Fat mom slim series Letitia Bosman

My name is Letitia Bosman (Murphy), recently married to my “baby daddy” 😉
I am turning 35 this year and I feel as though I’m still living in my early 20’s.
I am an extremely blessed Mommy to my beautiful little 4 year old girl, Lily! Lily and her Daddy are the loves of my life ♡
My hubby and I are partners in our own business (since 2007) which is extremely hands on and demanding! I love what I do, I love going to work each day and I have been fortunate enough to work until 2pm so that I have my afternoons with my little girl once I fetch her from school! I started my fitness journey over 7 years ago and I will never look back!
My health/fit journey is the reason I was able to fall pregnant naturally!
I live each day to it’s fullest as positively as I can and I am always up for any adventure that comes my way 🙂

What was the catalyst for starting your weight loss journey?

I was diagnosed with Pcos (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) at a young age but was told not to worry! I was always quite overweight and unhealthy, although I was vegetarian, I wasn’t a “healthy vegetarian” and in my older years, it got worse! I still remember the day clearly that I hit rock bottom, sitting in my office literally praying customers wouldn’t walk in, my clothes literally cutting into me, I was so embarrassed and uncomfortable within myself and didn’t want to face anyone!
A little while later I had a routine check up with my gynaecologist and was told that it was very unlikely that I would fall pregnant… this was my turning point, I was 27 years old, overweight, unhealthy, so deeply unhappy within myself and now was told I wouldn’t be a Mom!!!! That was it, my turning point!!!!

What did you start to change first?

My first change was to exercise, I phoned my brother straight away as he had recently started training and I knew he would help. I literally started my fitness journey that next Monday with my brother and trainer (who I still train with today).
I was nervous, I was embarrassed, I didn’t even own anything to train in, my brother had to take me to buy takkies (haha) but I had hit rock bottom and this was the only way. My first session is possibly the most talked about session in our gym still to this day, I literally couldn’t do step ups on a low bench without holding onto my trainers shoulder, I had never been sporty or done anything fitness related in my life so this was a big step for me! After that first session, I was hooked!

Did you use any apps to help keep track of what you were eating?

I didn’t use any apps to track anything, I had my trainer guiding me, teaching me and advising me daily of what to do, what to eat, what to cut out of my diet etc etc..
He became my mentor and the only person I listened to when it came to “diet” (healthy eating) and exercise! Thankfully, because today there are so many people telling us what we should and shouldn’t do that it gets too overwhelming!

What does a typical day of food look like for you now vs before?

A typical day of food NOW, would be:
Green Juice/Smoothie in the mornings to start my day! I snack when I’m hungry, I don’t stick to set meals, it just doesn’t work for my busy lifestyle! At the moment, I am enjoying eating more raw foods, loading up on greens and woolies really does make it so easy with all their new snack packs, it’s effortless to plan! Dinner would be veggie noodles, fresh or raw veg mixed in or anything healthy and raw that I feel like.. and ooooooh Avo, lots of Avo 😉

BEFORE, my diet was horrendous, wasn’t much of a breakfast person, I lived on cheese, pizzas, pasta, cottage cheese on toast, baked potatoes, you name it!
I often have moments that I think I wish I knew then what I know now but I’ve also realised that my journey wouldn’t be where it is now and I’m very thankful for my NOW!

Tell us about what exercise you do, when, where and how often

I train at a private gym in Newlands, (personal trainer gym for personal trainers and their clients) with my trainer, Shameen Adam’s and my brother, it is such an incredible vibe and no judging or anything of the sort! We train together every day around 5pm! We mainly train weights, focusing on different muscle groups each day, it sounds a bit crazy to most people when I explain it but I lost all my weight from just training with weights, no cardio or treadmill or bike, just old school weights!

What people often don’t understand is that if you are training weights for an hour, your body will still burn calories up to 24 hours after training.. with cardio, you burn as you exercise and thereafter nothing more! I have the most incredible TEAM!
I’ve also trained boxing/muay thai/functional fitness at another gym, early mornings 5am which I stopped for a while as my hubby had back surgery and I wanted to focus on his recovery and not leave him and Lily at 4am to go training. Recently I have started again and now train in City Centre with my amazing coach, Nick Murphy! I am so motivated and so amped, it is so good to be back!!!!

How have you fitted this is with your busy life as a mum?

I train 5am so that I get home before Lily wakes up, she doesn’t even know I left, so that it doesn’t interfere with her time and with family time in general! I train at 5pm with Lily and we have such fun! I have always wanted to include and raise her in this lifestyle! Thankfully I have the incredible support that I have where I train, so everyone helps entertain Lily and keeps her happy while I get to do my sets. It just works for me this way and I don’t ever have to feel guilty for doing what I love!

Do you use any shakes or supplements?

I don’t use any supplements or shakes, I believe in natural, food is the best medicine and the only way to strive long term goals!
I used to take whey protein shakes but since then I have gone off of dairy and noticed more progress in my transformation once cutting the dairy and sugar out!

When do you find it hardest to stay on track?

I have always found it hardest to stay on track on the weekends, I didn’t ever want to inconvenience others or make it difficult for myself to attend functions or eat out at certain places.. so now I just don’t stay on track on the weekends, I give myself a break. By break, I don’t mean going crazy and eating every take out or everything unhealthy I see.. I mean I don’t pressure or limit myself. If I want to drink wine, I drink wine. If I go out for dinner and I want that wrap or pizza or pasta, I have it. I will still stick to my morning greens and if I’m home, I will still snack as usual but I will be a lot less chilled about it! I do not believe in restricting my family or others just because of my own choices!

I also know that Monday morning, I’m up early making my greens and my motivation kicks in all over again! Luckily for me, we have a strict weekly home routine and I cook separate meals and everyone is happy with the way it works!

What do you love most about your new lifestyle?

What I love most about my lifestyle now, is that I feel my best, I feel good every day, I feel confident and happy, I am a happier and more positive person in all aspects of my life, I rarely let anything get me down! I also love that I found my balance, I’ve tried everything, now I know what works for ME and what doesn’t and I know I can eat what I feel like on the weekend and not feel guilty because I’ve earned that, I’ve worked hard to be where I am today and I’m proud of it so that keeps me going!
My most important reason, motivation and my daily inspiration is Lily.. if it wasn’t for my lifestyle change, I wouldn’t have had the chance to become a Mom, I wouldn’t have my beautiful family of 3 as it is today and I wouldn’t have had a positive, strong mind that I now know; I can do anything I choose to do!

What are your top tips for other moms trying to lose weight & get fitter?

This is always a tough one because there are so many people out there on social media giving us opinions and telling us right from wrong just because “they” tried it or “they” were paid to say they did..
There are so many different forms of exercise too.. I don’t know the answers BUT I do know what works for ME!
I can only talk about what works for ME!
My advise is simple..
STOP listening to others, stop believing these stupid ads about pills and drops and sugar free/gluten free labels..
Do what works for YOU, find what makes YOU happy, it must be fun too, so don’t do anything you hate, then try something else… but whatever it is, be CONSISTENT, be DISCIPLINED, DON’T GIVE UP if you don’t see results, (I dont see results every month or every few months, I have set backs along the way, but I never stopped), just keep going and do it for YOU!!!!
The truth is, you can have the best trainer, the best home workout equipment but at the end of the day, you need to show up, you need to do the work, you are the only one who can control what you feed your body and mind with, it is not up to anyone else!
As far as “diet” goes, I prefer to avoid all dairy and sugar (for me, my body doesn’t process sugar like others do, even the “good sugars” in fruits etc, cause to retain water), I believe that are too quick to blame carbs, carbs are good, in moderation, it is the dairy that is the cause for most issues people tend to have these days. There is no set meal plan that will work for everyone, we all need to eat and not be limited to one way or to weighing every thing we eat.. we just need to avoid the bad and fuel up on the good! And by dairy, I do not mean ONLY that little bit of milk you add to your coffee, there is alot of dairy in ALL things “we” eat, read labels and see for yourself!
Ask yourself,
Why do you want to fuel your body with hormones that have been injected in your food/dairy? …and then ask…
Why don’t you want to give your body the BEST you can?
..
You have no idea how good your best version of yourself feels until you get there, trust me, it is SO worth it!
Wishing everyone all the love, all the inspiration, all the strength to get out of that rut you may be in and find your passion for your sake and for the sake of your family ♡

Lots of love,
Tish (Letitia) aka @fit_tish

P.S. Unfortunately I do not have photos of me before I started 7 years ago, I destroyed those 🙁
But my before ones I’ve attached are straight after I had Lily, 4 years ago..
I had lost 25 kg’s and got to my goal weight of 62kg at the time I fell pregnant, I then gained 18 kg’s back during my pregnancy, even though I continued training and eating well! So basically, had to start all over again to get back down to my goal weight, which now I have reached and is at 57kg’s 🙂