Meet the woman behind Fit Like Mummy

It takes a lot of willpower to start any sort of permanent change in your life, even more when you have a family to tend to.

But when Natasha Kisten-Skuce started taking her fitness and health seriously, it led her to become one of South Africa’s favourite no-holds-barred fitness bloggers – showing women how powerful they can really become.

So strong were the stories she started sharing on social media under the name FitLikeMummy, that next weekend she will be one of the fitfluencers at Fibo Africa.

She is a major force in South Africa who has spread body positivity as well as motivation.

“It’s quite a challenge with working moms because the biggest factor is time. “I’ve incorporated my kids in my workouts. I lost my dining room table and we now have a gym station in my house. I’m not stressed about driving to the gym or losing 30 minutes sitting in traffic.

“Now I get home and my kids do homework while I’m working out, and I can assist them with homework,” she says.

But don’t think the equipment is noisy. And also don’t think you need a budget for a home gym.

“You need something for cardio; I bought a stationary exercise bike from gumtree and I just paid R600, and I have a set of adjustable dumbbells and resistance bands,” the proud mother says.

She believes those are the top three items you need to get a great workout, because they can be used in a myriad of ways and can help tone your whole body.

“I started at the gym with a biokineticist. I hated cardio, but I found that when I did group classes like dance or cardio, I loved it because I love people – you don’t feel an hour of dancing and there’s people to interact with,” she says. Being a social person, meant she could get over one of her major stumbling blocks to enjoy this kind of exercise.

ALSO READ: Fit Like Mummy named as Fibo Africa ambassador

Kirsten-Skuce used to be in the military and that created a love-hate relationship with running. (Who wouldn’t immediately picture a drill sergeant screaming in your ear?)

“I realised one of the quickest ways to get fit is to run. You’ll see your improvement when you run. So I started walking outside of gym,” she says. When Kirsten-Skuce started, it took her about an hour to complete 5km. Now its just over 30 minutes.

“Park runs for me are the best, because that’s how the family started out. We started only having breakfast after the run on Saturdays. We even became competitive with times and beating our times every week.

“As a family our fitness is more a practical thing, it doesn’t have to be in a gym.”

With family in mind, she connected lifestyle with food. “My 14-year-old was diagnosed with anxiety and depression at nine, so he was put on medication. So when I started this journey, I changed how they ate.

“We reduced sugar and carbs, and right now he’s off his medication. Really, if you put the time and effort in, you can change your whole family’s life,” she says.

“They love the way we eat now. My 10-year-old gets up in the morning and makes himself a smoothie. We don’t do cereals anymore. I make cooked meals.”

Kirsten-Skuce is set to reveal more exciting things and she is sure to have her name on more people’s lips.

Everyone wants to be fit like this fittest of mommies. So, our best fitness mom will be at Fibo Africa – not just for her big reveal, but also to host seven meal prep shows. These will be at the FitFood Zone on Saturday and Sunday.

For more information visit Fibo Global Fitness SA and Fit Like Mummy.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.