66 Fairlady/September 2019yourlifestylearound– especiallyif
you’vebeengoingdownthewrong
roadforsolong,’sheexplains.
Surinahadbeenexperiencing
a rollercoasterof emotionsthat
causedhertogainweight:Hermie
wasretrenchedwhileshewas 32
weekspregnantwithherdaughter.
Hefinallyfoundanotherjob,but
hadtorelocatetotheWestCoast.
‘Whenhe
startedworking
inLaaiplek,
I stayedinCape
Townwiththe
children;we
saweachother
at weekends,’
Surinasays.‘But
witha newborn
anda four-
year-old,this
wasn’teasy.’
SheeventuallymovedtoLaaiplek
withthekids,butintheinterim
foundherselfturningtoany
availablequickfixintheformof
a pillorshake– anythingthat
promisedhertheweightlossshe
wanted.Nothingworked.When
shereachedtheweightshe’dbeen
whenshewaspregnantwithher
son,shedecidedshereallyneeded
tomakea properlifestylechange.
Duringherinternetquestfor
a weightlossplanthatwould
work,shecameacrossSlankermet
Sarie[SlimmerwithSarie].
‘I wasimmediatelydrawnto
it,’shesays.Notonlywasthe
programmeinherhomelanguage
of Afrikaans,buttheingredients
onthemenuwerelocallyavailable,
unlikeinthedozensof overseas-
basedplansshe’dfoundbefore.
‘I wantedsomethingthatwould
tellme“thisis whatyoumusteat;
thisis theexerciseyoumustdo”.’
Andthat’sexactlywhatshefound
withSlankermetSarie. Surina
startedearlythisyear,andafter
threemonthsof theprogramme,she’salreadyshed13,5kg,down
from95kgto81,5kg.‘I’mhalfway
there– I stillwanttoloseanother
8kg,’shesays.
Shedidn’tdoit justforherself.
Surina’skids,JG(6)andSofia
(4),arethedrivingforcebehind
herdecisiontoleada healthier
lifestyle.‘Wewanttoraisethem
tolookafterthemselvesandtheir
bodies,’shesays.
Herlifestyle
haschanged
dramatically
thankstothe
12-weekplan,and
theeffectshave
filteredthrough
toherfamily.
Hermie’slost5kg
justbyadopting
someof hiswife’s
neweatinghabits.
‘He’smycook,sohehadto
getonboard,’Surinasayswith
a laugh.‘Thereareno cravings
becauseyoueata lot– I would
neverhavethoughtthatI’dlose
weightbyeatingmore.’Theplan
providesportionsizes,which
Surinasaysshe’sincorporatedinto
herfamily’sdailymeals:theykeep
trackof howmuchtheyeatand
sticktoeatingsmallportionsfive
timesa day.
‘I workinthehospitality
industry,soit getsbusyand
I forgettoeat.ButI domybestto
sticktothetypesof foodsonthemenuandI packinallthesnacks
andlunches.’Thelayoutof the
planis excellent,Surinaadds.
‘Theyprovideyouwithrecipes,
butyoucanuseyourinitiativeand
cookanythingyouwantwiththe
ingredients.’Whilesheenjoyed
theeaseanduser-friendlinessof
theplan,theexerciseaspectwas
a challengeat first.
‘Itwashardforthefirsttwo
weeks,butit getsbetter.’On
somedays,sheexplains,whenthe
morestrenuousexercisesbecame
toodifficult,shewouldskipthe
workoutprogrammeandreplaceit
witha walkorbikeride.
‘Itbecamea familythingforus
todoas well.’Herkidskeepheron
hertoestoo,shesays.‘Whenyou
don’tfeellikedoinganythingafter
work,thekidsaretheretosay,
“Mama,weneedtoexercisenow!”’
Surinasaysshecan’timagine
howshe’dfeelaboutherselfif she
hadn’tdoneSlankermetSarie.
‘Peoplewhoseemeeveryday
havesaid,“Youlooksogreat,
andyounger!”.Thismakesyou
feellikeyourself,andmakesyou
loveyourselfagain.’Aftertaking
a four-monthbreak,Surinawill
gobacktotheplantoachieveher
goalweight.She’sstillamazedat
thetransformationshewasableto
bringabout,justbytweakingher
dietanddailyroutine.
‘We’vechangeda lot,yetwe
haven’tchangedat all!’✤Slanker met Sarie has been such
a phenomenal success forour
sister publication that we have
created our very own version of
it,just foryou,our readers. See
opposite page to signup!‘People who see
me every day
have said, “You
look so great, and
younger!”. This
makes you feel
like yourself, and
makes you love
yourself again.’Self-care
PHOTOGRAPHS: LIZA VAN DEVENTER, GALLO IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES, SUPPLIED