After a traumatic health scare, Oyinkansola Oladitan, 30, an entrepreneur from London, shed half her body weight – and found inner strength she didn’t know she had.
For as long as I can remember, I was obsessed with food. While I was a chubby kid, my parents tried to keep me active with tennis and swimming – I was just never into it. At age 13, I left Lagos, Nigeria, without my parents to go to boarding school in Kent, and things went from bad to worse.
I’d eat a full meal in the dining hall and then make my own microwave noodles and load them up with hot sauce every single day. I was self-conscious about my size, so I avoided sport at all costs.
I started school a size 14 – five years later, I was at least a size 22. On top of that, I’d battled with a stomach ulcer since I was eight years old.
Countless doctors had told me the same thing: I needed to lose weight, cut out spicy and acidic foods and take probiotics and medication to reduce my stomach acid. I’d usually do it until I felt better, and then give up. The stomach pain would return, but I didn’t care – after a binge, I’d go to bed and sleep through the worst of it, then start all over again.
I was the enemy of progress
I'd tried to lose weight so many times. My parents, still based in Lagos, did everything they could to help – they paid for nutritionists, trainers, and even hypnotherapy. But I’d eat in secret and lie about how much I was eating.
This continued when I went to university in London to study maths. In August 2013, when I was 23, after four days of excruciating stomach pain, I was rushed to hospital, where doctors diagnosed gastroenteritis.
Shortly after, I had surgery to repair my oesophagus and stomach lining, which had started to disintegrate due to years of acid build-up caused by my diet. When I Ieft hospital two weeks later, I weighed 211/2st. Years of abusing my body had nearly killed me – and I didn’t want to die.
With the help of a therapist, I became less dependent on food. I was referred to a nutritionist, who taught me about portion control and what foods I should be eating.
Here’s what I eat in a day
- Breakfast: A bowl of oats with a chopped banana for sweetness or a bowl of lacto-free yoghurt, chia seeds and bananas for sweetness
- Snack: Home made kale chips or oatcakes
- Lunch: A loaded salad – I love smoked salmon flakes with a mixed leaf salad, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and a slight drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.
- Pre-workout: Banana
- Post-workout: Protein shake
- Dinner: Bulgar wheat or a baked potato with grilled chicken or salmon and broccoli.
Three months after I was discharged, I had the all-clear to start exercising
I began going for short walks locally. In November 2013, I joined the gym and hired a PT. That first session was tough, but I leaned into that feeling – I was doing the work and it felt good.
I did 45-minute HIIT-style sessions four times a week and made sure I still got 10,000 steps in, too. I lost 5st in the first six months, and by early 2016, I weighed 10st 12lb – half my original body weight.
Exercise and a balanced diet helped me manage my stomach issues. I take vitamins and probiotics, but no medication. I haven’t had any ulcer-related issues since having surgery and I no longer have stomach pain.
When gyms closed in March 2020, I signed on to Ciara Madden’s live HIIT and strength classes. Her daily workouts were a lifeline during lockdown, and I’ve stuck with them since. I work out four to six days a week now – I love the variety of sessions. I can’t believe how much I’ve changed since having surgery.
Prioritising my health has given me a sense of self-worth that I never had before
When you do something like lose half your body weight, any goal – whether it’s fitness or career-related – feels achievable. Nothing seems impossible any more.
Tech to help you on your fitness journey
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Kirsti is a health and fitness journalist, a personal trainer and tech junkie. She’s a South African journalist who followed her passion for health and fitness all the way to the UK, where she now spends her days sweating it up and perfecting her form in gyms all over London.
