Location: Dar es Salaam
I started this program with a weight of 123kg – of course this was not gained recently but rather has been accumulating over the past few years. It is not like I did not try to lose the weight- I have tried very many methods including some very restrictive diets, which helped to lose weight, but as soon as I stopped, the weight returned immediately. I remember one time when I decided to eat no carbohydrates at all and ate just vegetables and protein- in the beginning I was fine but later the drop in energy was devastating. I used to feel like these approaches made me crave for sugar and I was not able to control it.
At this point now, I felt obsessed and I felt like I was trying every method to lose the weight but instead I was just gaining more, I started worrying about my health, my blood pressure started reading higher values, I felt very tired and then I joined the My Wellbeing Journey Program offered by ImpactAfya through my organization.
In the beginning of the journey, my dietician helped me to first bring some discipline into my eating habits (which used to feel out of control) through creating a routine, guiding me on incorporating the right food groups and most importantly she encouraged me to do meal preparations for the week during the weekend. I felt like every month, I managed to make more small changes that had a big impact on my weight and overall wellbeing- I started eating more of nutritious home cooked meals, made better choices, hydrated better and through this I felt more satisfied and the best part was that I no longer “CRAVED SUGAR”- that was a natural thing I felt.
A big achievement I feel I have made is that I don’t feel like I am on a diet but rather feel like I have learnt the tools to help me make good choices- e.g. when I was away on field, I was still able to sustain my eating habits and I continued to lose weight. I also noticed that I had way more energy while on field this time compared to previous times.
I am now proudly weighing 114kg (9kg loss over 4 months), have much improved energy levels and I feel healthier. I think I have found what works for me and the support and guidance of this program has definitely helped me stay on track.
I would recommend this program not just for weight loss but for anyone who is looking to make improvements in their lifestyle- the impact of small changes can help a lot.