22KG DOWN AND READY FOR NEWADVENTURES

Combining low-carb with intermittent fasting made Bhauna Hansjee healthier, happier, more energetic… and ready to start her new business!

- SHIREEN FISHER

‘I ’ve always loved food, and I have a very healthy appetite!’ says 42-year-old Bhauna Hansjee. ‘Eating and socialising around meals was, and still is, a big part of my family’s love language. I love cooking and have always been interested in creating my own recipes, replicating delicious things I enjoyed on my travels and while I was growing up. In fact, one of the things I’m interested in is turning childhood and family favourites into lowcarb versions so I can continue to enjoy the food I’ve always loved.’

Bhauna was active as a teen. She went to high school on a sports and academic scholarship, and excelled at squash. Her active lifestyle and youthful metabolism ensured that she burnt all the calories she consumed.

At university she found herself becoming less active. She still played squash, but her focus was on getting her law degree and then her master’s, and securing a position at a top law firm.

‘University was a big change of pace and the start of what would be almost two decades of being desk-bound,’ she says. ‘When I began my career in my mid-20s, I was 10kg heavier than when I started studying.

‘During the next decade, I put on another 10kg. I was extremely stressed at work, and spent up to 14 hours a day behind my laptop. I still cooked for myself as often as possible, but I had very little time, so daytime meals were predominantly takeaways.’