A 32-year old Capetonian lost a staggering 100 kilograms in a journey to improve his overall health, proving that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.
Francois Steyn shared this milestone on Sleekgeek Health Revolution, a community dedicated to empowering people to transform themselves and lead a healthy lifestyle. Steyn’s weight has gone from 230kg to 129.10kg.
“Boooya! At last, 100kg weight loss in total. Pretty embarrassed sharing this but hopefully it can inspire those who have the same struggles as I had and still have. It’s been one heck of a journey so far, still far from goal but every single day I work towards being a better person than I was yesterday. ”
As a member of the Sleekgeek Health Revolution community for nearly seven years, Steyn has been dedicated to turning his life around and leading a life that is focused on taking care of his health.
Steyn told Sleekgeek Health Revolution in an interview that he previously lived an unhealthy lifestyle which lead him to becoming morbidly obese. “When I was 230kg I still never thought that I was “that” big. The old me wasn’t motivated, didn’t exercise at all, binge ate every few days and had a really bad relationship with food,” he said.
Steyn decided that enough was enough after he began to fear he would suffer a heart attack just from walking around and decided to change his lifestyle, adopting healthier eating and a regular exercise regime. After a lifesaving gastric bypass surgery, Steyn completely changed how he approached food. “Life post bypass is a lot different and you can’t enjoy food choices like you always did, but then again, it’s those old choices that made me get to 230kg.”
Steyn has learnt that prepping healthy meals is a big key to maintaining your health as it eliminates the temptation of “settling for something unhealthy to eat”. He also now has a regular workout regime, and a typical cardio workout of his consists of 20 minutes of cycling and 40 minutes on the treadmill.
He adds that there is a lot of judgement and stigma surrounding those who are overweight.
“Everything about life is different and better, including the way I look at life, and the way people look at me. Let’s be honest, being 230kg in today’s society means you get judged in every store, in every restaurant – doesn’t matter where you go.”
There is no stopping Steyn, and his next goal is to complete an Ironman AFRICAN Championship.
He ended with some words of wisdom for those out there wanting to take charge of their life.
“Thanks to everyone who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and to everyone who supports me. Last words of advice, if you want something in life, go out and get it. Take a leap of faith. You never know how amazing it could turn out.”
We send our congratulations to Steyn for his dedication and achievement.
Picture: Sleekgeek Health Revolution, Facebook Francois Steyn