My story
“For my family and I it was an uphill struggle for many years. I tried everything, from professionals to quick help guides, yet the weight kept going up and we just got sicker, slower and in more pain. I believed there was no hope for my husband and I.
We kept our son's diet as healthy as we could and were strict on what he was allowed and what he was not allowed at all. He was never allowed coffee or soft drinks, very occasional treats, and only healthy breakfast, lunch and supper with lots of vegetables and grains. Or what we thought to be healthy.........
January 2015, we noticed that in just one year, our son (11 at the time) had picked up a lot of weight and was struggling with his energy levels, schoolwork and mood.
Well, this just would not do. I was not about to let our son go through a life of struggle, pain and body restrictions, while he was so young. He always had the most gorgeous smile and he was my sunshine. His smile was fading, his happy outlook on life started to fade, and this most of all broke my heart in pieces.
This is when I set out again to find the answer. It is one thing to give up on yourself, but I can not, and I would not, give up on him. Yes, I found loads of lose weight quick schemes and weight loss pills and hormone injection. Now, while I am willing to try these on myself, there was no way I would ever allow our son to take these. Onward and keep going was the only option.
Determined, I spend a week reading and researching everything I could find, from "effects of foods on the body" to "life hacks for healthy eating" (keeping in mind that I am dyslectic). Non of the literature and research made any sense. What confused me most was, that when you really go deep into research, most everyone agrees that sugar and gluten is actually no good for us. But, the health guidelines all state that we need sugar and we need grains to survive.
I came across a video on YouTube, and in my tired and warn down state I watched it for a bit of comic relief. "This guy is totally bonkers" I thought to myself. We all know that fat makes you fat and you will end up with a butt load of health issues, if we were to eat how he suggested. In his video, he was saying that you need more butter, lard and bacon & eggs. I had to compose myself after laughing so hard that I got cramps in my side.
We are taught that dieting is hard, tasteless and without anything yummy to help shove it down the throat. To eat 6 to 8 times a day. Now this man was saying that a delicious rump steak with the fat, veggies fried in butter, a breakfast of bacon, eggs and mushrooms, will make you healthy and help you to lose the weight! This was ridiculous! Preposterous! It just could not be that easy......... Could it?
This sent me in a totally different direction. I was determined to find out if there was any truth to this theory. After all, who would not love to eat delicious foods and lose weight, "am I right"?
I threw myself into this research, with the idea that I'm going to prove this is total hogwash! To my supersize I found more than I had set out to, I found very old and new research that made complete sense.....if you could believe it possible?
Excited and on a mission, with renewed hope, I made my first meal plan and emptied the cupboards of all "off the list" foods. We went shopping as a family and the men ran around reading labels and finding sugar and gluten in EVERYTHING! We shopped and setup our first LCHF dinner, so proud and ready to do this. Hahaha what a total fail! I managed to burn it all to a crisp and we ended up with a completely uneatable charcoal dinner! We managed to save some of the chicken and called it the night.
I am happy to say that it only got better from there. We tried, learned and succeeded. The results speak for themselves.The more we did these meals, the easier they got and the more confidence we got to try new things.
In just 6 months our son had lost 30kg and his gorgeous smile was back. He started running again and had a new loving outlook on life. His energy was high and he enjoyed his schoolwork again. Hence forth, a very happy mom & dad! Now, while we set out to help him, we received so much more.
In 7 months my husband lost 45kg and all his health issues had corrected and he was and is healthy and happy. See my video about the health issues that cleared up.
For myself, I lost a whopping 67kg in 15 months! Once I realized the difference this way of life was making in our lives, I started studying and learning as much as I could. I qualified and certified as a LCHF coach and started coaching others to help them make these changes. I did not stop learning! I have since earned diplomas in Weight loss and diet planning, Nutritional Supplements, Life coaching and Nutrition. In addition I qualified as a TRE facilitator. All this is a short time, in my 40's and with a learning disability (Dyslexia). The biggest lesson I have learned over the years, is that anything is possible.
I now fill the roll of mentor, speaker and teacher. It is my passion to help as many people as I can reach to also make these changes and help you reach for your dreams.
"Anything is possible"
— Coach Ilze
This video was my first ever public speaking, with 100 women at a ladies tea.
I have since spoken at a school with grd 9, at a yoga studio, and this year at a ladies tea for a church fundraiser.
