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He has lost nearly half his original weight and since he talked to YOU last October AJ van der Walt has completed two 21-km half marathons.
AJ (32), from Hartswater in the Northern Cape, now weighs between 145 kg and 147 kg – much less than the 282 kg he weighed when he started dieting more than two years ago.
AJ showed off his weight loss in YOU last year.
“I’m still banting all the way,” AJ says on the telephone. He has lost 137 kg and the end isn’t in sight.
Apart from the half marathons, AJ has taken part in a 50 km mountain bike race and an 11 km time test.
AJ will soon be the ambassador of the Chantel Rall Foundation, also known as the LoveChanty Foundation.
The foundation was started by Chantel, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2012 and later had a hysterectomy. Doctors didn’t have much hope for her but Chantel refused to accept the prognosis and undertook to take part in the Iron Woman Competition when she came out of hospital.
AJ before.
Chantel started the foundation to create awareness in the multi-sport arena of the battle waged by those with cancer, and more important, that the battle can be won.
Read more: ‘I lost 84kg in 7 months’ – meal plan, recipes and exercise programme
A difficult road lay head for Chantel – but two years later she completed the Iron Woman Competition. By the time she died she’d taken part in various meetings and completed two Iron Woman Competitions.
AJ's now more active than ever.
Only the paperwork remains to be done before AJ will officially be the ambassador for the foundation, the slogan of which is: I am not done.
Read more: Always hungry? This is how one SA woman lost 40kg when she beat the constant cravings…
This phrase means a lot to AJ. “To me it’s about the motivation people get from it, to show people you can do something (about your circumstances).
He's dropped a whopping 137 kg so far – and he's not done yet!
“I am not done – you can progress regardless of what happens, you can move forward. Many people have so much weight to lose – and they can do it,” he says.
