Fustany Team 
Hend Shaaban is a 23-year-old real estate sales coordinator, who started her weight loss journey back in 2009. We got in touch with her in hopes to help and inspire other women who are trying and struggling to lose weight, aiming to seek a healthy lifestyle!
Why did you start this journey? What motivated you, and what gave you the will and power to continue?
When I was 18 years old, like any other girl in that age, I was looking to be beautiful and fit, as I was the fattest girl among my friends. I couldn’t move, exercise or run, and the worst thing was that I couldn’t wear what I liked, because most of the clothes didn't fit my body type. I used to love food, I always fought with my mother, and hid food behind her back, she would yell at me every time she saw me eating! I have a sweet tooth, what can I say?
One day, I hated myself so much, and cried a lot to my mother. So she gave me the first push and said “I’ll help you, let’s start by calculating our weights.” Can you imagine that I was fatter than my mother? She weighed 91 kg and I weighed 109 kg! This was my biggest motivation, and my journey has started ever since.
Seeing my body shape changing is what gave me the will and power to keep going. I used to look at food and simply say: “It doesn’t matter! One day I’ll be thin and eat whatever I want.” And when I finally became thin, I did eat whatever I wanted, but my stomach became smaller, so I only ate what my body needed.
After that, I wanted to know how the food I am craving and eating affects my body, whether it's healthy or not. So I started looking for information about food, which taught me the most important thing about diet...that there's a right time to eat the food I am craving so I don't gain weight.
I also never skipped working out, except when I felt tired, fatigue actually made me quit for a week! I had a terrible mood because of that, as the workout has become a lifestyle that I started to love.
Also every time how the closest people to me told me that I lost weight, I insisted on continuing, that kind of positive cheer gave me more will and power, it was like an energy recharge.
Nutrition and exercise complement each other; can you share with us your routine?
I started with a traditional diet: 1 egg for breakfast, 2 tsp of rice and salad for lunch, green tea, more water, and a cup of yogurt in evening, then I learnt that it was definitely wrong!
For now, I eat what I want in small portions at the right time. Like I don't eat pizza for dinner, I quit sodas, I substituted sugar with honey, I eat more carbs in the morning and less in the evening. For dinner, I only eat protein and salads or fruits, I drink cinnamon tea and other herbs to burn fats, I drink four liters of water daily, and coffee is my ultimate anti-oxidant!
I started exercising by walking early in the morning, and attending a belly dancing class for 2 hours. Then, I signed up at a gym, and focused on the instructions I was given. I wanted to tone my body, so I began weight lifting.
Finally, after knowing how to eat and how to work out, my body shape transformed, as well as my mental health. This has changed me inside out, gave me more confidence, and let me see things differently.
So, how did you finally get rid of excessive skin?
After working out really hard for a whole year, my whole body got toned, but I discovered another nightmare, cellulite on my legs! I became obsessed with the idea of perfection, which is a totally wrong mindset.
However, I went to a well-known beauty clinic, and the doctor told me that my excessive skin is dead, and that blood flow can’t reach it, so it will never be toned. He advised me to go to a surgeon for a thigh lifting surgery. I did, and I’m not ashamed of saying it; that was my goal, and I did everything I could to reach it.
It looks like it was a challenging journey; do you have any advice you’d like to give to women trying to lose weight?
My advice for anyone trying to lose weight, is to realize that it isn't a miracle, and I’m not an alien or the only one who did it! All what it takes is a strong will, and to know how to love yourself enough to be the best version of yourself.
No one will do it for you, you have to stand, you have to take a decision, set your goals, and be kind to yourself. Don’t listen to anybody's judgments, listen to your body, it says all what you need to know, and most importantly, keep going.
And for God’s sake, stop doing useless surgeries; I did mine because I really needed it! You are the only one walking in your shoes. If not now, then when?
