60 Pounds Lighter! Lanre Aluko-Olokun shares his remarkable weight-loss story

Two days before his final undergraduate exams, tragedy struck – Lanre Aluko-Olokun (Jazz)  lost his father. While the 20 year old Business Economics & Finance student bravely went on to complete his final examinations at Loughborough University, however, the death of his father was a turning point in his life.

The singer/songwriter/designer went on a journey of finding love in himself, part of this process of loving himself was accomplishing something he had always want to do which was to get healthier, lose weight and get in shape, not only for himself but also

1. Be an Inspiration to others
2. Be Healthy & Look Sexy
3. Challenge Himself!

As of today, Lanre has lost over 60 pounds! He shares his inspiring weight-loss story with BellaNaija.com

Lanre - Then & Now

In the Beginning
I was skinny as a child, I was a junior athlete and recall being the fastest in my primary school set. I started gaining weight at the age of 8 when my family moved to America. By the time we came moved back to Nigeria, it was too late. In my mind, I was still that skinny child. Little did I know!

The Tipping Point
My highest weight was 108kg. I went into a store with a friend to buy jeans one day. I used to wear waist 38, I tried it on but it wasn’t my size.
I think I tried another and same, I had to buy a pair of size 40 jeans, I was so embarrassed! This is when I started to realise I was really big and getting even bigger.

Turning Things Around
Losing my dad and finding love in myself inspired me to lose weight. After losing my dad earlier this year 2 days before my final exams (which I completed well, Thank God), I realised I had to love myself to move on and let go of many things – part of that was living a healthier lifestyle and losing weight.

I kept my weight-loss plan a secret from most of my friends and family. I almost didn’t tell my mum, I wanted to surprise her when next we saw but we gist too much I just had to! Only about 3 close friends knew what I was doing until others started seeing the difference. Everyone has been very supportive. Some friends and even my mum joined in the process and lost weight as well.

The Hard Part
This was not my first attempt at weight-loss. The first attempt was in 2009, at that point, I lost 4kg within a month but I ended up gaining it back. I was not focused and could not let go of comfort feeding. This time, I went on a low calorie diet which consists of mainly liquids, soups, porridge and shakes (BN Note: Please ensure that you obtain advice and guidance from a medical professional before embarking on a low calorie diet), the more you lose weight the higher calories you can consume. For a month I was eating as low as 418 calories a day and drinking water like a camel. I also went to the gym 6 days a week and attended gym classes including spin, body combat and Zumba.

Temptation & Keeping the Weight Off!
To be honest, in the past it crossed my mind once or twice to do some ‘Pakuromo’ diets but I never have. I eat healthier and try to continue to workout and pray. As far as I am concerned my faith has led me to a ‘Jesus diet’ (what I call it) – I pray ‘O you spirit of carbs I bind you’. Ok, really not that deep but I pray not to gain weight and constantly ask God for grace.

Now
Being in the image conscious fashion and music industries, I was not under pressure to lose weight. Instead, by being healthy and losing weight, I knew I would be able to be an inspiration to my supporters and loved ones. Being healthy has also allowed me to be more productive in all I do and come out with greater outcomes both in my role as a musician and fashion designer.

I have to admit that I feel very loved! And the ladies love me more now.
You would always have the happy friends and the envious ones but majority are happy. People now call me and refer others to me for advice. There is a girl I know; she, her mum and her sister have all lost weight after we spoke and they spoke to me and heard my story. It gives me joy to help people, I want to see people happy. Being an inspiration definitely makes the whole experience worth it!

To anyone trying to lose weight
My advice is
First – You have to love yourself. Love yourself enough to know why you want to lose weight.

Second – what are your motives? They should be right i.e. lose the weight for yourself and not anybody or the media.

Third – There will be hard times but encourage yourself and surround yourself with people who will encourage you. Remember that it doesn’t happen overnight!

Fourth – Get pictures of people who have lost weight and inspire you and use that and their story as your motivation

Last but most importantly – Involve God. There’s absolutely nothing he can’t do, remember he gives grace!

Lanre - 60 pounds lighter!

Limitless Possibilities
I finished an undergraduate course at Loughborough University in the UK were I studied Business Economics and Finance and now I am into my music career and fashion designing business full time.
I’m so excited I have new music out soon, I recently dropped a mixtape called ‘MEMOIRS’ and it did very well.

The new music and designs I am coming out are going to reflect my personal life. My next single is literally inspired by my experience and called ‘Losing Weight’.

Click HERE to download Lanre (Jazz)’s Mixtape
Also check out his blog – http://www.ldbdesigns.blogspot.com and follow him on twitter – @jazzofficial
Listen to “No Song” by Jazz
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