[HawnsHealth]Read Her Success Story - I Lost 56KG In Less Than 2 years!

Once in a while, We’ll bring you inspirational stories such as hers. This right here is amazing, and can only imagine the kind of work shes been through to get to this point. No gimmicks, no Photoshop. E no easy.
See what she has to say about her weight-loss journey so far…


Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Hey guys! My name is Oyinkansola, I am 26 years old. I live in London and work as an actuarial consultant at a re-insurance company in the City.
Have you always had weight issues?
I have always been on the plus size and for the most part, I was always ok with being big. The want to lose weight has always been there, but the will – not so much. I knew how to dress for my size and knew how to make myself look good. Was I happy? So-so. After spending crazy amounts of money on diet plans, gym memberships etc, I pretty much gave up trying and succumbed to the realisation that I was always going to be big.
What made you want to lose weight?
People who really know me know that I have battled with a lot of health problems over the years (most of them not directly related to my weight) and as the years went by – I was getting worse and worse. I got worse because I wasn’t taking care of myself… Eating badly, not taking my meds etc.
About a year and a half ago, everything came to a head when I went into hospital for routine surgery and ended up with complications and an extended stay in hospital, along with mounting bills. I was so unwell that I thought I was not going to make it. I looked at my mother who had been sleeping in an uncomfortable chair for 5 days straight and that was it for me. Something had to change.
At 24 years old, I wasn’t going to be this burden to my loved ones. It’s a shame that it took me landing in hospital to give myself a reality check… But boyyyyy was I shook up!
Three weeks later, I was discharged and on my way to recovery. I decided to use the time off to come up with a plan. I was going to stop bad habits, surround myself with positive influences and take accountability.
How much have you lost and how long did it take?
I have lost a total of 56.6kg/ 124.782 pounds/ 8.76 stones (depending on which metric you are familiar with) and it has taken me about 17 months to lose. I still have another 7kg to go till I reach my goal weight.
  
 How did you start?
As I stated earlier, I had about 2 and a half months of recovery time. So I decided to use the time off to come up with a plan. I identified my problems and with a copious amount of research/ self-evaluation I came up with a plan that I knew I would stick to. I was going to stop bad habits, surround myself with positive influences and take accountability.
Bad habits – Obsession with food and a sedentary lifestyle. I used to dream about/ plan my next meal… Anticipating the next thing I was going to put in my mouth. Social activities with friends revolved around eating/ drinking out. Changing my relationship with food was difficult – learning that food is for sustenance and not a hobby. I would spend most of my time in my bed… Watching tv shows, sleeping late. Doing absolutely nothing active. If I was out of the house – my singular mode of transport was taking an uber.
Surround myself with positive influences – I found that whenever I moved 3 steps forward, it only took some negative experience/ person to take me 7 steps back.
Accountability – the spirit of procrastination is REAL. Putting things off when you can do them today. This was a big thing for me, not just in my fitness but in most aspects of my life. Taking those painful steps to be accountable is very crucial to long term success.
Did you get a trainer/nutritionist or any help?
The first thing I did actually was get a nutritionist. As part of my ailments, I am (used to be) anaemic/ have an immune deficiency/ (used to) have a really bad ulcer/gastroenteritis and gluten/lactose intolerance. So, in order to not end up back in hospital – I had to make sure I was eating things that my body could actually digest as well as taking the right supplements.
I could not exercise for about 3 months post op so I would just walk (made sure I did at least 10000 steps a day).
I also spent my down time interviewing A LOT of personal trainers. It was important for me to work with someone I got along with (but someone who was also very strict and would whoop my ass if I was slacking). I quickly realised that there were a lot of trainers out there willing to take my money – but the heart wasn’t there. They were not as passionate about my journey as I was.
I mentioned accountability – I got a trainer and I paid 3 months upfront (PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS). I am an Ijebu girl and I KNEW that I wouldn’t let my money go to waste, lol.  I also got a gym buddy (my beautiful friend Dolly), making me also accountable to her.
Now, I train with two AMAZING personal trainers. You can check them both out on Instagram. Gina (@just_geen) trains Dolly and I at the same time. We SWEAT! With Gina, we focus mostly on cardio and core conditioning. She also has a meal prep service which is great for people like me who don’t have time to cook. I also train with Mr Abs (@absifit) and we really focus mostly on weight training and toning – getting my arms, bum and abs right! I stan for these two – they are AH-MAZING. All heart, professional and are so passionate about my journey.
What was your first 2 weeks like?
My first two weeks were hell, lol. I could hardly walk and I was sore from the training. I had them both telling me – “you’ll be fine”, “your body will get used to it” blah blah. Eating right was still a struggle and with my workload, I found it difficult to eat regularly/ not eat late.
What was the first routine you did to kick of your journey?
FOOD: I had to change my relationship with food. Do not get me wrong, I still love my food but I’m just more responsible with what I put in my body. I don’t believe in diets so I didn’t go on any diet per se. I cut out alcohol, stopped skipping meals, ate more frequently and SIGNIFICANTLY reduced my portion size. I choose healthier alternatives for some things that I cannot do without. E.g: quinoa, bulgar wheat, cous cous instead of rice etc, I increased my protein intake. I log in everything I eat on to the ‘my fitness pal’ app on my phone, so one can say that I watch my calorie/ fat intake.
SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE: Getting out of the house – Telling myself ‘your bed is not your friend!!!’ I started to exercise. Using my health app/ Fitbit watch I made sure that I made AT LEAST 10,000 steps a day outside of any scheduled exercise session. It does not cost any money and was a very easy way to start. I did this by deleting ALL of my cab apps and forcing myself to take public transport. Getting off a stop before my destination and walking the rest of it, walking to certain places – Just doing more. I paid for the membership at my local Virgin Active: to swim and gym. At first I started to train by myself or with my partner. As I said before, at the beginning I was not at all consistent. Going to the gym was a hard sell for me. I realised that I was finding it difficult to exercise – because I was impatient… I wanted to see results immediately and also because I did not really know what to do when I got into the gym. That is when I got a trainer. When I exercise/ walk, I log everything on to the ‘fitness pal’ app and make sure I am burning more than I am putting in.
POSITIVE INFLUENCES: I am blessed to have the most supportive friends and family. They have been my source of motivation more than anything else. I have gym/ walk/ cycle dates with friends when I know they’d rather be having dinner at Hakassan .
Where there days it seemed like you weren’t making any progress?
I can’t lie – I still don’t get weight loss. I have bought three different scales because I just could not understand how after busting my ass all week, I would get on the scale and I wouldn’t have lost anything/ even put on some pounds. It used to drive me CRAZY! And I used to dwell on what the scales say early on… but eventually I learnt to not sweat it. I get more accurate results/ validation from seeing the body changes/ inches dropping/ loose clothes.
Did you at any point go off track?
LOL. In my first 4 months – I was not consistent at all. All this really took getting used to. After my first month training, I actually ended up in hospital AGAIN – this time for a week. I had a severe liver infection (almost a collapsed liver) because my immune system was shot and I was severely severely dehydrated. I can’t stress this enough guys – it is so important to be well hydrated. I force myself to drink at least 3 litres of water a day i.e. filling up my water bottle 3 times in the day.
What was a typical workout day including your nutrition?
In the morning, I tend to have quick cook oats and a pink grapefruit – this doesn’t change much because firstly I LOVE oats and don’t really get bored of them. Also, I don’t have the time. It is quick, easy and I can eat it at my desk at work.
Midday snack – I usually have some almonds or water crackers and grapes or some salted pretzels.
Lunch (I always cook my own lunch) tends to be some sort of protein – usually fish or chicken (I have never been big on red meat anyway), and a salad (I love making salads) that’s got some sort of low GI carb incorporated into it. My plate tends to be mostly protein/ veg and a small portion of carb.
Mid afternoon snack – another grapefruit and/ or crackers.
After work, I’m usually rushing to a session with Abs/ Gina. If I am not working out with them, I go to the gym at the Marriott hotel near my house to either swim or train by myself. I aim to work out between 5-6 days in the week. After the gym, I take a protein shake (pea protein as I am lactose intolerant) to help rebuild muscle.
Dinner – which I am supposed to eat before 7pm (also never ever happens). When I get home from the gym, I am usually catching up/ prepping for work the next day. I prioritize doing this over making dinner. When I eventually do eat, I tend to have a protein or a salad – NO CARBS. I also aim to sleep early, which also never ever happens. I am working on being more disciplined with these two.
Did you make changes after some time to adjust?
Adjusting with my new normal was difficult. Seeing my body change so dramatically – even more so!  I have had quite a few body dysmorphia related depression episodes. When you’ve been big most of your life – seeing your body change so dramatically over a (relatively) short period of time does a number on you.
I was depressed – I hated how I looked naked, didn’t feel attractive/ sexy anymore (WEIRD RIGHT?! Lol). I would wonder whether my partner still found me attractive. I was basing my happiness on my progress and how I looked. But again, I have the best support system – they talked me through my insecurities. I paused, recalibrated, changed a few things and started to feel better.
Have you made changes now?
Yes, earlier this year. I chucked out all of my ‘fat’ clothes. Up until April, I was still wearing size 20-24 clothes when I was a size 14. I didn’t look good, didn’t feel good either. So yeah, chucked out my clothes and started to pay more attention to my appearance. For the first time, I was seeing this lepa babe and loving how I looked.
How long do you think it’ll take you to get to your target weight?
Hopefully, I should get to my target weight by November. If I don’t though, I don’t plan to sweat it. As I said I focus more on inches, my body fat percentage and clothes size. Last month I was a size 12 on top, and a 14 on the bottom. This month, I am easily a 10 on top and the size 14 jeans I bought last month are baggy on the waist.
How do you plan to get there?
I plan to just continue on with everything that I have been doing. Every week I am losing inches and losing pounds. I’ll eventually get there.
What your strategy to maintain?
Consistency and Discipline! I have seen results because of this and really only this.
On a scale of 1-10 how much better do you feel now in comparison?
I feel absolutely fabulous! Definitely a 10. I am wearing things, doing things I would not have been able to do before. I am healthier, I feel lighter, I don’t suffer from a lot of ailments/ conditions that I used to before. My self-confidence is at 100. Listen – nobody believes in my slay more than I do!
Favourite snack/meal and favourite workout/routine?
I am a cheese and crackers kinda girl. I used to have butter puff crackers with some cheese and grapes. Now I have the modified (low calorie) version – water crackers/ ryvita crackers (ditched the cheese) and some grapes. See what I mean, you can still eat things you love, just make them healthier.
My favourite workout routine – I love squatting. Weighted jumping squats, weighted Bulgarian lunges etc. Why? Because I feel badass doing them!
Any word(s) of advice to people starting their journey? It sure would motivate them
I have enjoyed this journey and grateful for all the highs and the lows. One thing I would say is that you have to embark on this journey on your own accord. For sustainability, it has to be a lifestyle change and not because you are feeling pressured by criticisms from someone.
I was fat for the better part of 10 years. There is no weight loss diet or plan that I did not try. I never succeeded because the will was not there and most importantly, I went with other people’s suggestions for what was best for MY LIFE.
You also have to know what you want and what works for you. Like I said before, I am unable to ‘DIET’ … all these meal replacement diets/ shakes etc (I am not knocking them, as they really work for some people) were totally wasted on me. It is when you tell me not to eat something that my whole body would crave for it, lol. I like swimming and PT (training with people) – it works with my busy schedule. You might prefer something else. DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU (stop taking what other people say regarding YOUR weight loss as bible). I have a friend who has benefitted tremendously from hot bikram yoga and aerobics – TOTALLY wasted on me. What works for the next person, might not work for you. Do you!
Most importantly, (without sounding like a self-help book) self-love comes from within. Love yourself in any size, whether you have extra wobbly bits or washboard abs. Surround yourself with positivity, people who are positive and promote the good in you. Put yourself in the right environment, with the right mind set and watch yourself prosper!

Now, go forth and slay!