Wema Sepetu used to boast of a jaw-dropping hourglass figure until February 2020 when she stepped out looking gracefully thin to the shock of many of her admirers.
Wema, who at one time weighed up to 109 kilos, surfaced looking so emaciated sparking rumours she had contracted a disease that chops fat like mama mboga's knife.
"Bila shaka afya ndio kila kitu katika maisha, na mwili wako siku hizi umeonekana ni mwembamba na awali watu walivyozoea na kumekuwa na maswali mengi sana. Hebu tuambie kipi kipo ndani yako?” A journalist asked Wema at a press conference in February 2020.
Wema allayed fears that she was sick, stressing that she loved her body thin.
"Mimi niko fiti sana, siumwi kitu, sina ugonjwa wa aina yeyote. Mwili wangu mnaouna sasa hivi ni mwili ambao naupenda kuliko miili yangu yote nishawahi kuwa nayo."
Weight gain
Fast forward to May 2023, Wema Sepetu opened up about her weight issues while speaking during an interview with Manara TV.
Wema stressed that she never used to be plum, reminiscing about her days as a beauty queen when she weighed 57 kilos at the time she won the Miss Tanzania 2006 beauty pageant.
"Mimi changamoto nilipitia kubwa sana was kipindi ambapo nilinenepa. Kwa sababu Wema wameanza kumjua kama Wema akiwa Miss Tanzania. Mi nlikua na kilo 59," Wema said.
The former beauty queen confessed that she started adding weight when she began taking supplements in a desperate bid to get pregnant (to date Wema still has no child).
She revealed that her gynaecologist warned her that the major side effect of the supplements was weight gain.
"Then nkaanza kutumia supplements za kushika mimba. Nlikua nakunywa vitamins za kunisaidia kushika mimba. My gynaecologist aliniambia Wema hizi supplements zina side effects za kugain weight. Since I was very desperate I was like let me gain the weight, I will get my baby I will shed the weight off baada ya kudeliver," she said.
Wema said the supplements made her otherwise unnoticeable booty grow by leaps and bounds to an admirable size that got people talking.
"Sasa yule Wema ambaye unasema wa tako tako, wa nini, yule msambwanda ndo alikuja baada ya zile supplements. Mimi changamoto ndo nilipata kipindi kile sababu mimi ule ulikua sio mwili wangu niliupata baada ya kutumia suppliments ya kushika mimba."
The Bongo movies actress admitted that she struggled with weight gain, revealing that she was even gasping for air when she walked from her sitting room to the bedroom.
Wema noted that she developed High Blood Pressure (HBP) as a result of being heavy like a tonne.
"So baada ya kufanya vile it was very very draining for me kwa sababu hadi nlikua ata nyumbani kwangu kutoka sebuleni kuenda hadi chumbani kwangu nlikua nikifika nahema. Mbaka nkaanza kupata pressure. Ilikua inaenda kuwa obesity sababu kuna kipindi nilifunuka kama nlikua nimepulizwa. Yani sura, mikoni yani nilikua nimejaa kama puto."
Weight loss
The 32-year-old actress disclosed that she was forced to shed excess weight after being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).
PCOS is a medical condition characterized by infrequent, irregular, or prolonged menstrual periods. It is often associated with an excess of androgen, a male hormone. Women with PCOS may develop multiple small fluid-filled sacs in their ovaries that can prevent the regular release of eggs. [sic]
Wema said her gynaecologist advised her to lose weight after she was diagnosed with PCOS as the disease would prevent her from conceiving apart from making her even fatter.
"Kipindi hicho nlikua naonana na gynaecologist akaniambia tayari nimepata ugonjwa fulani unaitwa PCOS. Hio ugonjwa pia una side effects hizo hizo za kunenepa. So my gynaecologist ndo alinishauri akaniambia you have to kwanza lose this excess weight. Nikifanya ultrasound wananiambia it's surrounded na mafuta kwa hio kutoboa kwenye kuconceive hutoboi."
The Miss Tanzania 2006 revealed that she underwent a weight loss procedure which made her famous booty and curves 'vanish' like ice cream in a hot sun.
"Kwa hio when I underwent the surgery that I did yani I knew what I was going to get myself into and trust me I was so excited mbaka sasa hivi how I am, I am happy because I never used to like myself kipindi kile," she said.
