Success Stories
What Orla said about the program: “I must say thank you so much Els. This weekend I’ve finally had the confidence in my own body and abilities to get on my mare and ride her without clenching with fear. We cantered, she bucked as usual but I didn’t freak out and pull her up. I corrected and pushed her on. And today we cantered without incident! I have not sat on her since March!
This whole process has not just been about getting fit. It’s been about having confidence in myself which has had an amazing effect on my mental health. 🖤 Thanks to you!”
Orla Hunter, Age 39
Orla lost 4, 1 kg and 32, 5 cm in girth measurements.
What Elsie said about the program: “27 March 2020 SA Lock-down started, and we were all devastated. How am I going to survive this with two daughters that must run to keep them in control? And then the WhatsApp came through. We were allowed to run in our complex. OK, so the girls could run, but I had to be with them. Not a problem. Yes, a problem. I just could not keep up with them, not even when we only walked. On June 3rd when we could move around a bit more, my friend took a photo of us having a drink, after the kids went for a run. What a shock. What had become of my physical appearance, not having realized how I had let myself go in the past few years.
I told my husband there and then that enough is enough; I got my head together and started to monitor what I ate (one of my biggest struggles was saying “No Thank You” to any food). I started the journey towards a healthier lifestyle by logging my food every day to compare calories taken in, to calories burned. I also started exercising with my husband – starting slowly by just starting to walk briskly every day, walking faster and faster over time until I lost enough weight to start jogging little bits. On 9 August we participated in the Justice League Wonder Woman Virtual Race, where I barely managed to run 500 m out of the 5 km’s. Even though it was a start, it wasn’t going to get me where I needed to be fast enough. I needed some help from a professional…
As a full-time working mother and wife, I realized how I have been neglecting myself physically for quite some time. I could clearly see that my physical health influenced both my family and the rest of my community. I needed to restore my self-confidence, have more energy and live a healthier lifestyle; to feel good and be fit enough to run with my daughters and reap the benefits of enjoying life to the full.
I came across Elsabe’s website and, at the end of August, I applied to be part of the “#SpringThing” body transformation challenge. On 29 August I received my “congratulations email”, for an eight-week training subscription with Elsabe Hunter. I was very excited and could not wait to start. In the meantime, I kept on logging my food intake and walking, and on 6 September we tried another virtual race (Justice League Aqua Man), where I managed to slowly jog four of the five kilometres! I was motivated and ready for the #SpringThing body transformation challenge.
Elsabe worked out a meal plan specific to my needs and provided a personalised training program to go with it. In the eight weeks I was on her program I made massive strides in not only my fitness, physical health and running ability, but I feel better, healthier and way more energetic. Her program turned my world 180 degrees in a more positive direction. (I’m hooked on exercise and healthy living)
What I like most about Elsabe’s programme is that, unlike most diets and trainers out there, she connects with you on a personal level. She is available to listen to whatever you need to ask on a 24/7 basis.
It was a tough journey, sometimes, and if it were not for the support of Elsabe I wouldn’t be where I am today – she motivated and supported me every step of the way. I asked Elsabe in the beginning of this journey to please not use any Bikini shots as I was to shy and embarrassed. Today I will proudly appear in my Bikini on any of her promotional packs.
Here are some of my results, all due to Elsabe’s program.
cm’s lost 65.5cm
Fat % from 25.58 to 10.70
BMI from 24.62 to 22.52
Weight from 73.7kg to 67.4kg
Muscle mass 55.85 to 60.19
5km times:
09/08/2020 49’49”
06/09/2020 49’38”
03/10/2020 40’56”
10/10/2020 39’11”
17/10/2020 36’40”
24/10/2020 35’28”
31/10/2020 32’31”
Push harder today if you want a different tomorrow!”
~ Elsie Mienie, Age 33
What Krischke said about the program: “About a year and a half ago, I decided I wanted to start running further than a parkrun 5km. I’ve always been active but have struggled to lose weight.
I had limitations to my diet that always made it challenging to follow conventional diets. This made training tough and I was aware that although I was getting stronger, I wasn’t losing body fat.
I joined the 8 week program with Elsabe and have never found it so easy to follow a program that catered for enough variety to make eating fun while taking into account my diet limitations.
I’ve consistently lost weight without losing muscle, with exciting strength workouts and my running has gone from strength to strength. She understands the challenges and gives honest feedback, this has made me felt empowered to understand my body and fall in love with it again.”
~ Krischke Bosman, aged 29
Progress in 7 Weeks:
Krischke lost 4,7 kg and 54,5 cm in overall girth measurements.
Her bodyfat changed from 33,7% to 23,7%.
She also ran her personal best 10km.
Elsabe is 44. She is a mom and a keen long distance runner. Her goal was to feel more empowered and better about herself.
Challenge:
Elsabe’s BMI was a little high at 26,21 and her fat percentage was too high at 30,7 % for her gender and age at the start of her 8 weeks. The high volume of cardio makes it very difficult to hold onto muscle mass while losing fat mass. She is additionally on medication which affects her weight.
Achievements in 8 Weeks:
Lost 4,3 kg, but she reduced her fat mass with 12,23 kg and built an impressive 7,93 kg of lean muscle mass.
Reduced bodyfat by 17,23%, and her bodyfat percentage is now a little too low at 13,47%. We will work on increasing that to 16% and building more muscle over the next 8 weeks.
Lost 50,8 cm in overall girth measurements
Chantal is 42. She is a keen long distance runner. With a BMI of 22, her weight was perfect for her age and height, but she wanted to lose a little bit of weight, specifically fat mass.
Challenge:
Chantal was within healthy weight but her fat percentage was a bit high at 34,4 at the start of her 8 weeks. The plan was to lose fat mass while holding onto and building lean muscle mass.
Achievements in 8 Weeks:
Lost 1,7 kg, but she reduced her fat mass with 8,56 kg and built an impressive 6,86 kg of lean muscle mass.
Reduced bodyfat by 13,31%, and her bodyfat percentage is now a very healthy 21%.
Lost 25 cm in overall girth measurements
Clarisa is 28. She is a PhD student and her goal was to lose a bit of weight and become more active.
Challenge:
Clarisa struggled to build muscle mass and initially her weight loss included muscle. We tried a variety of macro ratios until we found one that yielded the desired results. Clarisa is also a keen foodie and likes tasty and appealing food, so she learnt to use a macro app that allows her to manage her own nutrition.
Achievements in 8 Weeks:
Lost 4,9 kg, of which 5,5 kg was fat mass and she gained 650g in lean muscle mass.
Reduced body fat by 5,9%
Lost 37 cm in overall girth measurements
Marelize is 42. She is a mom and a keen long distance runner. Her goal was to lose a little bit of weight, specifically fat mass, to aid her running.
Challenge:
Marelize was within healthy weight and fat percentage limits for her gender and age at the start of the 8 weeks. The high volume of cardio makes it difficult to hold onto muscle mass while losing fat mass. Additionally, progress is harder to achieve when one is close to or at a healthy weight.
Achievements in 8 Weeks:
Lost 4,4 kg, of which 3,8 kg was fat mass and 590g was muscle mass.
Reduced body fat by 5,08%
Lost 30,5 cm in overall girth measurements.
This is from Colleen McNally. She is 60 and has lost 4 clothing sizes to date.
She has been training with me since 2019, started with me in the gym and uses the online live classes in the SilverFox Online Academy on Facebook now.
What Colleen said about the program: “When Elsabé approached me in 2019 to be a #silverfoxambassador, I wasn’t too keen, but she asked again and I thought ‘why not?’
What Roxy said about the program: “Elsabe has been my personal trainer for more than 6 months. I started training with her in November 2019 to get myself healthy and in shape.
She has been more than just a trainer to me, we also used to share our personal stories with each other and she was always open and honest.
Since training with her, I have learnt what works for my body and what is the best training for me, as I have an injured arm that tends to needs attention and work. She was very patient in training me and getting me to the goals I wanted to get.
Even though I don’t train with anyone currently, I will be back for more as she understands my body type and the kind of training I need for my target areas.”
Roxy van Zyl, Age 32″
