A mom to three, a chef and constantly experimenting with food has got to take its toll on your waistline: just ask celebrity chef Siba Mtongana. For the past few months though, her social media accounts have been filled with shots of her hitting the road - almost as much as those impressive foodie snaps

And if you, like us, have noticed the shrinking thighs and smaller waist, then you aren't imagining things. Siba has declared that 2017 is the year to "take back the power".
"I made a decision to take back the power. Power over my body and my eating habits."
The chef, who most would describe as deliciously curvy, said she made the decision to change her lifestyle because for the past 4 years she consciously decided to ignore it.


"When I had children, I wanted to focus on that. I didn't want to worry about my weight and beat myself up about it. Being a woman and a mom is hard work as it it, imagine all these unrealistic expectations thrown at you."
But now that her youngest is 11 months old (she has a four-year-old and a two-year-old) she knew that she was ready.
"I made a commitment to myself to go back to my body pre-kiddies. When I was pregnant and raising the little ones, it was easy to make an excuse. It still is. But I was never concentrating on what I was putting in my body."
She's 9kgs down and insists she wants it to be an organic process.
"I don't want the weight to fall off. I want it to happen slowly. I want to still be able to live my life. I want this to be a lifestyle."

She has started road running to help..
"I do anything between 4kms and 8kms at a time. Having my husband run beside me helps, because he is my motivator."
Besides it being a new year with new goals, Siba said that knowing people are inspired by her gives her even more motivation to do more.

"There are tons of people in my position and if I can uplift someone, then it makes all the difference."
At the end of our interview, Tshisa challenged Siba to run the 10km leg in the Cape Town Marathon. She agreed. Well, she laughed nervously and said yes. So, we'll see you there, Siba!