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Woman Bullied For Her Size Becomes Internet Hit After Losing Half Her Body Weight

Woman Bullied For Her Size Becomes Internet Hit After Losing Half Her Body Weight

Amazing effort.

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A woman has become a social media sensation after shedding almost half her body-weight.

Twenty-six-year-old Tanya Rybakova from St Petersburg in Russia was 17 stone (107kg) at her heaviest and was often the victim of cruel bullies who would leave her so upset she cry herself to sleep at night.

Tanya filmed her progress and released the video to YouTube where she now has over 300,000 subscribers, who she offers advice and help to.

Credit: Caters

It took Tanya three and a half years to get down to 8st, 5lbs (54kg), and after losing the weight she underwent an operation to remove the extra skin.

She said: 'It's my own Cinderella story. Children were mean, so I didn't socialise - I had no friends and I spent a lot of time just reading.

"It was so bad I would come home from school crying and I didn't want to go back. Being overweight took my confidence.

Credit: Caters

"Now it's cool to see myself on television and often I can't believe this is my life."

She decided to lose weight after the 'worst night of her life'. She said: "I was alone and crying. Even my friends didn't talk to me, so I decided then to lose the weight.

"'Now those people from school reach out and tell me I'm beautiful," which I imagine feels pretty good.

Despite the years of mean words and bullying Tanya says that she doesn't blame the bullies, because they were young at the time. 'We all make mistakes' she added.

Speaking about how she managed to get so big she talked about her family poor background. "'I didn't come from a rich family and we ate a lot of cheap food that wasn't healthy," she said.

"We didn't know it wasn't right, as it was tasty. My weight become big and I was having breathing problems and I couldn't walk."

Credit: Caters

After trying a few fad diets Tanya eventually decided to enlist the help of a nutritionist who was able to advise her on diet and exercise. She cut out trans-fats, began training three times a week and finally started to see results.

Now Tanya runs her own fitness empire where she aims to help as many people as possible. She said: "I work with people losing weight to show them you have to change your mind first.

"It's not just about losing weight, that's just the first step, it's about having confidence and being healthy physically and mentally.

"The biggest change is confidence as losing weight shows you can do it if you want.

"You can change your life if you believe in yourself."

We want to hear your stories. Has fitness and wellbeing changed your life? Has it helped you overcome obesity, drugs, mental issues or been a defining factor in your life? Let us know about it. [email protected]

Featured Image Credit: Caters

Topics: Weight Loss, Exercise, Diet, youtuber