For most of her life, Felicia never thought of herself as someone who needed to lose weight.
She had always been “round and chubby.” That was how she grew up, how she entered the workforce, and even how she looked as a bride. It was simply her normal and she was happy.
Felicia enjoyed food and never felt the need to deprive herself of it. Good food was part of how she enjoyed life. It was also there for her on the difficult days, whether she was stressed, unhappy, or simply looking for a little reward.
Over time, however, the weight gradually increased. But she didn’t see it as something that needed fixing. In her mind, it was just genetics. “This is me. I’m genetically round and chubby.”
Then something happened that made her look at things differently. As she grew older, she began seeing friends around her develop health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Watching them go through those experiences made her think beyond how she looked. She started thinking about what might happen to her if she continued on the same path.
“Do I really want to wait until something happens to me before I take my health seriously?”
That question stayed with her.
When Felicia was introduced to the CNFCD programme, she decided to do something about it. Not because she suddenly wanted to become thin, but because she had reached a point where doing nothing no longer felt like the right choice.
Four months later, the results were remarkable.
She had lost 17kg, including 15.1kg of fat.
When I spoke to Felicia, what stood out to me wasn’t just the number. It was everything she could now do and feel differently.
There was less pressure on her knees and lower back. Stairs no longer felt as strenuous. She could stand for longer without feeling as much discomfort. Her sleep improved, she woke with more energy, and her cravings became easier to manage.
Even her body felt different to her. Her stomach was flatter, and she could see the physical changes. And of course, she felt lighter in her own body.
“It felt like 15kg of rice had come off my body.”
"Imagine carrying a 15kg bag of rice with you everywhere you went. Up the stairs, around the house, to and from work, while standing, while walking.... Every single day. Then imagine putting it down."
For Felicia, that was what the difference felt like.
Felicia had spent years thinking of her size as simply part of who she was. She wasn’t unhappy with herself. She wasn’t waiting to become a different person. She had simply become accustomed to her body feeling a certain way.
It was only after experiencing the change that she discovered how much better everyday life could feel.
That, perhaps, was the real surprise.
Sometimes we become so used to the way things are that we stop questioning whether they could feel different. We adapt to the discomfort, the tiredness, the extra effort, and the limitations until they become part of what we consider normal.
Felicia’s experience reminded me that change doesn’t always begin with dissatisfaction. Sometimes, it begins with curiosity
What would it feel like to have more energy? To move with greater ease? To wake up feeling better? To discover that something you had accepted as “just the way I am” could actually change?
For Felicia, she found out.
Losing 17kg is amazing. The fact that 15.1kg of that weight was fat loss is insane. And in only 4 months... that's ... just WOW!
But maybe what makes her story even more powerful is the fact that she had lived for years believing she knew what her normal felt like, only to discover that there was another version of normal waiting for her.