By Liana Jacob
MEET the fitness model whose new-found confidence in her curvier body after GAINING one-stone six pounds of muscle to become an Instagram notable with 10K followers.
Fitness model and social media marketing specialist, Chyann (24), from Toronto, Canada, was always brought up in a sporty environment with her step-father encouraging her to pursue an interest in football.
However, when she was 18 years old, she suffered from an accident that meant that she couldn’t continue with her passion of sport; this sent her into a state of depression and her life spiralled out of control.
Feeling low and disappointed, Chyann turned to the drink and spent the majority of her days partying with her friends, binge drinking and not taking care of herself.
This paired with some days reducing her meals to just one a day, led the five-foot-eight model to drop her weight to a tiny 7st 12Ibs and a UK size four.
One day the perks of her old life were no longer appealing to her and her health declined, so she decided to turn her life around by getting into a fitness routine, which helped her gain 1st 6Ibs reaching 9st 4Ibs and a curvier UK size eight to 10.
“Everything I had worked for collapsed before my eyes. I went through a very bad depression because of this,” Chyann said.
“In the following years, I spent a lot of time partying with friends, binge drinking, and not taking care of myself.
“When I was at my lightest weight, it was definitely a result of not eating enough. I was working four jobs and was very unhappy.
“I barely found the time to eat and I am surprised now when I look back, that I didn’t burn out sooner.
“I was eating one to two meals a day, drinking four to five days a week, pulling all-nighters at least one to two times a week, all for nothing really. Just got caught up with nightlife and the money that it brought.
“I felt sick, unhealthy and skinny before my body transformation. I think I still look at myself now and say I can put on few more pounds, every time I gain a pound.
“I have now become obsessed with being ‘thick’ even though I’d have to eat half a cow a day to get the kind of ‘thick’ body I want.
“Eating three meals and a shake or two is a struggle still, I often feel over-stuffed by the number of calories I need to consume to gain weight.
“I don’t have to diet much because of how fast my metabolism is, in fact if I eat high calorie foods it’s better for me; so that I have the energy I need to get through my intense workouts.
“I always wished I was a more voluptuous woman I think curves on a woman are beautiful. Don’t get me wrong beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. That is just my preference.
“The nightclub lifestyle comes with a lot of perks. I met high profile people, celebrities, artists, your job is to party (literally), and drink on the job. You meet so many people, you make a lot of money, you have short hours; really, the list goes on.
“It can seem so glorified and the money is so lucrative, you end up getting stuck. Don’t get me wrong if you want a career in that industry, by all means I say go for it; just pace yourself because the burnout is real.
“However, if you want a well-balanced lifestyle, it’s pretty hard to maintain while being in the industry three to four days a week.
“Say goodbye to good sleep; don’t expect to have a break, get used to belligerent behaviour, entitled conversations, and staff who complain about how someone gave them a bad tip.
“If it wasn’t for having one-on-one attention and guidance, I would have never excelled to the point I am at now.
“I walked out on workouts out of frustration, went through some serious emotional turmoil and didn’t want to go to the gym for weeks at a time.
“However, my loved ones continued to stick with me, even with my temper tantrums and they motivated me to not give up.
“I feel like a new human. I have been reborn again simply by nurturing my body. Sometimes we get so caught up in life and forget that our bodies need certain things, or they break down.
“My life has most definitely changed my life for the better. To begin with, I made balance my main priority, instead of focussing on money.
“I am no longer working in a nightclub and that has allowed me to reclaim quality sleep, snacking whenever I want, and has reduced the amount of alcohol I drink.”
Motivation was Chyann’s toughest hurdle, but with 10,000 followers on Instagram, she found a way to hold herself accountable, helping her stay on track.
“Motivation is my biggest downfall at this point. This is common for me though, I have always struggled to stay motivated because of my mental health,” she said.
“Lately, up-keeping a presence on social media through my fitness lifestyle has kept me going. I get a lot of positive feedback from people and I help motivate others which in return motivates me.
“Just get up and do it. You won’t always feel like going to the gym but when you have the urge and are in the mood, don’t second guess it.”
For more information visit: https://www.instagram.com/_abide.by.chy/
