1. How tall are you?
5’8.5″
2. Did you eat carbs at every meal?
Yes I did back then and still lost weight. Currently I do not eat carbs during dinner.
3. What did you do to your hair during your intense workouts and still stay cute?
Weaves and workouts will never go together peacefully…lol. I wash my hair once a week and leave my sew-ins in for shorter periods of time. They don’t last as long when you workout a lot. I just deal with the extra maintenance of washing more and redoing sew-ins more often. Its definitely a process but you’ve got to give a little to take a little. It’s worth it in the end!
4. Did your bra size change?
I went from DD to a C (and slowly but surely I am still getting smaller). A majority of the time if you have a significant amount of weight to lose your boobs will go down also.
5. Okay my question is: How can I start an exercise regimen if I don’t have access to the gym? I run and walk but I don’t see any results. I am 5ft 7inches and 200lbs. I want to get to 154. But like you said in a previous video, I don’t want to do it too fast because I don’t want to look sick.
You can pick up exercise vids (or the on demand free work out episodes, or even youtube) and workout at home. I personally can’t exercise in a place that my mind equates to a rest haven and relaxation spot…so it was hard for me to work up a good sweat without thinking about laying down or sitting in the next room.
6. Hey this may sound weird but did your shoe size change at all after the weight loss?
My feet got much narrower but the length did not change.
7. Since you are a Nigerian, do you eat any Nigerian foods?
Not much. I was away in school so I got used to not having anyone around that knew how to cook it lol. But you definitely want to lay off the Nigerian foods when trying to lose weight. They will only add weight if you eat it too much.
8. I appreciate all the information you have provided…thanks and keep up the good work. My question: Do you have any tips to help me stay motivated? It’s like we all know what to do in order to lose the weight, however learning to remain focused and motivated has always been my challenge. Any advice on how you were able to do so?
I took photos often. So when I would get discouraged, I would go through my old photos to present day. And the progress shown via pictures would motivate me to continue on.
9. Where you ever in pain after workouts? How did you deal with those negative effects? Also how did you build your endurance to the point where you can work out twice a day sometimes?
The negative effects are not permanent. It’s just your body’s way of showing you that it’s not used to it. But once you get exercising into your daily regimen then you shouldn’t have any pain other than muscle soreness. You can alleviate that type of pain by eating more protein and/or drinking a muscle milk after workouts. The fatigue means one of two things: you need a day off/more sleep or that you need more protein & veggies in your diet!
I did NOT start off working out that long. I remember my very firstday at a gym: I got on a elliptical, set it for 30 mins, and then 15 mins later my body was like “Forget that!” Then I got off and left lol. It definitely takes dedication to keep going back but you need to realize how amazing the body is and how quickly it gets bored. After a few weeks at the gym your body will be used to 15, 20…then 30mins. And then the next thing you know you’re on that machine for over an hour and looking for something else to do next!
10. Hi:) Can I ask about your hair? What kind is it and how long do you keep it in? thx
Virgin Indian currently – 2-ish months per sew-in. Shorter during the hot seasons.
11. Thank you for posting your personal journey. How many pounds you typically lose per week?
I didn’t really keep track. After a while weighing yourself so frequently gets discouraging. Especially after those hard workout weeks when you know you’ve been working hard. Muscle weight plays a lot into it too. so I just weighed myself monthly.
12. You look gorgeous..but I will say that around your weight of 180s that was perfect..I think that toning should have been your goal because for your height that’s not bad and you looked and still look awesome..don’t go overboard like the celebs do:)
Thanks! I appreciate it. My intent is not to go overboard or do this for anyone outside of myself. I care about being fit and being healthy. And if more pounds end up shedding in the process then so be it. I could care less about numbers. 🙂
13. Do you have a huge problem with stretch marks? did they shrink as you lost weight??
Yes I do. stretch marks do not disappear as you lose weight, unfortunately….they stay there or you get more :-/. I’m working on them, though!
14. First off I just sat here and watched all your videos in one sitting. I absolutely admire you for changing your lifestyle around. I have been exercising twice a day for a week now and I am trying to lose weight in my legs, thighs, and butt region. What are the best exercises for that, and when did you first see the weight coming off?
Thank you! I noticed about three weeks into my weight loss regimen.
15. In the beginning, did you exercise 2hrs a day?
I worked my way up to two hours. At my first day at the gym I barely lasted for 20 minutes! It’s all about building endurance. It takes time for your body to get used to that much cardio.
16. Weren’t you scared that you would end up with lots of skin, because I also want to lose weight and I look exactly like you used to look?!
I wasn’t, I didn’t even think that far out! At that point in time my current issue was that I was overweight. That ONE problem trickled down into SO many more internal problems as far as health & having a good, long future was concerned. Loose skin isn’t the biggest problem here-It’s obesity & being overweight. I think you should focus on today’s problems & leave the stress of future problems for the future. You’ll make yourself sick (mentally & emotionally) otherwise! Take it a day at a time 🙂
17. What did you study in college?
Actuarial science.
18. Congratulations on your success! 🙂 I’m 58 59 ish and weight and weight 155 and have been there for 3 weeks now :(.Im doing the Billy Blanks PT 24/7 eating healthy and don’t eat after 8. Still have the kangaroo pouch and just not loosing any weight or inches. 🙁 What I’m I doing wrong? PLEASE HELP!!! Thanks for sharing
155 is the lower range for the “healthy” weight in US standard for 5’9. It could be that you’ve reached your body’s comfortable weight. It’s probably trying to tell you that it has had it with all the cardio overload! I would recommend you focus more on strength and toning + inches lost and worry less about the scale number now. You are in a good position.
19. Do you have abs now?
Not visible abs…but they’re in there somewhere..lol.
20. What was the one thing, one single thing, that pushed you to start your journey?
One thing hmmm…well I enjoy challenges. Someone telling me I cant do something and me proving them wrong is very satisfying! :-). In this instance it was not a particular person telling me I could not lose weight…It was me telling myself that initially. I would say things like “I cant imagine myself in the 100’s,” or “I cant imagine myself as a size 10”. Those thoughts ignited my curiosity and I from there I started setting fitness goals for myself to break that mindset. Hope that helps!
Hi!
Im Nigerian and Ghanian as well I often have family members constantly getting on me about my weight and also my visits to Nigeria were depressing because i was “to big” this has made my self esteem low its something Ive dealt with my whole life. I’m working to lose weight now an that disappointment is what I want to use to motivate me. What motivated you?
Yeah I’ve been there girlie! It affected me when I was younger and I tried to lose the weight on friends and family’s behalf. I tried so many different fad diets, weight watchers and everything! I lost about 10lbs max on one or some but guess what…it came back! I understand why I did not succeed with my weight loss back then. It was because my motive for losing the weight was ALL WRONG. I did it for others and because I was getting made fun of via family and friends. After the yoyo dieting, I reverted back to myself. It wasn’t until I decided to lose weight for myself and at my own pace was when the weight started falling. I was doing it for me so every day I could hold myself accountable versus having that friend or family member’s words (who I’m sure do it out of a good heart…but it hurts hearing it from the ones closest to you) be my motive. You should not feel disappointment from letting them down about something that is entirely your business….your health! You should be the only one accountable for that and you should only take disappointment from yourself. Even during then you should be able to uplift yourself and push yourself to go harder after. I encourage you to pray about God giving you the desire to change on your own. You should want it way more than your family and friends. Take it day by day! That’s what I had to do. And in the long run it ended up working.
Hope that helps! xx