Living fearlessly: a term a lot of us would love to live by. The defiant act of going against the grain of what society deems as normal and average; choosing to be different and not concerning yourself with what everyone thinks, says and even feels about you; solely focusing on yourself and your life. These are but a few explanations that
best describe Morati Sethabela. In South Africa, we often see stigma around females who body build especially in the black community. We hear things like "she is too manly. She is too big. What exactly is she trying to do?" Well, she is a 35-year old mother of 2 originally from the Sebokeng in the Vaal with drive, unlike anything we ever have seen. She lives life on her own terms and focuses on her family, happiness and does not let anyone else besides herself define her.
Her story starts in 2010 after giving birth to her first child through C-section. She was unhappy with how her body looked and felt. She was battling with the idea and common misconception that once you give birth through c-section, your body is forever ruined and the only way to fix it will be through surgery. She just couldn't and did not accept that and she took it upon herself to make the changes she wanted to see. Change did happen. She lost her pregnancy fat (particulaly her "FUPA” - fatty upper pelvic area) and slimmed down to the body weight she was happy with through eating well, cardio and running.
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She is motivated by the consistent growth and changes she sees daily in her body and as well as mentoring and coaching others, learning new things, her two sons and the willingness to do better.
Her daily routine consists of early morning workout sessions and a combination of healthy nutritious meals and the right supplements. She maintains her current body weight and shape through a strict diet of vegetables, protein, more than 2 liters of water a day and absolutely no fizzy/sugary drinks. Wellness and fitness has also helped her deal and ease the pain of losing her father. "I had to train hard and eat super clean. It was mentally and physically challenging and distracted me from thinking about Dad. This really helped me cope cause I needed to train five times a week and focus a lot. This period helped me survive my depression."
"I love how exercise makes me feel. I literally get sick when I go for 3 days or longer without exercise". This is how she feels about exercising in her own words. Positive change and growth in herself and body has become such
an integral part of who she is and this and her motto " Yes. Ish happens but life goes on. Remember everything happens for a reason.” This keeps her going whenever things get difficult in life. Beyond fitness and wellness, she aspires to be financially free and credits a lot of her happiness to her family.
Morati isn't just looking to be another fitfluncer on social media. Coming from a background where fitness and wellness have given her so much confidence, joy, happiness and excitement, she genuinely wants to achieve happiness not only for herself but for others as well. She strives to lead a meaningful life that enables one to fulfill basic and more advanced needs, such as self-actualization, and contribute to the improvement of society and we believe she is well on her way.
People like Morati are shattering that stigma, we mentioned earlier, her story is motivation enough not just for us here at www.tribalfitafrica.com but we hope for every female out there to go out and do what makes them happy. She truly is a beacon of inspiration and the perfect example of living life for oneself and on one's own terms.
If you liked reading about Morati’s story leave comment below and share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.