A woman who once weighed 27 stone and wore XXXXL clothes has lost nearly half her body weight in a bid to transform her life.
Alysha McNair, 21, used to spend £50 a day on her fast food addiction, but realised things needed to change when she felt so ashamed of her body she refused to go outside.
The 21-year-old, from British Columbia, Canada, was consuming double the recommended daily calorie intake for women – 2,000 calories – in just one sitting, sometimes visiting up to five different takeaways for one meal.
Realising that her eating habits had spiralled out of control, Alysha decided that she needed to change her ways or else she risked an early death.
The 21-year-old said she was overweight since being a teenager and was ‘horrifically bullied’ because of her weight at school, leading her to drop out at 14.
She explained:
I was desperate to change as a teenager due to the horrific bullying but I couldn’t stick to any diets. But after choking one day on a fizzy drink at 17 years old and struggling to catch my breath, I realised it was die or change.
I was eating my emotions but it wasn’t until I realised my future was in the balance if I didn’t change that I decided to actually do something about it.
The 21-year-old made the decision to completely transform her lifestyle, which saw her visiting five different fast food restaurants for one meal.
Alysha said:
I started walking more and began pre-planning my meals rather than relying on fast food for every meal. My mum was really worried that I’d die young due to my weight.
I was over the moon when all my diet changes and exercise began to pay off. I’ve now lost 13 stone which is half of my body weight and I have never felt more amazing and I’m now a dress size 14.
And she didn’t stop there; after getting into a routine at her local gym, Alysha has now began training to become a qualified personal trainer.
Not only that, but the 21-year-old has set up an Instagram account to document her weight loss journey for her 17K followers.
Alysha described posting pictures as ‘daunting’ but ‘necessary’, saying:
It was daunting to upload photos of myself with my stomach out but I felt it was necessary to see how far I’d come. I wanted other people who were the same size as me to realise that losing weight is always possible.
I feel and look completed different now and have decided to become a personal trainer to help others. I never buy fast food anymore and feel like I’m competitive body building now.
Alysha now says her goal is to ‘help everyone live healthier, happier lifestyles’, as she has never been happier.
Good luck to her and congrats on the weight loss!
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).