Hello Fitnation! Welcome to ‘MY FIT STORY’. In posts like this, I will be sharing interesting interviews with people who have been there, done that and are still doing it; by this I mean people who were once overweight, who took up the weight loss challenge and have made tremendous transformation since they started. I hope to use this section to motivate those who have difficulty starting up and staying on the fit path.
To kick off, I’m starting with my own story. In 2015, I lost 7 kg within 2 months without visiting the gym for one day. In this interview with myself I answered some of the questions I have been asked about my weight loss journey, I’m sure my story will inspire someone to take action towards fitness. Enjoy the interview below.
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| This picture shows the amazing transformation from 95 kg in October 2015 to 88 kg in December 2015 |
SF9 Blog: When did you start off your weight loss regimen and what was your motivation?
Mr. Endee: I officially started my fit journey in August 2015, though I have always been a fan of fitness, It was in 2015 that I finally decided to delve into fitness and make it a lifestyle. Prior to that, the only physical exercises I did often were jogging; I go to the gym once in a while and I also do pushup at home. I’d say I always had a heart for fitness but like most people I was lazy and wouldn’t take consistent efforts towards changing my unfit lifestyle. But sometime in August 2015, I got tired of wishing and decided to start doing; I was tired of feeling too heavy, tired of the pot belly, tired of falling sick every 3 months, so I just picked up courage and decided to do something about it.
SF9 Blog: What were the challenges you faced when you first started off on the fit path?
Mr. Endee: Before I started off on the fit path, I had to get the right mindset; I had to make up my mind on NOT going back. Once I had developed that mindset, then challenges weren’t a big deal to overcome. The first challenge I had to overcome was nutrition. I had to change my meals; had to practice portion control, had to know what not eat at what time, and you know because most of our meals in Nigeria are rich in Carbohydrate, making healthy food choices can be a major challenge. So after I overcame that, I had to deal with following through with my workout routine. When I started off, I was working out morning and evening doing mostly cardio exercises because I was overweight and needed to cut size, so another major challenge I faced at the early stages was the grind of following through on my workout regimen. There were days I couldn’t bring my body to work out, there were times that I also relapsed, but because I already made up my mind not to give up I was able to master them all and here we are.
SF9 Blog: Speaking of Nutrition, what adjustments did you have to make in your diet that helped you in losing weight?
Mr. Endee: Well, like I said earlier, nutrition was a major challenge for me considering the deficiency in some nutritional elements and the excessive abundance of some others in an average Nigerian diet. But like they always say where there is a will, there is a way. The first thing I had to do was cut off eating any heavy meal at night; the only thing I could eat after 7 pm were fruits or vegetables. Then afterwards I had to reduce the consumption of certain food items, especially those rich in carbohydrate, sugar, Fats and Oil. I went from eating swallow every week to eating it once a month. Most times I just eat soup without swallow. I also had to make sure I was having lots of protein by eating: egg whites, beans, chicken, soya beans powder and then more of fiber, fruits and vegetables. I also cut my alcohol intake and started drinking more water.
SF9 Blog: What exercises were you doing that made you lose 7 kg in 2 months?
Mr. Endee: Cardio exercises like jogging, sprinting, stairs climbing, skipping, dance aerobics and plyometric exercises. In the video below you will see one of the routines I use for weight loss.
SF9 Blog: Finally, what advice do you have for people who want to lose weight or start off the fit path?
Mr. Endee: First of all, let me say that fitness is important; everybody needs to consider fitness not just for the aesthetics but for the health benefits.
If you are trying to lose weight right now, my advice to you is to be patient, it takes a lot of time to burn off those fats just like it took time to accumulate them too. Follow through with your routines and nutrition plan, there will be relapses, there will be bad days but don’t ever give up! Take actions toward your goals and believe they will happen.
Cheers to the fit life.
