I was introduced to the Well I Am 4 programme by their stunning Marketing Manager, Jess van der Waal last week who urged me to give it some thought about signing up for their 12 week challenge. And this is my motivation:

For me, my health and fitness is something I have always found personal. I am not one to ‘check in’ at the gym, brag about how sore I am from my ‘hectic workout’ or share what healthy meal I am eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mostly because I get annoyed these people – we all have them on Facebook or know someone who does this and to be blunt – it is annoying!

I think fitness and your lifestyle is a personal thing. We all have different genes, body types and shapes, lifestyles and desires for our health and being. Fitness ins’t a one size fits all kind of game.

Like I have said in my very first introductory post (read it here) when I started my blog, I have always been a big boned girl who always felt aware of my body and existence in a space. Throughout school I always felt like the ‘fat girl’ – it made me a very shy, quite individual and to be quite frank today I have realised that it restricted my life because I didn’t do and try to achieve half of what I wished I had in my younger years. Playing sport was a big no no for me – what ‘fat girl’ plays hockey? In my head, I would be looked at funny and I can’t be friends with the popular girls because no one wants a ‘fat’ friend.

It was only after I graduated varsity and started my job as a journalist was I forced to explore who this ‘fat girl’ was… what she wanted from life and to explore all the potential she had… I had to engage with people twice my age, conduct interviews where I was leading the conversation, where I needed to look like I was confident and in control, where I had to go to larney functions and FIT IN! Something I had never known how to do… emotionally. I had to approach people including celebrities I read about in magazines and take their pictures!

My job thought me one thing… ACT LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, AND PRETEND YOU DESERVE TO BE THERE! Basically – fake it till you make it… telling myself that I was as much as a person than anyone else I encountered helped me to get out of my ‘fat girl’ shell and become a confident woman today.

Learning to not let your weight and appearance define who you are is the first step to learning to love yourself. At the end of the day the only person who sees the ‘fat girl’ is yourself. People are not a s shallow as you think they are and you are the only person who thinks you are as fat as you think you! At the end of the day we are all people and what is weight? The number on the scale does not define your worth.

I put ‘fat girl’ into air quotes because I am not that ‘fat girl’ anymore – even though I am heavier now than I was at school – I don’t see that ‘fat girl’ anymore – when I look into the mirror I see a beautiful, confident woman who has war scars, who has potential and who is most importantly I am an imperfect person loved by a perfect God.

I guess what I am getting at is – splashing my lifestyle, health and fitness onto all my platforms for people to see and comment on was a scary thought because I remember that Monique.

BUT! I believe that God puts things into your life not for you to benefit but for others to learn from you… he uses you to reach others. Maybe there are other ‘fat girl’ Monique’s out there that haven’t learnt to love themselves, accept themselves, embrace all that they are and stop letting their weight stop you from doing things you wish you could do! Like play hockey at school!

I for one know how insensitive people are to bigger ladies… (whether they mean to or not) being in an industry where I am required to attend functions which are often breakfasts, lunches and dinners where all the stops are pulled out! For people looking in it may seem that I eat like a KING! A three course breakfast, lunch and dinner three times a week! “Do you ever eat at home?” – I have been told by people to stop attending so many events and what hurt the most is someone commented on a picture of the dinner my husband and I made together (a piece of steak and a salad) and said ‘Congratulations you will never look back’! Yes… as if we never cook like this…

I don’t attend functions for food, I am not a guts, often Brett and I made dinner and eat before we attend these functions… a protein and veggies – yes I do eat my greens! Trust me five years in the industry… there are only so many canapes you want to eat!

I guess there is a misconception that plus size girls are unhealthy… we don’t exercise, we eat McDonalds on a daily basis and we don’t eat veggies… and I have decided to enter the Well I Am challenge to PROVE that plus size girls do lead healthy lifestyles!

I am getting to the age where Brett and I would like to have a family and for me doing a 12 week challenge where I cut out carbs and sugar and shape up would be beneficial to falling pregnant in the near future.

My motivation for this challenge is not to lose weight, I want to be fitter and healthier because I love my body – not because I hate it…

So for the next nine weeks I will be shaping up, trying out the Banting diet and gymming harder and longer to FEEL fantastic!

I will be documenting my progress, my thoughts, battles and share inspiration on my blog weekly with daily or every second day posts on my Instagram page.

If you are interested in taking this journey with me I highly recommend you sign up for this awesome holistic online wellness challenge. If you are anything like me and are private about your journey this programme is for you.

You simply sign up online, choose a package that works for you. I chose the bumper pack which included  entry into the well i am 4 challenge, – a custom-made wellness kit worth over R300, a Biogen starter pack worth R400, a Philips airfryer valued at R2500, Formal before-and-after assessments at Dis-Chem stores, 50% off all Reebok apparel online for the full 100 days, R20 000 in cold hard cash to be won per category, A chance to win a share of R300 000 in prizes, Entry into well i am’s exclusive Members Locker which includes certified eating plans and training programmes. All this for just R1999, 00.

Basic entry is R300 and this gets you entry into their online ‘locker room’ which is an online community that can serve as your support system throughout the challenge, and allows you access to expert advice and information. There is an online library of resources to assist you – from certified eating plans created by experts in the field, recipe ideas and detailed training programmes, to video demonstrations, motivational snippets and daily tips. All for you to personally do in the comfort of your own home.

I know as a plus size woman, the thoughts and disapproval we feel (which is often how society has made us feel about being heavier than a size 32) often makes us feel shy about going to personally see the experts or attend classes because we feel like we are going to get into trouble for being larger. With Well I am – you don’t need to feel this way because everything is done by yourself. The only concern with this is you have to be disciplined and WANT to do it for YOURSELF!

You can challenge yourself for 12 weeks to shape up in anyway you choose, to get the results you choose! All you have to do is visit Dischem for a health assessment and you can take your own before and after pics that you don’t have to share with anyone!

AND… most importantly… you stand the chance to WIN R300 000 worth in prizes, R120 000 cash if you have made the most improvement and their are daily prizes to be won!

What are you waiting for? Join #MonrobeByMoniqueDeVilliers on our journey to 100 healthy days! What do you have to lose?

For more information visit:
http://www.welliam.co.za

Keep an eye out on Wednesday for my week one report of my Well I am journey!

Get in touch with me, I would love to hear from you…

Instagram: @mondevilliers89

Twitter: @mondevilliers89

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Email: mondevill@gmail.com

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