'Just Hang In There And Tell Yourself You Are Worth It!'

ONE MORNING, TEENAGER WERNER GUNTHER WOKE UP AND DECIDED HE’D HAD ENOUGH OF BEING THE ‘FAT’ KID. HE LOST 54KG IN 10 MONTHS.

- Tiffany Donson

I started getting chubby when I went to school. At first it didn’t bother me at all, but a comment from my friends on sports day really hurt. I’d headed across the field to buy some treats at the tuck shop, and by the time I got back to them, I was sweating quite a lot. “Did we miss the 1200m run?” they asked. It was really upsetting, but if it weren’t for that, I would have just carried on the way I was. I didn’t participate in many school activities; I wasn’t active in any way. Food was my life; I enjoyed eating – and sweet treats most of all. I got to a point when I couldn’t go a day without eating chocolates, cake or dessert. I drank diet soda even though I hated the taste of it – but I still managed to finish more than two litres a day.

By the time I started secondary school I was bigger than most of the kids in my grade. My weight affected every aspect of my life. I was shy to start with, and don’t make friends easily, but my weight made it worse – some of the kids made comments.