I HALVED MY WEIGHT THROUGH GOOD NUTRITION, FITNESS & DISCIPLINE

My name is Immaculate Wanjira popularly known as Imms.

 I am a mother to 4 kids Jasmine 22, Twins Marcus 14, Marvin 14 and Janaya 6 years old.

The journey

It all started back in 2016, when my weight had ballooned to 120kgs. I blamed it on the fact that I had given birth to twins. I developed serious pain in my heels which escalated so fast to the point that walking became almost impossible. By this time, I had started going to the gym but the pain in my heels forced me to take a break. A friend of mine suggested that I visit the Orthopedic wing in Kikuyu Hospital which I did, and the doctor confirmed the hurtful truth that my weight was the issue. I got steroids injections and the doctor warned me that I could only get such an injection once a year so my weight had go down. I didn’t have a choice, and had to make a change. Restoring my health became the motivation and I decided to take charge.

Challenges and Obstacles

At the beginning, I didn’t know how or where to start. I thought going to the gym was enough, so I enrolled for two classes morning and evening. The gym was not far from my house. I was so determined, sometimes I would go for an evening class after putting the twins to bed. I did this for close to 3 months but there was no significant change on the scale. I loved aerobics as well and could do 1 to 2hrs then lift weights after yet there was no change.It was frustrating!

A gym friend of mine who had taken a break came back looking very different. We chatted and she asked me to join a Jane Mukami’s no wheat challenge and voila! within 21 days the scale had moved down by 5kgs. That was my biggest eye opener that truly 80% change had to come from my nutrition.

Nutrition and diet

At the beginning, all I did was fad diets. I did not quite understand how nutrition and diet worked scientifically. I started with the wheat challenge, detox, Intermittent fasting, OMAD (One Meal A Day), TMAD (Two Meals A Day) and alternate day fasting. My ultimate goal was just to see my weight go down and honestly it did to 85kgs. It was my first breakthrough down from 120 kgs. Soon after that, I got pregnant and delivered another baby in 2018.  This time, I was wiser and did not eat for two. I only drank for two and followed an Intermittent fasting time table. For a long time, I was able to maintain a healthy weight and it even went down to 78kgs before I hit a plateau. I was able to overcome this and get to my current weight of 65 kgs which am comfortable with.  

NUTRITION IS SIMPLE

My experience inspired me to enroll for a Nutrition Coaching Class. Here, I got a deeper understanding of the co-relation and weight loss and how it all comes together scientifically. Most people don’t understand the simplicity. Meal planning is key to successfully transforming and loosing excess fat. Failing to plan is planning to fail, especially when one embarks on a lifestyle overhaul. Meal planning is not expensive in comparison to curing lifestyle diseases.

WHERE AM AT RIGHT NOW

Right now, I’m at a place where my weight is no longer an issue. My training has also evolved tremendously. From not being able to run past 700mtrs, I now run Marathons and Ultra marathons, I also love to lift weights and do cross fit.   I have learnt that each exercise has its own place in the fitness lifestyle, for example the way running helps in your cardiovascular is different from how burpees engage different group of muscles at the same time, also how effective lifting heavy weight is helpful for a full body re-composition. In fitness its good to mix things up.

STAYING MOTIVATED

Looking back from where I started, how heavy I was and the effect on my health, and even reaching a point of having to get injections on my heels. There is no way I would ever want to go back to that. Am very proud of how far I have come. I often purpose to balance my new found love for fitness with other aspects of my life, and sometimes it has been a challenge for my spouse because am a new person, but he’s found a way to embrace who I am now. He has reached a point of agreeing that first I have to love myself and be happy so I can extend the same to others.

Right now, fitness and a healthy lifestyle is part of my entire family, we love to eat healthy and my kids have embraced it too. My kids are also very supportive, they know that their mother will attend a school meeting, change right after, and run home. This is the kind of balancing that has helped me overcome the challenges of handling my motherhood and balancing a fit lifestyle.  

Achievements and Milestones

First, I am proud of myself for transforming from 120kgs. My average weight now oscillates between 58 kgs, or 62 – 65kgs depending on my training season. This is no small feat. When you picture that, it’s like a whole Imms was chopped off into half. My victory stopped being the number on the scale, but how I feel and how my clothes fit. Secondly, my health status and parameters changed. The pain in my knees and heel is gone. I am healthy and fit.

Thirdly, my mindset changed. It’s like I got born again, because when you eat to live and not live to eat, you stop becoming a slave of food. Physically, it feels so good looking at yourself in the mirror and liking what you see.

And fourth, I am proud to see my transformation inspire others. As a Nutritionist, I’ve engaged many people at a client level and seen them change their health status. The impact of such positive results brings a certain feeling of fulfillment that I’ve used what I have learnt to help others get their ideal body. In fact, the real high is seeing people change their nutrition habits and overhaul their lifestyle.

That for me, is everything.

Advice and inspiration

Anyone out there looking to transform their body. Here is my advice to you.

1. You got to take the first step.
2. No one is going to do it for you.
3. Discipline helps you through when your ‘why’ becomes weak.
4. Own the journey and fall in love with it.
5. Acquire and change your mindset to preventive from curative.
6. Nutrition in simple with the right knowledge, get yourself a coach to understand more.
7. Eat to live and not live to eat.
8. Focus more on nutrient dense foods from calorie dense foods.
9. Make strength training your friend.
10. Let nutrition be thy medicine and medicine be thy nutrition.

Start where you are, it’s never too late. It takes 90 days to start feeling great, imagine 6 months, 1 year,2,3 and so forth. You can unblock all those limitations that you are in your mind; ooh its genes! ooh my busy schedule! ooh parenting! etc. Love yourself girl! Take the first step, do the work, have the discipline and watch yourself sculpturing into a better healthy person that will thank you in your future. Be positive! Be inspired and All the best.