SUCCESS STORY: THE LOW-CARB CHEF
Desiré de Vincenzo has always been a foodie; that’s what motivated her to earn her stripes as a qualified chef and low-carb coach. She lost her way, but now she’s back – and 20kg lighter!
Desiré gained control of her fluctuating weight by embracing a low-carb lifestyle – and she’s building a career out of it too!
‘ I’ve had a passion for food for as long as I can remember,’ says Desiré de Vincenzo. ‘My parents’ home was always filled with family and friends on weekends and I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my dad, cooking meals.’ But Desiré’s childhood hobby was put on hold as she grew older. ‘I had been working in the technical field for 15 years, but I just wasn’t happy.’
In 2014, at the age of 34, Desiré quit her job and enrolled in the Christina Martin Culinary Arts Programme. ‘When I started chef school I was overweight; around 89kg. Being there didn’t help much – which good chef doesn’t taste their food?!’ But this wasn’t the first time Desiré’s love for food had sent her weight fluctuating up and down.
‘Throughout my life I’ve been a yo-yo dieter. I would lose weight, put it back on, lose weight, put it back on. I tried just about everything. I did the no-fat diet, the soup diet, the banana diet. I went from one extreme to the next.’
While studying, Desiré heard about a new way of eating that was taking South Africa by storm.
‘LCHF just exploded. After I saw the results and did more research, I became a little obsessed,’ Desiré says. ‘I started cutting out carbs and being more mindful of what I was eating.’
As a chef, Desiré needed to know the exact science behind the low-carb lifestyle. She enrolled in the Banting Buddies Coaching Programme to become a low-carb coach and qualified chef. ‘I focused on the nutrients in the foods I was putting into my body. Once I understood that, there was no going back!’
Desiré struggled to maintain
MY PHYSICAL HEALTH WAS WHAT PEOPLE COULD SEE BUT MY MENTAL STATE WAS WHERE THE BIGGEST CHANGE HAPPENED.
her healthy lifestyle as she faced one challenge after another, including an intense breakup and a death in the family.
Soon she was back where she had started five years previously: at 87kg. ‘2019 led me back to my comfort zone: eating carbs and drinking wine. On New Year’s Eve I changed my outfit numerous times because nothing fitted. I stood in front of the mirror with tears in my eyes and thought, “What happened here?”’ In that moment, Desiré knew what to put on her resolution list for 2020.
‘I was going to rescue this poor girl I saw in front of me. I dived deep into food nutrition, superfoods and anti-inflammation ingredients. I created new and improved recipes so I could stick to my low-carb lifestyle.’
After five months, Desiré was 15kg lighter – no working out, no starving herself. She simply ate good, whole foods and cut out anything that wasn’t serving her body, including alcohol. ‘Those were just empty calories. Even when I thought I was drinking in moderation, I wasn’t.’
No glass of wine could top the feeling of fitting into that little black dress she was saving for a special day.
‘I looked and felt better! My physical health was what people could see, but my mental state was where the biggest change happened. I wasn’t moody or tired. I just had a newfound zest for life. I felt alive!’
Desiré has lost a total of 20kg and is now a healthy 67kg. She’s extended her love of healthy food to her business. Desiré specialises in LCHF meals and helping people with chronic conditions, diabetes and cancers. Her belief is that ‘food is medicine’. With the right ingredients, you can make a big difference. ‘My kitchen has turned into a pharmacy,’ she says.
Her best advice? ‘Figure out what works for you and be kind to yourself. If you slip up, forgive yourself, and carry on with your journey.’