating in the middle of the night. ‘I like to think I’ve changed my whole mindset of how I do things and in part that’s thanks to my sister. I now understand that not all food is bad, and it must be enjoyed in moderation,’ he adds.

ASrunners, LCHF really works for them. ‘When you’re running, you’ve got to eat something that will give you energy,’ says Shayna.

The next challenges they’ve set for themselves are running for the Hospice Palliative Care Association of SA in the 2019 Comrades Marathon, and for Ronald to complete his studies as a fitness trainer – and then to find work in the industry.

This tag team’s energy and passion for living healthily is infectious. ‘It’s a lifestyle, at the end of the day – it’s not about losing the weight and then going back to your regular life,’ says Shayna. ‘When you’re in your 20s you think you’re invincible, but as soon as you reach 30, your body changes. It’s about realising that you need to appreciate and take care of what you have.’

From Monday to Friday they keep things strict, and on weekends they allow themselves a treat or two – which they make sure they work off with a good run!