Weight loss story from @thabyashanty
Thaby shares her weight loss story with us and shows that working out 5 days a week and introducing vegetables into her diet allowed her to lose over 4 stones
What led you to want to make a lifestyle change?
For as long as I can remember, I have always been overweight. The idea of losing weight was nothing but a wish that I never thought would come true. I would always look at people with nice bodies and wish that I could have a nice body too. I hated being the fat friend especially at parties. When I was 15 I remember promising myself that I would lose weight before I turned 16; that didn’t happen. Instead I gained more weight until just before my 19th birthday. The summer before my 19th birthday, my desire to lose weight became unshakeable, I was almost a size 20 and enough was enough. I was just tired of being unhappy about something that I could do something about. It was time to take action.
What did you do to achieve your results? Tell us about your workout routine
I signed up for the gym and when I first got to there I was so clueless about how to use the equipment. I mainly used the treadmill and I would alternate between running and walking and I would do this for an hour. I worked out 5 days per week. I always made sure I found time to work out, even if it meant going to the gym after work at midnight. When I slowly started getting comfortable in the gym I started going to classes to learn different workouts; I joined a 6 week boot camp which was very challenging. When I hit a plateau I got a personal trainer for one month to give me a little push.
How did you change your eating habits?
Every night I used to google “foods good for weight loss” and I would write a list of all the foods I found. I started introducing those foods to my diet slowly. By the foods I’m mainly talking about vegetables as I never used to eat any of them. Googling different foods introduced me to new foods that I had never heard of (like asparagus). Discovering new foods kind of added a bit of excitement to my journey because it felt like I was doing an experiment and made it easier to change my eating habits. Googling different types of foods also taught me about different foods groups e.g. protein. This made me more aware of what I was putting on my plate. I also introduced breakfast to my life which is ironic because I used to think I’d lose weight if I didn’t eat breakfast.
What was your starting weight? What is your current weight?
My starting weight was 14.5 stones and I am currently 10 stones
How long did your transformation take?
Just over a year
What was the hardest part about your transformation? How did you overcome it?
The hardest part is not seeing results when you know you’ve been doing the right things, exercising and eating healthy. To overcome it I carried on doing what I was doing, I worked out harder and told myself I just have to keep going and I will see the results. I refused to give up
How have things changed with you in general (health, relationships, self)
I have become a lot more confident and comfortable within myself. My journey has made me even more determined. I know now more than ever that I can have anything I want as long I put in hard work into it
Who or what helped you along your journey?
My friends were very supportive during my journey and google was my best friend, I googled anything concerning weight loss.
What piece of advice would you give other women looking to start on their own lifestyle change/fitness journey?
Enjoy the journey, have fun with it and the results will follow. Set yourself weekly and monthly goals. Make google your best friend, you can learn so much that can help you along your journey. Stay loving yourself regardless of whether you’ve achieved your goal yet or not. Remember weight does not define your beauty because we are all beautiful.