'Fasting and Using Food as My Medicine Changed My Life'

For Marilyn Beuster, what started as a quest to lose weight has resulted in her not only losing 60 kg but also using the knowledge she gained to start a business and a line of keto foods.

- By Ashleigh Roman

Marilyn believes the key to a healthy body is a combination of eating low-carb wholefoods and doing intermittent and prolonged fasting.

AT the start of her weight-loss journey, 47-year-old Marilyn Beuster from Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal, had one goal in mind: to lose weight fast. Life as a single mom and business owner had caught up with her and, before she knew it, she weighed 120 kg.

I always thought maybe I had a weight issue caused by hormones or lack of exercise,' Marilyn says. But, looking back, I realise that I just didn't know how to eat with intent.'

Marilyn met her partner Mike in 2015, and the two soon got engaged. With a wedding on the horizon, she committed to losing as much weight as possible to look good in her wedding dress. 'During that time, I was making an effort in the gym and essentially starving myself to slim down for the big day. I went from 120 kg to 80 kg, and I felt really proud of myself. But after the wedding I gained it all back – all the way back up to 120 kg, which was dreadful!'

'I instinctively thought it was my hormones and went to see a doctor, but all the tests came back to say that I was perfectly healthy. I became quite depressed for a period of time because I felt like a victim. I wanted a doctor to fix me and give me a tablet to make it all better.'