A 25
year old woman that took the bull by the horns,went against all odds and took
her own destiny into her hands.At 260 pounds,She knew she was overweight and
had no choice than to make a difference in her life ASAP. Read her story and I
hope you get inspired by it.
Who I Am
My name is Yinka Rufai. I am a
25-year-old young adult from Chicago, IL. I currently work as an actuarial
consultant for one of the big four accounting and consulting firms in the
nation. I am aspiring to become a credentialed actuary. I am a nerd at heart
and I love numbers. I have two older brothers, one younger sister and two of
the most amazing parents. I love my parents so much for being so supportive
throughout my life. They pushed me to focus on education and to always
accomplish my goals. I was 260 pounds. I was clearly overweight. I ate a lot
and as a result I constantly gained weight from that. My family and friends
used to pick at me all the time about my size. I tried so many unhealthy
extreme fad diets in my past as a result of that. And of course they never
worked.
Why I Decided to Lose Weight
I always tried to lose weight in
high school. I tried all types of unnecessarily extreme and short-term things.
I tried weight watchers during one summer and lost 10 pounds. I gained all of
the weight back quickly. I tried plenty of kooky fad diets. All of the diets I
attempted in high school were done because of what people used to say about my
size. I did not do any for myself at the time. I was never able to lose weight
consistently until I began college. It started at end of my sophomore year when
I was in summer school. I thought to myself “Hey, I have nothing else to do.
There is a gym right across the street that I am paying for with my tuition
money. Why not take advantage of this opportunity?” This was the first time
that I considered losing weight for myself as opposed to pleasing others. Since
I had plenty of time on my hands, I decided to use that summer to create a schedule
where I could go to class, work, and work out. So I did that.
Challenges
My biggest challenge was myself. I
am my own worst critic. I put myself on an extreme bar at everything I do.
Sometimes I let myself down. When this happens I just hurt for a little while
and then I get back up and keep going. Other times I exceed my expectations and
get excited about the fact that I set a goal and overcame it. During my weight
loss journey over all, I would experienced both of those feelings. I used to
get angry when I didn’t see progress on the scale. So I stopped weighing myself
obsessively. I thought about it differently–instead of obsessing about numbers
on the scale I just continued to follow my workout regimen and took it a day at
a time. Before and after photos are what helped me overcome this challenge.
Rather than focus on the fact that my weight fluctuated I focused on progress
pictures. That is what kept reigniting my desire to lose weight.
Encouragement from Every Frontier
Absolutely. I think everyone needs
some type of external strength to determine to help with continuing on the
weight loss journey, since it is an such an overwhelming and long-term process.
For me, that strength was Christ. Everything works into place for a reason. As
I mentioned before, I am my own worst critic–and when I let myself down I
really feel it. Having the strength, endurance and mental capacity to keep
going despite gaining weight in the process is not me. I know I am not
functioning on my own strength. On my own I am not that resilient of a person.
It is entirely God.
Significant Change
The first time I saw a significant
change in my weight was after two weeks of working out consistently. When I
compared the picture I took on day 14 to the picture I took on day 1,. I actually
noticed the reduction in my thighs and stomach. I would not have noticed had I
not compared them side by side.
The Temptation to Give Up
I was tempted to give up several
times. Prior to analyzing my pictures over time I was ready to give up. I
figured I might as well stop because I did not see for myself that anything
significant was happening. I was trying to give myself a reason to stop. When I
started comparing my pictures I got more excited to keep going on.
Weightloss Buddies
I did not have any weightloss buddy.
I think having a weight loss buddy depends on the person. I like to handle
things internally. I rely on the drive that God gave me to push myself through
everything. Workout buddies didn’t work for me. My schedule was (and is) all
over the place, so it was just easier for me to go to the gym on my own. I do
encourage weight loss buddies, however, because they hold you accountable. A
lot of people function on accountability. Having an accountability partner in
weight loss heightens your chances of losing weight.
Target Weight
I was 260 pounds. My targets were
split up into pieces. When I was 260 pounds I couldn’t even fathom being in the
100s, So I chose 220. When I was at 220 pounds my goal was 200. And then it was
180. Once I got to 180 I started to notice that I was getting lean. At that
point I did not focus on numbers on the scale. My goals were then to build
muscles in certain categories. In the beginning my final destination was to be
within a normal BMI range for my height (5’8.5”), but as I started to get to
know my body I adjusted accordingly. Technically the high weight range for my
height 169 pounds. I reached that weight one summer and I personally did not
like the way I looked. So I did less cardio and got back into the 170s. Now I just
focus on building and maintaining muscle.
Lifestyle changes
In the beginning the changes I made
were more so about what I needed to do differently in order to start a healthy
lifestyle. The changes were along the lines of not eating fast food, eating more
fruits and veggies, drinking more water and working out longer every day.
Within the past two years I got a trainer. Since I now focus on being fit,
there were a number of things I had to do to my nutrition in order to build
muscle and lose fat. My trainer helped me think of it as a lifestyle. Once I
started to focus on the nutritional aspect of being healthy and not just the
fitness aspect I started to open up my eyes to the way I did things. I removed
processed food from my diet, eat a lot of fruits and veggies, detox when
necessary, and drink a gallon of water a day.
The biggest lifestyle I made was
when I began to cook my own meals and measure my salt intake. It was very
difficult because I used to love eating processed foods. I did not realize how
much salt I consumed until I began measuring. After I got into the hang of it I
lost interest in eating processed foods. This change helped me understand the
importance of natural foods and making your own foods from scratch. It was a
lifestyle change worth doing because I never saw my body change so much for the
better since I began cooking my own food.
Unhealthy Food
I’m going to start by saying that I
absolutely love bread and cheese! During lent this past summer I challenged
myself to stop eating bread,cheese and other dairy-based things. Honestly, if
it wasn’t for lent and God then I probably would not have given those things
up. My trainer told me that all of the starch I was eating was going to my
major problematic areas–particularly my thighs. When I gave up bread, cheese
and other starchy and dairy foods I realized she was right. I noticed over time
that these foods impacted my fat storage.
My Current Weight
I weigh 175 pounds. I get a lot of
comments saying that I don’t look like I weigh 175 pounds and that I look
smaller. People fail to acknowledge my height. I am 5’8.5”. Also, I do have a
lot of muscle mass which contributes to my weight. I advise to not focus on
solely BMI. Although 169 pounds is technically the high range for height I feel
fine and fit at my current weight. Obviously I’m still a work in progress and I
am continually challenging myself to exceed certain fitness goals. It doesn’t
matter about your number–it is about how healthy you feel. The most important
thing is to get to know your body in order to realize where you feel most
comfortable.
Awkward Stares
When I used to walk down the street
in my old neighborhood, people that I knew for years walked past me as if I
were a stranger–that’s when I knew it was real! I used to have to wave
frantically and say “Hey! It’s Yinka. Remember me?” in order to get their
attention. And then people would say things like “Oh my gosh! You look so
different!” That was the biggest and funniest thing for me.
Practical Tips for Weightloss
The main tips I have are to keep a
food journal, read every food label and monitor the calories of each of your
meals and snacks, eat smaller meals and snacks more frequently, drink a gallon
of water a day, consume little or no salt, and most importantly, get to know your
body. You have to be committed to this! If you don’t have the right
mindset–-that is, if you lack patience or aren’t diligent with the initial
stages of being healthy–-then you will keep getting discouraged. There is no
fast process to this! Once you accept that and force that into your
subconscious you can begin with a clean mental state and be able to be content
with taking things one day at a time.
My self-esteem and self-awareness
has grown tremendously. I have gotten to see how people treated before and
after my weight loss journey. I personally have always considered myself to be
attractive regardless of my size, but through other peoples’ opinions about my
physical changes I’ve realized how physical and superficial the world is. I
have relied on God more for strength. I recognize why God wanted me to go
through the journey I went through in order to see results. I noticed how
beneficial it is to have a weight loss journey.
At first I started off thinking my
change would solely be a physical transformation. I was very wrong. I changed
for the better not only physically, but mentally, socially and spiritually as
well. I lost a couple of friends in the process that I thought were close. It
did put a damper on me at first, but it also helped me realize what it means to
have genuine friends. I am fortunate enough to currently have great friends
that are supportive of me. Ultimately I will say that my change was for the
greater. I am blessed and grateful for this journey. I look forward to having other
transformations and journeys in my life and sharing them with the world on my
website, YinkaRufai.com.
My desire is to help others reach
their maximum potential. I want to encourage others to strive to maintain a
healthy lifestyle–whether it be physical, mental, or spiritual. I truly find
joy in teaching others to embrace change and to accept that there are temporary
discomforts for lifelong satisfactions. There is no getting around it. But once
you accept it and embrace it, you become a force to be reckoned with.
I created the YinkaRufai.com website
because I wanted to use myself and my experiences as a form of inspiration to
others that are embarking on a similar journey. The content on my site varies
from before & after photos to nutrition tips and detailed meal plans. I
made sure to construct my website to define me in a way that is transparent as
possible for my viewers. I want others to view my entire lifestyle, what I
embody, and my character as I continue forward with my life. Throughout my entire journey I
trusted in God for my strength and for navigating my life path on earth; and I
continue to do so today. So far I have gone through a series of transitions and
life-changing markers in life that I feel I can share with others in order to
inspire hope.
