Dance your way to fitness with Mel
It was six months after having her last born that she decided to make a healthy change to her lifestyle.
![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2019/07/NM29Mel-7.jpg)
WEIGHT LOSS is a struggle that many can identify with but Merebank’s Mel Naidoo, 33, chose to approach this challenge as a life-changing journey and is now helping others do the same.
After giving birth to her third child nine years ago, Mel was at her heaviest weighing 80kgs which took a knock at her confidence. It was six months after having her last born that she decided to make a healthy change to her lifestyle. “I joined the gym and very soon the kilos started shedding. I also began implementing better changes to my diet and with time I began enjoying losing weight,” she said.
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Having developed a new lease on life, Mel decided to take things a step further by obtaining a qualification in dance and group exercises, which allowed her to start her own dance classes called Dance with Mel on 13 July 2017. “I started out with just six members and now two years later I have just over 100 women dancing with me in Merebank coming from all over the South Durban Basin. I love what I do and I’m so happy that I have been able to inspire other women to lose weight and make a positive change in their lifestyles. In the Indian community, fitness is not a priority, but through my classes, I am getting the housewives out of the house and dancing them to fitness,” said the fitness enthusiast.
The mother of three also has teaches dance fitness for children and teachers dance fitness at the Little Darling School in Merebank. “My reason behind starting these classes was to motivate moms to know that just because they have had children it doesn’t mean that they have to stop looking after themselves. It’s also important to inspire your children to be active as well. Being able to play around with my children has been such a rewarding experience and support from the community has been overwhelmingly positive,” she said.
Now weighing an impressive 56kgs, Mel’s fitness and weight loss journey has been joy ride and she is inviting anyone and everyone along as she plans to expand her classes and outreach to the community and local schools. Dance with Mel classes takes place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6pm to 7pm at St Mary’s School Hall.
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