Algoa FM presenter Lee Duru has been trying to lose weight since she was 10 years old.
At an age when most of us were deciding what to spend our tuck shop money on, she had already started thinking about dieting, weight and changing her body.
Now, in her 40s, after decades of diets, eating plans and trying what feels like just about everything, Lee is asking a different question.
What if wellness isn’t always about losing weight?
It was one of the candid conversations that emerged at the recent DCW Sweat Fest 3.0 in Nelson Mandela Bay, where Lee spoke openly about her relationship with weight, food and the lessons she is still learning about choosing herself.
Hosted by DCW Collection founder Darushka Chetty Williams, Sweat Fest brought women together for movement, food, wellness and lifestyle experiences, but Lee’s conversation showed why the day was about much more than simply working up a sweat.
For Eastern Cape radio listeners, Lee needs little introduction. She joined Algoa FM’s popular breakfast show in 2016 and has since become a familiar voice across the province, known for the warmth, humour and storytelling she brings to the airwaves.
At Sweat Fest, however, it was her own story she was telling.
Dieting since the age of 10
Lee didn’t present her wellness journey as a neat before-and-after story.
There was no dramatic reveal or claim that she had finally discovered the answer after almost four decades of thinking about her weight.
Instead, she spoke about just how long that relationship has existed.
She has been trying to lose weight since she was 10 and, over the years, has tried the diets, eating plans and different approaches that promised results.
That history makes the way she looks at wellness now particularly interesting.
At 47, Lee is recognising that looking after yourself can’t always be reduced to what the scale says.
Maybe weight isn’t the problem
One of the things that stood out from Lee’s conversation was her acknowledgement that women are all at different stages of their lives, which means what each of us needs isn’t necessarily going to look the same.
“Your issue may not be weight.”
For one woman, the problem might be that she isn’t getting enough sleep.
Someone else may need more movement, while another person could be doing the exercise but struggling with the eating side of things.
Then there are women who are moving, eating well and seemingly doing all the things we’re told we should be doing, but can’t manage their stress levels or desperately need to put boundaries in place.
It is a simple idea, but quite a significant one for someone who has spent so much of her life believing weight was the thing that needed fixing.
Maybe sometimes it isn’t.
Maybe the question isn’t simply, “How do I lose weight?”
Maybe it is, “What do I actually need right now?”
The moment Lee chose herself
Perhaps the most relatable part of Lee’s talk had very little to do with exercise or diets.
It involved coffee.
Earlier that morning, Lee wanted something specific from a coffee stand. Her instinct was almost to not ask for it.
She didn’t want to be difficult. She could just take what was available. It would be fine.
It’s the kind of tiny interaction that would ordinarily be forgotten five minutes later.
Except Lee caught herself doing it.
This time, she asked.
They had what she wanted, so she took it.
For Lee, that seemingly insignificant decision represented something much bigger.
In that moment, she chose herself.
How often do we abandon ourselves?
The coffee story opened up a conversation that extended far beyond what was in Lee’s cup.
How often do women make themselves easier to accommodate without even realising they’re doing it?
How often do we decide not to ask because we don’t want to be difficult?
How often do we say “it’s fine” when it isn’t really what we want?
And how often do we automatically abandon what we need because accommodating everyone else feels easier?
Lee’s point wasn’t that choosing yourself requires dramatically reinventing your life.
Sometimes it might mean getting enough sleep.
It might mean moving your body, taking a closer look at your eating habits or finding a way to manage your stress.
Sometimes it means setting a boundary.
And sometimes it is as small as asking whether the coffee stand has what you actually want.
A story that echoed the woman behind Sweat Fest
There was another reason Lee’s story felt particularly at home at Sweat Fest.
Her reflections echoed parts of Darushka Chetty Williams’ own journey, which helped inspire the community she has built through DCW Collection and Sweat Fest.
Both stories move the conversation beyond the idea that wellness should simply be about chasing a particular number on a scale.
That was reflected throughout Sweat Fest 3.0 itself. Movement was naturally a major part of the event, but so were conversations about health, balance and what women need at different stages of their lives.
Lee’s contribution brought that message down to a very personal level.
At 47, the journey looks different
After starting her first diet at 10 and spending almost four decades thinking about weight in one form or another, Lee isn’t pretending she has suddenly figured everything out at 47.
Perhaps that’s what made her story resonate.
There was no perfect ending.
Instead, there was the acknowledgement that what she needs now might be completely different from what another woman needs, or even from what Lee herself needed ten or twenty years ago.
Maybe your issue is weight.
Maybe it isn’t.
Perhaps you need more movement, better eating habits or more sleep. Perhaps your stress levels need attention. Perhaps you need stronger boundaries.
Or perhaps you simply need to become a little more comfortable asking for what you want.
After decades of trying to lose weight, Lee’s wellness journey appears to be becoming about something much bigger than making herself smaller.
It’s about learning to choose herself.
Even if, on that particular morning, it starts with her coffee.
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