About Me — Mart-Mari Breedt

Image provided by the author

Forty-year-old, South African, Software Engineer and mom of four — I write about my introspection journey maintaining my 80 kg (176 lbs) weight-loss

Hi, my name is Mart-Mari Breedt. I am an Afrikaans speaking South African software engineer with an honours degree in science and maths, and the author of “Eighty kilos of shame” and “Tagtig kilos se skuldlas”. I wrote both my memoirs myself, even the English one and I am extremely proud of my work. I am also a very happily married mom of four beautiful children — two boys and two girls.

From February 2017 to December 2019, I’ve lost 80 kg (176 lbs). I lost this 80 kg by pure hard work, healthy eating and exercising. But I do not write about dieting. I believe there is so much written material on dieting already; I do not wish to add to that noise. I write about introspection. I write about trying to figure out where in my life did things go wrong. I write about healing. I think and ponder for hours about life, and then I blurt it all out as if I was having a conversation with you. I write for the therapy of it.

I hope that my story will inspire people and challenge them to introspection. Ultimately you can always take a break from a busy schedule, a hectic work routine or a crazy household schedule. You can go on holiday for a week or two. But you cannot take a break from being obese or being very ill, or even being poor. It is not the type of thing you can park for a week or two and say: “Right, for the next two weeks, I am going to be thin/healthy/rich.” It just doesn’t work that way. It is a constant battle — constant stress. A heartbreaking realisation is that there is no break from these problems. Only hope for grace for a way through.

All I have to offer to this struggle is hope — that even if you have as much as 80 kg to lose, it is possible — my story, a willing ear and an understanding heart for you to feel that you are not alone.

Contact

If you’d like to reach out, you can contact me via my Facebook page or email to martmarib@gmail.com.

Some progress photos of my weight-loss journey. Image provided by the author