6 LOSE IT! VOLUME 30
BY CAROLINE PETERSENINSPIRATION
antasha Marais was
never bothered by
her weight. ‘I used
to live off take-
aways,’ she says.
‘I’d get whatever
was easiest: usually McDonald’s
or KFC. But beyond all of that,
I also just didn’t worry about it.
Everyone used to say, “You’ve got
such a wonderful personality, your
weight doesn’t even matter!”’
After meeting her fiancé Julian
in 2016, Santasha’s weight took
even more of a backseat. ‘I fell
pregnant very soon after we met
and threw caution to the winds! I
used the pregnancy as an excuse.’
But after her daughter Lousindie
was born, Santasha noticed the
emotional and physical toll her
weight was taking. ‘I tried crash
diets, I tried 28-day challenges,
I tried weight loss pills, I tried34kg
DOWN
Santasha could
picture her
perfect wedding:
the dream dress, a
reception packed
with people, her
fiancé beaming
from the altar and
her daughter
toddling along,
presenting the
rings. But her
weight ruled out
the dress she’d
always wanted.
She knew she
had to make a
lasting change.everything! Nothing stuck. I’d
lose four or five kilograms and
then I’d just be over it because
you’re basically starving yourself.’
Once Julian and Santasha
decided to take the next step and
start planning their wedding,
she was struck with a sudden
realisation: she would never
be able to wear the dress she’d
imagined herself in.
After almost four years of
wondering if LCHF (she kept
reading about it on Facebook
and everywhere else), was really
the lifestyle change she needed,
Santasha decided to give it a go in
October last year. ‘I complained
to Julian about how just eating
salads and lots of fruit made me
feel as if I wasn’t eating “real
food”. Then something just
clicked: what about banting?
After I mentioned it to him he