By Rebecca Drew
THIS woman dropped more than four-and-a-half-stone in two years after ditching fad diets and vowing to look good for her thirtieth birthday.
Logistics planner and online coach, Katarina Makkaiova (33) who is originally from Slovakia but now lives in Leicestershire, UK, said that she “used to hate herself” and had tried every diet going but could never maintain her weight loss.
In 2013, she vowed to lose her first stone-and-a-half in order to look good for her birthday. Once hooked on her new lifestyle, Katarina ditched her sugar loaded meals in favour of nutritionally rich foods and dropped from 14st 9lbs and a size 16 to 18 to a super fit 9st 12lbs and a size 8 -10.
“I always used to be a big girl, I was eating mainly carbs and fat without protein, I used to binge on sweets, ate tons of fruits and stayed away from healthy fats and protein,” she said.
“Looking back, my nutrition was bad and it is no wonder that I looked the way I did, having Snickers for breakfast and a bag of crisps is not how a nutritious breakfast should look.
“I used to hate myself, I remember crying in the dressing room because jeans wouldn’t fit, I would always take a smaller size because I could not accept the size that I was.
“I didn’t see myself as that big, being tall, it looked different on me but I kept dreaming for years of being healthy, fit and slim but simply didn’t have the determination.
“I have tried all of the diets, read all the diet books but unfortunately all of them lead to a yo-yo effect.
“At the beginning of 2013, I decided that it was time to finally do it right and gave myself my first ever New Year’s resolution to look good on my thirtieth birthday later that year, I fell in love with the process and after a while I wanted more and gave myself smaller goals to achieve the bigger one.”
Katarina says that since she has lost weight she not only feels better about herself but has noticed that people treat her differently.
“Losing weight has not only changed how I look and how people treat me, but it changed my mindset, I can finally wear clothes that I was dreaming of for years,” she added.
“I’m more confident in my own skin, I feel better and I feel healthier.
“I’m very happy with the way I look now and looking back at old pictures I know that I wouldn’t go back to the old me.
“I have a stronger and more determined mindset, I used to be very negative, with the right knowledge, I see things differently and I’m more positive in everything.”
Katarina trains three times a week and mostly tries to avoid processed foods, but follows a flexible dieting lifestyle. She says that she would encourage others like her to start their weight loss journeys slowly.
“Start slowly as you haven’t gained that weight overnight, you need to be ready for a change and also ready for obstacles,” she added.
“Hire a trainer or online coach, meet up with like-minded people so you can support each other and don’t believe everything that you see in magazines about miracle diets.
“You need to understand that it’s a lifestyle change not a quick fix.”
For more information see www.instagram.com/dangerousmissk or www.dangerouskitchen.co.uk
