KEY POINTS:
When even running marathons didn't give her the body she wanted, Herald on Sunday columnist and radio personality, Kerre Woodham, was ready to throw in the towel on weight loss.
Then nutritionist Dr Libby Ellis offered to help. Over the next few weeks we'll give regular updates as Woodham and two of her co-workers, aged in their 20s and 30s, follow Ellis' advice in search of better bodies by changing their diets in preparation for the Auckland half-marathon. Watch this space.
KERRE WOODHAM, 43
At what age do you just give up? At what point do you just think: Stuff it. No more exercising religiously. No more guilt over needle creep on the scales. No more desperately aiming to squeeze into a size 10 by summer.
When is it considered acceptable to grow old and fat and luscious?
There are loads of gorgeous bigger women around. They are immaculately groomed, usually have fabulous hair, wear stylish clothes, and all seem to have handsome men who adore them.
After gaining 7kg over summer I was ready to chuck in the towel. My time had been and gone. I'd made the most of it and now I could retire into plump middle age. But it appears not. Such has been the response to my book on bloody marathon running that I feel morally obliged to join the Short Fat Chicks everywhere who have pledged to run the Auckland Marathon and run it with them. Or at least some of the way with them. Most of us will do the half. I couldn't in all conscience urge them on in their endeavours without running alongside them.
So in an effort to do it properly, I've agreed to see a nutritionist. It's pointless. I know what she'll say: "Drink less. Cut back on dairy and carbs. Smaller portions. Yadda, yadda, yadda."I won't do it. I'll just run further so I can eat more. Still, out of politeness, I'll go along and listen to what she has to say. And besides, Libby's office is in Parnell. Just down the road from Non Solo Pizza and it's ages since I had one of their specials.
TANIA MACKENZIE, 35
My body is no longer my temple. I always believed it would never let me down. After being a sprinter for years and being a naturally lean, strong and energetic 20-something, I am suddenly shocked at what two children and the ensuing hectic life has done to me in the space of a decade. Admittedly, I have had two huge babies - my second was over 4.5kg and the sheer weight of him tore the ligaments off my coccyx bone, which has left me with residual pain. I've also simply become fat. I know it's all relative, but I was a slender 60kg four years ago and now I'm 12kg heavier. That's a lot of blocks of cheese to work off. As a set-up producer for the Paul Holmes Breakfast show on ZB I work at night, starting in the late afternoon and finishing about midnight. With kids aged 2 and 4, and a husband needing to get to work first thing in the morning, I'm averaging six hours sleep a night - often a lot less.
What I am hoping to get from this adventure with Libby is the most energy possible out of the food I eat - and lose weight. I've promised myself the least I deserve is to be pain-free, fit and energetic - and not be ashamed of my body when I walk on the beach. So rather than sit and be sad about it, I'm going to fight to turn back the clock.
KIM SAVAGE, 21
They say that admitting you have a problem is half the battle. What they fail to mention is that the battle is only half the war. The war on fat, that is. So I'm taking the first step.
I admit I'm addicted to food and I'm talking McDonald's, potato chips, chocolate, you name it - if it's got more than 10g of fat it's part of my daily intake. My cupboards look like vending machines. I don't eat breakfast and often don't eat at all until 2pm, and when I finally do it, it's generally a chocolate bar.
It's probably safe to say, if I wasn't 21 I'd be three times the size I am.
I actually love going to the gym or going for a run when I'm doing it, it's just getting those damn running shoes on that's hard.
So I know where the problems lie, now I have to do something about it. I've never given weight loss a serious go until now. Libby's approach is about eating better without having to weigh food. That's a revelation to me and makes me think her tips might be just what I need to get back on track. Now half the battle's over, I'm ready for the war.
