At nearly 200kgs, Janja was unable to enjoy life to the fullest. With her life hanging in the balance, this 32-year-old knew that if she didn’t make some changes to her lifestyle, she wouldn’t live to watch her daughter grow up. Here’s how she went from struggling to walk to training three hours a day.
Janja Wills
Occupation: Business owner
Age: 32
City: Johannesburg
Weight before: 186kg
Current weight: 110kg
Height: 1.65
Time required to reach current weight: 2 years
Secret weapon to your weight loss: healthy food’s and exercise
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The Gain
Janja can’t recall a time in her life where she was not overweight but after the birth of her daughter, her weight had reached almost 200kgs. Her weight gain was something that happened over the course of many years of unhealthy eating, her favourite foods included bread and chips. “I was eating like four loaves of bread a day”, she says. She was eating foods that were fast and convenient- and loads of it, “I frequently big potions, as its what made me happy”, she says. Besides the copious amount of calories she was eating every day, Janja had hypothyroidism, a condition that can cause weight gain- and make it difficult to lose weight.
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Her overeating and under-active thyroid were not the only problems, Janja was not physically active- like ever. And because of her weight, her ability to do everyday tasks became almost impossible. She found it difficult to walk and couldn’t stand for more than a few minutes. Her limited mobility made it difficult for her leave to the house or play with her daughter. “I couldn’t do normal things, I couldn’t go to the toilet like a normal person, I couldn’t fit in a bathtub and was battling to fit into a shower”, she explains. Ultimately, Janja has become a prisoner in her own body.
READ MORE: “I Went From The Overweight Girl Who Couldn’t Exercise To A Spinning Instructor”
The Change
Her change came one day when she bit into a bacon sandwich, “I was eating and got this pain in my chest, I thought I was having a heart attack”. Fortunately, she wasn’t having a heart attack but that experience was what Janja needed to scare her straight. “I realised that my daughter would grow up with a mother, I couldn’t let that happen”, she says. She knew that it was time that she confronted her bad eating habits- before it was too late. “I contacted Marek Zadlo and asked if he would train me. We began walking around my block and took it from there”, Janja explains.
When it came to changing up her eating, Janja slowly made small changes. She switched her fast foods for home-cooked meals and much smaller portions. She introduced lean proteins, vegetables and complex carbs to her diet, and gradually cut out sugar. Pretty soon her little changes started adding up to huge results, “The weight just started falling off, so I was losing 5kgs a week”, she says.
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The Lifestyle
Now that Janja has dropped a whopping 76 kilos, her weight loss is happening at a more steady rate, “I have to really grind to lose 3.5kgs a month now but my positivity gets me the in the end”. Her daily “grind” now includes a variety of cardio and strength training for up to three hours a day. She still sticks to a diet of high protein and low fat and changes it up depending on her training schedule.
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The Rewards
Besides being at a more healthier weight, Janja can finally live the life her weight was keeping her from. She’s able to play with her daughter, leave her house without feeling embarrassed and is more confident than ever. She hopes that through her weight loss she’s able to inspire and help others, and most of all- become a model. “My goal is to become SA’s No.1 fitness model”, she says. For now, each day of training and healthy choices brings Janja closer to her goal and has her living the life she always dreamed of.
READ MORE: Weight Loss Tips From Women Who Have Lost 10kgs Or More
Janja’s Tips
Positive thinking: “Tell yourself positive things every day and ignore what others think and want. This is all about you”.
Choose you: “You should do this for no other reason than yourself. You much want to change into the best version of yourself, and then you’ll see everything around you change too”
Don’t give up: “Failure is not in your vocabulary. If you mess up, you will wake up the next day and keep grinding. Do not give up!”
