She’s been South Africa’s showbiz royalty for the past 20 years and is used to turning heads wherever she goes. But Sophie Ndaba isn’t only attracting attention these days – she’s dropping jaws. And it’s all thanks to the sleek figure she’s cutting after a health scare spurred her on to make some serious lifestyle changes.
Strolling through the foyer of The Maslow Hotel in Sandton, in a figure hugging black outfit and strappy stilettos, the former Generations star is glowing with vitality. She’s shed more than 20kg, going from 89 to 67kg and is looking far younger than her 42 years.  Sophie is clearly delighted with her trimmed down figure and gasps with surprise when she checks out the pictures on the photographer’s camera screen. ‘When you come from where I’ve been, every picture receives a ‘yoh’ reaction’ she says.
And it’s all thanks to the healthier, cleaner way of life she adopted after learning she had type 2 diabetes – a condition her parents developed.  Sophie lost her mother, Joyce, at the age of 69 to renal failure linked to hypertension and diabetes, and her dad, Solly, is on dialysis three times a week for the same condition. ‘I was shocked by my diagnosis and started doing my research,’ Sophie says. ‘I figured I needed to educate myself first before I could start preaching to people about how to take care of themselves. I had to teach myself to eat well and change my lifestyle for the better because this disease is in my genes and it’s up to me to be informed and know how to overcome it’.
Her healthier way of life is a welcome change in her household, she adds, although her new look is getting some used to for her kids, daughters and Shallon (27) her late sister’s child whom she adopted. ‘They have been quiet traumatized,’ she quips.  ‘They say I look their age now’
Although she takes pills everyday to control her blood sugar level, Sophie Ndaba is determined not to be medication-dependent and policies what she puts in her body in the hope of one day going off them. ‘I drink a lot of protein shakes, don’t eat too much fruit because of it’s high sugar content and drink a whole lot more water than I used to,’ she says. Her meals now consist mainly of protein and vegetables and she rarely indulges in the carbs that once formed a daily part of her diet.
She tried to lose weight in the past but went about it the wrong way, relying on diet pills to curb her appetite. ‘Now I realise eating healthy is all it takes’. She does cut herself some slack though, and added that, ‘ I love pizza and ribs and sushi. But I limit my portions and will only have one slice of pizza and when the weekend is over, its back to the serious eating’
Soaphie has plenty of plans in the pipeline but right now she is concentrating on the present – and with her healthy new lifestyle, she’s more in charge than ever.
Source : Drum