How Mercy found a formula for the ‘perfect body’ after 40

She was deep into entrepreneurship, ‘very workaholic’, she says, running a business in Nairobi, and for the first time, she couldn’t recognise her body.

With her previous pregnancies, bouncing back had come naturally.

“I had assumed that it would be no different with my fourth child. But my body refused to cooperate. I didn’t like what I saw around my waist. Yes, people tell you it’s normal, it’s hormones, it’s just what happens when you have children,” she says. “But you don’t need an outside voice to tell you something’s off with your body. Your body system is already talking to you. Your intuition keeps bothering you that something isn’t right. And eventually you have to ask yourself, ‘Is this how I want to look?’”

It’s that struggle that sparked her curiosity about fitness.

“I became interested in finding out what happens at the gym. I started going, and as a novice, I struggled to train properly because I didn’t know what to do.”

She hired a personal trainer, immersed herself in learning about exercise and nutrition, and slowly began rebuilding her strength. Along the way, she experimented with different activities, from swimming and cycling to strength training, which involves using weights.

“I became curious about everything fitness-related. I wanted to understand how the body works and what it takes to stay healthy.”

Weightlifting became Mercy’s go-to exercise. It transformed her body almost instantly, and soon what began as a desire to get back in shape turned into a serious commitment.

And just as with everything else, the fitness routine became a habit, and the habit became addictive.

Earlier in the conversation, she’d mentioned being a licensed Zumba instructor, so I asked her to expound. Many women love Zumba as a form of fitness, and done right, it can tone one’s body to perfection.

“I’m internationally licensed, which means I trained in the proper formula. Zumba isn’t just throwing on a song and winging it. What most people don’t know is that Zumba is actually a complete full-body workout. You’re moving your upper body, lower body, left side and right side all at once. Every rhythm challenges the body differently,” she explains.

She says salsa, merengue, cumbia and bachata are the four foundational rhythms of Zumba, each targeting a different part of the body.

“Salsa wakes up the upper body. Merengue works the legs. Then there’s reggaetón. That’s when you’re shaking everything. Heavy beat, heavy stamping, pure cardio. Zumba is basically a HIIT [high-intensity interval training] workout done while wearing a party outfit,” Mercy adds.

Unlike traditional aerobics, Mercy notes that Zumba movements combine music and cardio training into a dynamic full-body workout, alternating between high-energy bursts and recovery periods.

Fast-paced reggaetón moves increase intensity and cardiovascular endurance, while slower rhythms such as cumbia allow participants to recover before ramping up again, keeping the body constantly challenged.

“They lull you into a false sense of calm right before merengue and reggaetón come back to finish you off,” she says.

I tell her I should sign up for a class to ascertain its benefits.

“You should. Let’s start tomorrow.”

That leads us to lingala, another gentler sound in her Zumba toolkit.

“Lingala is all slow, low-impact movement built for cooling down rather than burning out. But the real magic of Zumba is that it works every part of the body at once: the heart, lungs and even breath control. That’s why we shout during Zumba classes. When people shout and release their energy, they are also letting go of stress, anxiety and self-doubt,” she says.

While exercise remains important, Mercy believes one of the biggest mistakes people make is focusing only on workouts while ignoring nutrition, hormones and mindset.

She says many women become frustrated when their bodies no longer respond the way they did in their 20s and 30s. But for women over 40, understanding hormonal changes is critical.

She explains that a woman may experience bloating during her menstrual cycle, meaning that during this period, the abdominal area may appear larger. Those who don’t understand this may assume the exercise is not working.

“And on top of that, there’s stress. Some people stress-eat. We also don’t even know our own metabolic rate well enough to know what we’re doing wrong. A woman’s body changes constantly. Hormones affect everything, from energy levels and weight gain to mood and appetite. That is why it’s important for women, especially those over 40, to understand their bodies.”

On nutrition, she says rather than banning foods, understand your metabolism, digestion and eating habits.

“You don’t tell someone to stop eating meat or eggs completely. You ask them to first understand their body, lifestyle and goals. People react to foods differently. For example, whenever I eat red meat, I don’t eat it again for another 72 hours because I have a slower metabolism, and my body takes that long to digest it. For others, it could be shorter. But the bottom line is you have to constantly eat your protein, which is non-negotiable.”

Understanding one’s gut health is yet another lesson she is keen to emphasise.

When she first decided to lose weight after childbirth, she focused on cleaning her gut by practising intermittent fasting and controlling portion sizes. She reduced carbohydrates while ensuring she consumed enough protein to support recovery and muscle development.

Even now, she considers herself a work in progress. Fitness, she says, is not about perfection. It is about building a lifestyle that supports long-term health.

“As we age, we need to understand what nourishes our hormones, joints and muscles. We need to know how much strength training we need, how much cardio we need and what foods work for us.”

The reward, she says, goes beyond physical appearance.

“It is about having the energy to enjoy life. Feeling strong, healthy and confident at every stage.”