By Liana Jacob
MEET the British brunette beauty who lost over six-and-a-half-stone in just two years after her father died of a heart attack fearing that her unhealthy lifestyle would end her life prematurely in the same way.
While laser hair removal clinic CEO, Reena Daba (25), from Hounslow was growing up, her father would bring back food from the restaurants he worked at, sometimes his shifts would end at 3am the next morning.
With this unhealthy habit and eating fast food meals such as Burger King, McDonalds and KFC regularly, she reached the size of 14st 13Ibs and a UK size 16 to 18 and consume between 2,500 to 3,000 calories a day.
Three years ago, in February 2015, her father died suddenly of a heart attack when he was just 56 years old. This became a wake-up call for Reena, who decided to get rid of her unhealthy habits. After incorporating regular exercise to her daily routine and healthy food, she slimmed down to a slender 8st 5Ibs and a UK size 10 and now consumes an average of 1,700 calories a day thanks to weight lifting.
“My father used to work in restaurants and after his shifts, he would bring back food as well as takeaways, whenever he was sick of constantly eating the food at the restaurant – this was late at night, about 3am,” she said.
“This would sometimes include Burger King, McDonalds and KFC; also, both of my parents are quite overweight.
“All of our family eat out all the time, it is a very social thing; as a child it was hard to control yourself when given so many choices of food.
“I used to feel sluggish, tired, not as confident and not as attractive before I lost the weight.
“When my dad passed away at a young age of fifty-six from a heart attack, I decided to make my heart healthy, so I started doing a lot of cardio and the weight loss just came with that.
“I also used to have a boyfriend who was a personal trainer and he used to encourage me to go to the gym. I had a lot of friends I met while I was at the gym, who I aspire to be like and that helped me get into shape.
“With my new lifestyle; jogging, fitness classes, weightlifting and walking my dog, I feel more confident in myself and now I find it easier to move.”
While she now loves the new healthy life she created for herself, including walking her dog, she says that staying consistent was the toughest part of her weight loss journey.
“I would take weeks off and see the weight pile on again, which is when I kicked into gear, but this slowed down the process,” Reena said.
“People say ‘wow, you look great!’ and they say I look amazing which makes me feel great.
“I feel sexy and I love getting compliments but most of all, I feels healthy and strong. I eat clean most of the time, five days a week, eating; chicken, broccoli, tuna, turkey, asparagus and sweet potatoes.
“While I eat what I want during the weekend; my food tends to be quite healthy now as I hate greasy food now.
“I go to the gym every day with maybe one or two days relaxing with yoga or something light such as; stretching classes or body balance.”
“My advice for anyone who wants to lose weight is to just keep going – even if you don’t see a change, other people will notice more than you and never stop. It is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix.”
For more information visit: https://www.instagram.com/ree_ree_ox/
