Millions, if not billions, of people battle with obesity, body-shaming, virtual and live bullying, low self-confidence, as well self-esteem. Who would have imagined that a young, severely overweight Mosotho woman from Motse-Mocha would be one of the few to climb to the top of the weight-loss ladder and turn her journey into an empire? BY: ALEX MAFELESI

Meet Moleboheng “Mlex” Mpasi. She is beautiful, a mother, humble, a socialite, ambitious, calm, a CEO, ever smiling and has an air of absolute certainty. You could almost touch her confidence. However, she wasn’t always like this. In 2019, Mlex weighed an incredible 119 kg. She was very self-conscious, regularly got sick, struggled with period pains, and was frequently targeted by body- shaming. Her confidence was close to non-existent. Until one April afternoon in 2019, her sister recommended “Guava Leaves” and her life changed forever.

“I have always wanted to be my own boss, but I never imagined it would become so big,” she continues. “I was just trying to fulfill all my clients’ requests and make them more comfortable than any other spa.”

After three months of rigorous commitment to her guava leaves, a change in her diet, discipline, focus, and determination, Mlex saw herself reducing over 20 kg a month until she weighed an incredible 60 kg. She instantly became popular on social media because nobody could believe how she had transformed.