WATCH: How Lungile Thabethe’s weight went from 103kg to 75kg

Lungile Thabethe, TV presenter Ayanda Thabethe‘s sister recently opened up about her weight loss journey.

The celebrity make-up artist and content creator said she had been struggling with her weight, sharing that as a kid, she was always perceived as the chunky and chubby one among her siblings.

She said she started gaining a lot of weight after the Covid pandemic.

“Initially, I would always stay around 80-85kg, nothing more than that. Over the 2021-2023 period, I skyrocketed all the way to 103.5kg. And for reference, I am 159cm tall, so I have a very short frame to carry so much weight,” she said.

ALSO READ: ‘You will be shook’: Itu Bokaba opens up about weight loss & toxic situations

Lungile’s transformation

Lungile said she went under the knife in Turkey and did the gastric sleeve surgery, a bariatric surgery for weight loss.

She said she had her surgery last year in June, adding: “I started off at 103.5kg, and I am currently at 75.6kg. That is a massive amount of weight to lose in such a small amount of time.”

Speaking about the costs, she said: “The total cost of the procedure was about R60 000. I had to put down a deposit of R6000. The flights were around R40 000 – R50 000, this depends on how you prefer to fly.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lungile Thabethe (@lungilethabethe)

Support

Lungile highlighted that having a solid support structure is essential as you go through the transformation period.

However, she said she travelled to Turkey alone and does not advise anyone who wishes to undergo the same surgery to go alone.

“I went alone. This is not something I had planned to do, but I was in a relationship at the time, and I realised that my partner would not be able to support me the way that I needed.

“My sister had volunteered to travel with me, but unfortunately she couldn’t because she was seven months pregnant by the time I had surgery.”

NOW READ: PICS: Inside rugby WAG Marise Pollard’s baby shower