A 38-year-old content creator changed her lifestyle when she needed to buy two seats on a plane as an overweight woman.
She explained that she frequently suffered panic attacks when she had to fly - as she knew the ordeal would embarrass her.
Kayla LaVende (@wls_barbie), then over 330 pounds, was traveling from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, her first flight in over 10 years, to renew her Australian passport with Southwest Airlines.
This time, she knew she would need a second seat so she booked the extra $240 ticket with Southwest.
“Luckily I did because I did not realize just how much of that second seat I would take up. I actually took up two full seats,” she said.
“The employees at Southwest Airlines let me board first and pick my seat so I chose the very last row of the airplane so nobody would walk past me and stare.
“The entire time I tried to make myself as small as possible wishing I was invisible. There was a very small lady in the third seat of that row. She didn’t mention anything but I could see her looking.”
Since the upsetting incident with Southwest, Kayla has taken control of her life and is now a healthy 140 pounds and wears a size six to eight as opposed to the size 26 she used to shop for.
Kayla lost the weight in under two years by consuming 120g of protein, under 30g of carbs under 20g of sugar daily, and lots of water as part of the Keto diet.
She also has since incorporated weight training and cardio sessions, include jogging, incline moderate pace, walks, and the Stairmaster.
Although Kayla avoided bullying by others for her weight as a child, she did reach a low period and for the only time in her life felt depressed by her size.
“I got very lucky as I was never bullied for my weight,” she said.
“The turning point that motivated me to make a change once and for all was when I needed two seats on an airplane and a seatbelt extender — that was the one and only time in my life I felt depressed and actually had a panic attack,” she said.
“I knew this was no way to continue living. I wanted to be free, and I was feeling very restricted. not to mention my body started to hurt.
“My weight before was a combination of things, genetics, thyroid disease, and lipedema all since childhood, I also had a poor diet and low activity level.
“Before my diet was terrible, all the carbs and sweets, pasta, bread, rice, pizza, chips, ice cream. Very little workout regime. I would yo-yo diet and exercise. But never stick to anything."
The content creator explained that when she changed her mindset, everything else fell into place — beginning with her decision to undergo gastric sleeve surgery.
She also revealed that since she was a young girl, she was inspired by her idol, Barbie and she is now overjoyed she can emulate her idol down to the sparkly spandex as her new body has increased her confidence.
“I have always been obsessed with Barbie and her style. I lived vicariously through her as a child Barbie inspired me to be creative, fun, vibrant, and colorful at any size.
“Fun clothing was never an option for me so I started to get crafty and make my own clothes. That led me into costume designing and moving to Las Vegas working for a show as a costume designer for many years. I have Barbie to thank."
The fitness influencer has since developed a passion for bodybuilding as part of her new health lifestyle.
“I am currently training to build muscle as I am competing in a bodybuilding competition this year. I love to challenge and push myself to the next level," she said.
“People are shocked when they see the difference I have made to my look,and they are proud of me all at the same time. When my friends and family look back at my old pictures, they say they don’t remember me being that big.
“The biggest compliment is when people say I have inspired them to also change their life.
“And when people say I resemble Barbie, I guess that is a childhood dream come true. Although I have always dressed in the Barbie style, people only recognise it now.”
Kayla explained that she's honored to be the source of inspiration for others looking to change their own lifestyles.
“Love your 'before self' — don’t go into this journey, hating yourself, love yourself enough to want to change. Your 'before self' is who is going to get you to your goal," she said.
“Don’t focus on the scale as it can deter you, focus on being consistent and changing your lifestyle. Enjoy the journey and keep a positive mindset.
“Do what works for you and don’t compare your journey to somebody else’s.”