VOLUME 30 LOSE IT! 21
or years, Nalini Naidoo’s
busy schedule mostly
focused on her three kids.
Her days were filled by
packing lunches, being
an assistant teacher at her
daughter’s school and running her own
baking business. Her love for food, baking
and her kids, however, distracted her from
the health issue she was developing: over the
years, she was steadily gaining weight.
Nalini traces the source of her weight
gain to seven years ago when her mother was
diagnosed with cancer. Nalini was pregnant
with her youngest daughter at the time. ‘I
left my job in an attorney’s office to look
after my mom. Because of that, and after my
littlest one, Gabriella, was born, I neglected
myself completely. I never bothered with
eating properly or exercising.’
Her son Ricardo’s matric dance proved
to be the eye opener she needed. Nalini
knew there would be no escaping the camera
during pre-drinks with friends and family, so
she wanted to find the perfect dress for the
occasion – a dress she would feel confidentSince overcoming her cravings for carbs and dropping four
dress sizes, Nalini Naidoo is more focused than ever on eating
healthily and is gaining in confidence by the day.
31kg
’
‘
in. But the search difficult. ‘I couldn’t fit into
anything. I was hitting a size 42. That was
never me! I was always a size 32 or 34.’
By the time Ricardo’s dance rolled around,
Nalini’s wardrobe and confidence issues
weren’t the only things troubling her. Severe
stomach cramps and backache sent her to the
doctor, who told her that it was a direct result
of being overweight.
Nalini’s doctor insisted she change her
lifestyle, recommending a low-carb diet. But
her sudden health issues weren’t incentive
enough to curb her habits just yet. ‘I love
food and cooldrinks,’ Nalini says. ‘And
breakfast, lunch and supper all used to have
rice. I have three kids, so we buy a lot of
takeaways and snacks for them. And during
the day when the kids are at school, I used to
snack on their snacks. Biscuits, cakes, chips
and chocolates especially. I was a person who
could eat a chocolate slab a day.’
Nalini also admits to being able to finish
a two-litre bottle of cooldrink a day and
taking six teaspoons of sugar in her coffee.
As a baker, she also taste-tested the chocolate
icing for her cupcakes.