Medical researcher Kyara Bergstrom is a Sleekgeek from Joburg South and is married with 3 kids. She works long hours and takes healthy food with her to work. She has lost 70kgs over the past 3 years dropping from a size 28 to a 14 or 12.
She says that her children inspire her and she didn’t want to have something happen to me and leave them without a mom. She added that her middle child even with being ill, fights and is determined, and “if she can live with her conditions I could do something like lose weight!”
Her favourite snacks are the yummy things she put in her salads, like avocados or feta and she loves her weight training, especially “leg presses”. She hates the treadmill and prefer her earphones and the open road.
Today Kyara tells us her story in her own words…….
I’ve never had a good relationship with food. From being overweight as a child to anorexic in high school and then putting on 40kgs with each of my pregnancies. My weight constantly yo-yoed during my pregnancies. I tried desperately to lose weight. My weight would not budge. I tried every diet out there. I used to keep my kids close by as my excuse of “see I had kids that’s why I am fat”.
I never used to eat in front of people in case I was judged. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2008 and hypothyroidism in 2010. I have also been diagnosed with IBS and gastritis. My daughter is chronically ill with a rare disease. I’m a stress eater and after her diagnosis I struggled. Between staying at hospitals and dealing with doctors, I ate everything that was just “easier”. After I started on my weight loss journey I started posting pictures of me and my weight loss, one of my friends added me to the Sleekgeek Group. You have all motivated me thank you.
I had lost all my confidence. I was 34 years old and shopping at shops that supplied larger sizes. I weighed 148kgs and the endocrinologist said I would need to starting injecting myself for the diabetes and statins for my cholesterol. I was shocked and didn’t know how I could allow myself to get to that point. I thought that I was destined to just be a “happy fatty”. I met two people who are now my best friends. They showed me their before and after pictures and told me about their diet and training. I decided to give it a try even though I had tried every diet brand you can imagine, and I mean I tried them all! I hired a personal trainer and started to do crunches at night to work on my tummy.
I decided to listen to my body. Trying to be tuned into what was making me nauseous and what was setting off the IBS flares. I cut out red meat when after my daughter went for a G-scope and the surgeon said she shouldn’t eat red meat because of the acid content. Because I too had gastritis I decided to try as well. I found my weight just started dropping with focusing more on grilled chicken and fish and low GI (Glycemic Index) foods. I trained with a trainer but through incorrect training I tore my right bicep. Which made me more despondent and I picked up weight again. Instead of then giving up I reminded myself of the 10kg I had lost and that I must start again.
I have started working again, on huge projects, so I only get to train on the weekends with another trainer and we do full body weight training. I run to gym and back. When there’s extra time I punch the boxing bag at home. A great stress reliever!
My diet consists of fish or chicken. Lots and Lots of veggies and fresh fruit. Never fruit juice as it is full of sugar. I love my water and citrus fruit is good for fighting tummy fat. I don’t eat red meat, pork, eggs or bread. I eat oats in the morning but then I take insulin (glucophage) so I just need that one carb just to go with my meds.
My support came from my two best friends that got me started. As I was so embarrassed over my weight, they were the only ones that knew the figures and got pictures of the scale. I couldn’t of done this without them. They helped me back on the wagon every time I felt fat and ugly.
My biggest two milestones that will forever stay with me are when I finally hit double digits on the scale. That 99Kgs never looked so good after so many years, almost 15 years after my first pregnancy, of seeing triple digits. Then the second was when I hit the digits I was in high school. I never thought it was possible.
I’ve struggled through the stressful times in my life, having a sick child is very hard and living on hospital food is never a good thing. I would immediately reach for chocolates and cool drinks. Then I would put on the odd kilo and think, I will never get this right. I’m just meant to be fat.
My life has changed for the better. There’s no doubt about that. I have more energy, I’m more focused and I don’t need to constantly battle my sugar levels. I never expected to get my cholesterol down from 7 to 4.9. I thought I would need medication. When I did my bloods last year I was so happy and surprised I started crying. I love being able to walk into any shop and buy any clothes I want to
My top 5 tips for anyone are:
- Food is not a comfort. Turn to other things like drawing etc to relax (See our article on Adult Colouring)
- Don’t worry about falling off the wagon. It won’t ride off without you, hop back on!
- Changing your diet will stabilise your sugar levels, making concentrating a lot easier.
- Water, water water. I don’t drink coffee, tea and especially not cold drinks. I hear people say “I don’t like the taste of water” – Then add some lemon or a squeeze of any citrus fruit. It’s very refreshing especially in Summer. Or you can try sparkling water.
- In the beginning the weight loss is faster than the end. This isn’t a reason to say ok I’ve lost so much I will have that cake. Keep going and don’t get despondent when it slows down towards the end. It’s taken me longer to lose the last 8kgs than it took to lose the 62kg.
