Daphne

I'm Daphne! This is the bit I get to share my story and write about my loves!

I'm a lot older than Melissa but we are drawn together by similar philosophy in food and health. I'm a wife,  daughter, grand daughter, and a mother of a gorgeous little boy.  I have also been sharing recipes in my food blog here.

I was obese as a child, loving my soft drinks and chocolate bars. I started gymming and running when I was in university and managed to drop 32-35kgs from being calorie deficit and cardio heavy in my workouts. It was a struggle and that took me around 5 years. As I reached my mid-twenties, I found that the weight lost is harder to maintain. My knees were getting sore, and I did not feel any stronger or healthier.

I started eating clean, and doing other workouts like Zumba, Konga and Boxing. That helped, and I did get fitter.

I fell pregnant in my late twenties and in the process, gained 27kgs before I delivered my baby! The recommended weight gain was 12-15kg and I went way over that. I honestly felt that my body betrayed me. I ate relatively well but increased my complex carbohydrates intake and exercised till I was 38 weeks pregnant. I dropped 10kg immediately post birth and started my journey of getting fit again when my baby was 6 weeks old.  It was however a humbling experience as I learned about listening to my body and fuelling it right.

I started slow with daily walks and stretches. Gradually, I returned to the gym and did a mix of met con, boxing, konga and pilates. Through sensible eating and not dieting, I lost a total of 20 kgs which means I'm slightly under my pre-pregnancy weight now. As we celebrated my healthy baby turning 6 months, I realised that I'm fitter and feel better than ever before.

I have bad days and good days. Nutrition is particularly important to me as I need to have the energy to play and look after my family. Exercise keeps me sane when the going gets tough- it was my surge of endorphins and break from motherhood. At the same time, I do not like to spend too much time away from my baby, so the luxury of churning hours at the gym doing cardio was out of the window. I keep my workout short and simple and eventually figured out that it prefers higher intensity exercises in shorter periods of time. I still do boxing with Melissa, met con a few times a week, walks with my husband and baby, body weight exercises at home from time to time and pilates stretches.

I love chocolate and coffee. I experiment in the kitchen and like making healthy treats. My proud moment was when my hubby cleared away all processed crackers and snacks from the pantry and choose clean healthy options for himself. At the end of the day, I'm a simple girl wanting my family to be happy and healthy.