Transformation of the Day: Kadeja lost 50+ pounds with healthy eating habits and exercise. This Canadian mom of four shared her journey through playing sports as a youth, pregnancies (one with twins), and a break up. She has chronicled her transformation journey online to inspire women/mothers.
Social Media:
Instagram: @fitbykadeja
I wanted to reach out and tell the story of my weight loss journey so far to hopefully help inspire some other ladies/mamas.
I grew up with a very active lifestyle. I competed in track & field since early, early childhood, whichpushed me to stay active throughout all my school years. At age 8/9, I loved rollerblading, which led me to try out speed skating for the first time. I had no clue what I was doing, but I loved it after the first practice. My parents kept pushing me through it. I qualified for provincials and nationals my first year, even though I was too young the first year.
I kept pushing and learning what it meant to work hard to achieve something. I eventually competed at nationals twice: once for short track and once for long track. I was also able to be involved in Bc summer games (for track+ Rugby) and Bc winter games (speed skating). These were highlights of my childhood fitness journey that I will never forget and have played a role in where I am in my fitness journey today.
I loved speed skating, but I was also doing off-training with an amazing powerlifting team at the time and fell in love with it at a young age. I started working out with them around 11-12 years old. By age 13, I was setting world records (in their gym) for my age. I was squatting 315 lbs. At the time, I didn’t see how impressive that truly was because I still didn’t understand the concept of the numbers on the weights.
Fast forward to after I stopped speed skating: My family made a big move, and the place we moved to didn’t have the best speed skating teams. So, I decided it was time to try something new.
I started playing Rugby in high school. I had no clue what I was signing up for, but I knew I wanted to try something new, and I knew if I didn’t like it I didn’t have to do it anymore. But I did. I beyond loved this sport and played the rest of my high school years from grade 10-12. I had the opportunity to play in California and at the world championships in Japan. I qualified for so many teams and was always one of the first picks, which was such a great feeling that I was putting in the work and coaches were seeing. I competed in nationals for Rugby twice, once at age 15 and once at age 17. I met amazing friends for life and also great life experiences.
After high school, I took a break from sports and decided to put my effort into the gym. My partner at the time was very into bodybuilding and I…not as much…but still loved the gym and what it did for me.
In 2018, I got pregnant with my first daughter and kinda stopped working out. After I had her, I was in a whole new mindset. I knew I didn’t wanna be big/overweight forever. I knew I couldn’t look like this just because I had a baby.
I took it upon myself to learn more about how my body works with food and exercise. I started my fitness account on Instagram to keep myself accountable.
Then I started growing a community based on just sharing my journey. I didn’t realize that it was actually helping a lot of other people who were going through or had been through similar experiences in their lives. That’s when I knew that I really love what I do. I love sharing my journey in hopes that it reaches one lady or mama like me who needs a bit of guidance, support, and motivation.
I lost 90 lbs after my first daughter and was able to keep it off until I was pregnant again…with twins this time. In my head, I had just lost all the weight to regain. It was a very, very difficult thing to accept that I was going to get big again. I wasn’t mad about the pregnancy, but I was more nervous I wouldn’t be able to lose the weight again after I just pushed so hard for the previous two years to get where I was.
Fast forward to after I had the twins: I had to have them a bit earlier than I had planned but they were both healthy girls. They just needed to be in the NiCu for a little while. I was in a very different mindset after I had my twins. My toddler also needed my attention and I was going through splitting up with their father.
I had a lot of motivation to get back to me, to feel comfortable in my own skin again. You know what> I did it again! I lost 75 pounds and kept doing what I was doing – motivating and inspiring women.
Fast forward to 2023: I got pregnant again…which was planned, but again I was at the best spot in my fitness journey I had ever been. I wasn’t going to let having four babies mean I could never look how I wanted to again.
Now I have lost 50 pounds in the last nince months. I’m currently nine months post baby and pushing each and every day. I’m not restricting myself from food. I’m working out 5-6 days a week at home. When people tell me you can’t lose weight after having babies they are wrong. You most definitely can. You just have to want it!!
Eating Habits: I changed up my eating habits to follow a 80/20 rule, meaning 80% of the foods I eat are healthy, real foods and the other 20% is foods I love and would never restrict myself from eating because in moderation you can still eat all your favourite things. But also switching up certain foods for a healthier version of the same food has helped me extremely not have to cut out any foods I love and also helped me loose weight and gain lean muscle. Also making sure I am eating enough protein within my diet and drinking lots of water throughout the day. I find healthier treats for myself but obviously still indulge every so often in something less healthy.
Workout Routine: My workout routine is getting done what I can done, I’ve had multiple different workout plans in the past that I’ve made up for myself and that’s always been a huge help to me having something to follow. I currently for my past postpartum journey have been working out at home 4-6 days a week, splitting up my lifts into legs, back+biceps, and shoulders+chest+triceps. I add core and cardio when I can and when I have extra time in between being a mom of four.
I am still on my journey and have more to accomplish I’m not done yet but I encourage you to follow along for some inspiration and motivation. Know that if I can do it as a mom of four, then so can you!
