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IF YOU’D told her a few years ago she’d compete in back-to-back Comrades Marathons she’d never have believed you.
At her heaviest Carli van Niekerk weighed 130kg and found herself out of breath performing the simplest tasks. Even getting up from a chair was a struggle as it would cling to her body.
She tried plenty of diets and every weight-loss programme under the sun but nothing seemed to work.
“A lot of people will say, ‘Love yourself and be happy in your body’. But from personal experience I know you can put on a happy face and say you’re happy and accept your body, but deep down you don’t,” Carli (46), who lives in Roodepoort, Joburg, tells YOU.