Before his turning point Roman was feeling emotionally, mentally and physically unwell.

To 26-year old, Roman Alexander from Durban, Slender Wonder was the beginning of a total life change he desperately needed. His love for food combined with emotional eating caused him to gain a lot of unwanted weight over a long period of time.

“Cooking and experimenting with food has always been a huge interest of mine and my first career choice was to become a professional chef.”

Before his turning point Roman was feeling emotionally, mentally and physically unwell.

“My day to day life was as normal as it could be, but I was just not happy with myself and I knew that it was because I was not listening to my body, telling me to change.”

Roman tried over the counter supplements to lose weight, but never used it for longer than a week because of the side effects.  He started with the Slender Wonder diet on the 15th of February 2018 after he heard about it from a colleague.

“It was a Thursday morning,  I decided that I was tired of feeling unwell and I knew that there was nothing else that I could change that would make me feel better, besides allowing my body to recover from all the unnecessary and unnatural foods and chemicals that I have been eating over the years. I was not going to wait to start on a Monday so off to the doctor I went.”

Roman went to Dr DS Patel in Ballito and started his Slender Wonder journey right away.

“I enjoyed everything about it – the good and the bad. For me it started off as a program to lose weight. I had no idea what else Slender Wonder was about to teach me, like how to be consistent and mentally strong, more than anything. I also learned that nourishing my body in the proper way, yields results that I can see and feel. But the most important thing I learned from Slender Wonder is willpower to maintain the lifestyle. Luckily the program and its guidelines make it easy to do so.”

To Roman the most challenging aspect was the fatigue at first.  He works six days a week at a Dental Practice and sees patients all the time, so that was difficult to deal with, but soon he started having loads of energy, sleeping very well and even waking up before his alarm clock.

Roman lost 30 kg in 17 weeks.

“The doctor wanted me to lose 26 kg, which would have put me on the high end of a normal BMI, but I decided to round the figure of to 30 kg, just to prove to myself that I can do it.”

Roman was so determined to reach his goal weight that even though there were many days when he felt like he couldn’t train or wanted to eat something he shouldn’t, he remained strong and reminded himself why he started in the first place. He also read the Slender Wonder book and was especially inspired to keep focus from reading the Bible scriptures in the book, especially 2 Timothy 1:7.

“There were many exciting times too – those days when you have to weigh in at the doctor.  I wouldn’t look at the scale and I would ask them not to tell me if I didn’t lose enough. The doctor expected me to lose a certain amount each time, which I liked, but I always pushed for more and set my own goal for each stage.”

Roman is now on the maintenance stage of the program.

“I used to be a size 40 pants, I now fit into a 32 comfortably.”

Since he lost all the weight, he doesn’t have lower back pain like he used to, he exercises more effectively and can run without having to stop after a short while.

“The number one thing that I would say makes Slender Wonder different is that IT WORKS! I never believed those adverts in magazines and on TV with before and after picture transformations, but colleagues and family have told me that they never believed it too, until they saw me!”

To Roman the biggest benefit of Slender Wonder is the support you get throughout the programme, not only from your doctor, but also the staff at the doctor’s rooms. Plus the Slender Wonder support group where everybody encourages each other and share experiences to make it easier for others is a great help.

“I don’t just think that it’s just a weight loss programme – for me it has been a lifestyle programme with benefits only.”

Roman recommends Slender Wonder to anyone who needs to lose a considerable amount of weight and is eligible to be on the programme.

“It has opened up a whole new world for me. I now have a personal trainer whom I started to work with a few days after my detox, doing proper exercises and also learning about the foods that are good for me. This has motivated me to study nutrition and fitness which I am currently doing. I now want to take care of my body, using correct and proper methods and Slender Wonder was a great start – also a great confidence booster.”

“I never knew about the nutritional value of food and especially portion control, that is why I never knew where to draw the line.  I have learned all of this for the first time with Slender Wonder.”

Roman’s motto is a quote by Ronald Reagan which says: ‘Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid’. He applies this to all areas of his life and believes that fear inhibits us in more ways than we think.

“I chose to be unafraid in this journey because I believe that as much as it is a physical change that I wanted to see, there is also spiritual influence, so I prayed over my Slender Wonder journey daily and continue to do so. This was a life lesson for me.”

His advice to anyone wanting to lose weight is to reward yourself holistically and fully.

“I know what it feels like when your body and mind are not in sync. You feel dissatisfied and ready for change, but don’t know how to do it. Slender Wonder is not a magic wand that changes everything in an instant, but what you will learn from your journey through this will definitely enhance your life more than you know.”

Roman believes that weight loss is not just about wanting to lose the weight, but it’s a series of feelings and emotions that must be true and real for change to happen.

He also warns that not everyone around you will be pleased when they see you succeed, but you should never let other people discourage you.

“Your desperation for change must be stronger than the things that are keeping you where you are, and if it is, you will without a doubt be victorious.”