overhaul, and she does a lot more
now than the ineff ectual 20 minutes
twice a week (although she admits
one of the hardest things about this
journey is trying to maintain exercise
on a regular basis).
“It’s easy to lose the habit of an
exercise regimen, especially when you
start out and you’re as big as I was. It
takes a lot to move around at that size.
When you miss one day it’s easy for it
to becometwo andthen three,” she
says. “ButInow work outsixtimes a
week for
about 40
minutes
each ti me.
I rotate
between
running,
stair
climbing
and
weight
training to keep things interesting.
I’ve been doing this consistently now
for just over a year and a half.”
Since losing the weight Kara has
enjoyed a lot of positi ve feedback
from those around her; but while the
weight is gone she sti ll holds on to her
excess skin, and this makes it diffi cult
for her to personally see the true
extent of her body transformati on.
She admits that it causes some
discomfort and gets in the way of day
to day acti viti es. But she scheduled to
have this removed soon.
“Excess skin aff ects my ability to truly
see and accept how much weight I’ve
actually lost. It can be a bit of a pain
because it gets caught when I turn in
my bed at night and it makes me feel
self-conscious in other ways between
the sheets – if you know what I
mean,” she says.
“It does someti mes make it hard
for me to look past the obesity and
it’s harder to remain acti ve because
it bounces around and hurts my
back and abdomen. I do try to use
compression clothing to keep things
in place, but it only helps a litt le bit.
I have an appointment to have this
removed though so we will see what
it’s like aft er that.
I’ve received alotofcompliments,
though–thishasbeen really nice.
People tell
me I look
totally
different
and even
younger
thanI did
before.
Looking
younger can
never be a
badthing, can it?”
Kara posts about her journey through
her Instagram account @karabear_
rny, using it as a platform to inspire
and encourage others.
“First and foremost, evaluate yourself.
Start refl ecti ng on parts of your life
you might not have before. Track your
food intake, track your acti vity output
and track your moods etc,” she says.
“Try to fi nd patt erns or trigger spots
that lead to binging or not exercising.
Try to address these fi rst and then
start tracking your calories. Next
create a defi cit so you’re eati ng less
food than you need to maintain your
weight. Then start to increase your
exercise. It’s important to really know
yourself and where your weak spots
are. Address these as early as possible
and you will soon fi nd success.”PEOPL tell me I look totally
d ffer
than I did before. Looking
e a bad
thing,thing, can it?can it?
The Risks Of Being Obese
BYGABRIELLEOZYNSKIThe Risks Of Being Obese
OBESITY hasincreaseddramati cally inaworld
where fast food, ageneral lackofactivityand
deskboundjobs are thenorminoursociety.
Andithasamajorimpactonpeople’s health,
increasingtherisk for many serious and fatal
conditi ons.
You are more likely to sufferfrom high
bloodpressure andhighcholesterol,which
increase theriskofbothheart diseaseand
stroke.
You are more likely to sufferfrom type 2
diabetes.
Cancers ofthecolon, breast (aft er
menopause),endometriumkidney, and
oesophagusare linked to obesity. Some
studies have alsoreported links between
obesityandcancers ofthegallbladder,
ovaries, andpancreas.
You are more likely to sufferfrom
gallbladderdisease andgallstones.
Obesityimpactsonyour joints and
wears away the carti lage. Obese people are
thereforemore suscepti bleto osteoarthritis,
acommon joint conditi onaff ecti ngthe
knee, hip,orback.
Goutoccurs more commonlyinobese
people.
Sleep apnea that’s linked to being
overweight(butalsohasother causes). It
causes aperson to snore and briefl y stop
breathingduringsleep.Losingweight, eati nghealthilyandgenerally
beingmore active aswell asnotsmokingor
drinkingwill decrease the risksoftheabove
conditi ons.SouthAfrica’sObesity
Stati sti cs
SA tops obesity rankings
insub-SaharanAfrica.
Accordingto the
DemographicandHealth
Survey, itisesti mated 68
percent of South AfricanKara before and after her weight losswomen and31percent ofmenaged 15
years andolder are overweightorobese.
TheWorld HealthOrganisation,which
provides obesityesti mates for countries
around theworld, esti mated that intotal,
28.3percent ofadultsinSouthAfrica are
obese.
Concerningisthat itisreported that onein
four girlsandonein five boys between the
ages oftwo and14years are overweightor
obese,whileobesity-relateddiseasessuch
asheartdiseases, type2diabetes,stroke
andsomecancers account for awhopping
43 percent of deaths in South Africa.