Tamsin Macaffer had given birth to her third child during lockdown in Melbourne, and while she ate relatively healthy during her pregnancy, it was her portion sizes that saw her put on an extra 30kg of unhealthy weight.
The 28-year-old disability worker said by the end of her pregnancy, she weighed close to 80kg.
Her Thought Process
“I don’t mind having my big belly while I am pregnant, but once I had bub I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed and self-conscious,” Macaffer told News.com.au
“Gyms have been closed due to the epidemic and I felt more empowered.”
She also had to stop exercising properly at the beginning of her pregnancy due to hyperemesis and osteoporosis.
“I hated seeing myself in the mirror or in the pictures. I would never have let my husband take my picture ‘before’ because I didn’t want him to see me that way, ”she explained.
She said part of him was happy to be alone as it meant she didn’t have to hang out with people or try to find a dress to “get himself out of an event”.
However, since starting her weight loss journey after giving birth to her son in July, she has regained her self-confidence and the new respect gained by her body.
Epic Transformation
“My transformation was not very shocking as I worked hard to see the results, but I was amazed that I was able to achieve such amazing results at home in just eight weeks,” said Ms. Macaffer.
She also added that she has been working hard over the past few months to “convert my mother” since she found her son.
Ms Macaffer, who has three children under the age of four, went on to weigh 12.5kg – writing about her dramatic change in the weekly photo series.
“Even though I usually ate healthy food, the sizes of my part were quite large and I was enjoying chocolate after bedtime for the children,” said Ms Macaffer about her diet.
She started following the Aussie fitness model with his coach Rachel Dillon on Instagram earlier this year.
“I realized that the new eight-week challenge for Train Like Me started on September 14 and that it could be done at home (and in the gym) that’s what got me joining,” she said.
“I had never done her Bodies By Rachel show before, but I had seen a lot of women’s body transformation on Instagram, so I was excited to say it.”
Soon enough, Ms. Macaffer began to build a healthy relationship with food and even though she had no worries about exercise, she put it first and made it part of her daily routine.
During the challenge, the disability support worker trained six days a week and also took the kids for a walk every day to keep her step count above 10,000.
“Since we were locked up, one of the reasons for leaving the house was to exercise, if I could find friends (if allowed) it could be a slow walk or exercise in the park,” she told the news. com.au
Journal The Journey
Ms Macaffer said she would take pictures and weekly progress reports “because you can really see the difference you make as the scales can sometimes be misleading”.
As for his diet, he likes a variety and will change his diet every two days, rather than sticking to the same diet plan for every challenge.
“I’ve never heard of a varied diet before but I’ve found that it makes it much easier to stick to your macros (proteins, carbs, fiber, fats) and actually enjoy your diet when you’re short of calories,” explains Ms Macaffer.
Ms Macaffer also won a $ 20,000 award for the 8-week BBR challenge, which will be donated $ 5000 to Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.
“My oldest daughter, Sahara, has a congenital defect and lived in the Cockatoo ward as a baby. She will continue to be a bedridden patient at RCH hospital during her childhood so I am very grateful to be able to do this on behalf of Sahara. ”

