Source: Courtesy of Chayla Massey / CM
What does it take for one to decide that they want to live a healthier lifestyle? For many of us, it takes years of poor eating, failing an array of diets, having a few kids, or getting a stern warning from our doctors for us to really step it up and do something about how we feel in our bodies. For Chayla Massey though, she knew back in high school that she wanted to make a change. The Grand Rapids native just didn’t know where to start.
“When I would hang out with friends, we would all go get junk food. I hung out with my friends every day in high school, so that was a daily routine,” she said. “It was always like I was trying to choose between being healthy or having fun, so in the back of my head it was like, I only live once. I can enjoy myself. But at the same time, I knew I wanted to be healthier. I knew I wanted to change my body.”
When Chayla graduated from high school and was no longer around the friends she would chomp down on processed foods with, she says it became easier to do better. She came across the keto diet, did her research, cut out carbs, picked up intermittent fasting, and before she knew it, she saw results.
Now 20, Chayla has lost more than 50 pounds in a year, gained a few pounds back and embraced her body. She’s also started her own lucrative business around keto meal planning (she makes mouth-watering meals) and weight-loss challenges, boosted her self-esteem and changed the lives of a number of the more than 60,000 people who follow her page, Ketochayla, on Instagram. Young and mighty, Chayla’s managed to transform her body and her life all by taking that first step. Here’s how she she did it.
MadameNoire: What motivated you to embark on this journey and be healthier?
Chayla Massey: So I was seeing a lot of results people had from keto and at the time, in like the Black community, a lot of people didn’t know about it. All of the people I was seeing were white people. I was doing a lot of research on it. Also, I knew I wasn’t happy because I love taking pictures. I was not taking pictures anymore. I wasn’t shopping anymore. I didn’t feel pretty or beautiful at all. I think that was really what motivated me. Then the weight came off so fast and I was shocked because I felt like I’d done diets my whole life and they just weren’t working for me. I did keto for two weeks and my weight was dropping off so fast so that I just stuck with it.
You’ve been on this journey for a year now and had great progress. You’ve also had times where you have cheated on your diet and you’ve been open about that. With more than 60,000 followers, why is it important to be transparent about that and to also not beat yourself up about it when your weight has gone back up?
I had this big fan base and I didn’t want to let them down, but at the end of the day I felt like, it’s my body and my choices. I feel like nobody’s journey is 100 percent perfect. I was trying to be perfect, but life, you know. Summer was coming and I was going to carnivals eating funnel cakes, but at the same time, I was maintaining my weight. In December, when I got down to my lowest, I honestly was going for a number on the scale. But as I looked in the mirror, I had no shape and I was just so skinny. People were commenting like, “Don’t lose no more weight, you’re getting too skinny.” It was getting to my head, so I kind of went back to my old habits. I gained some more weight, but the weight went to the right places. I was building, doing butt exercises, so I’m actually really happy about the weight that I gained. I feel like a lot of people, they try to be perfect, but in reality, nobody’s journey is perfect. There are always going to be ups and downs.
And how have you coped as someone who has admitted to being an emotional eater? What’s the work you have done to find an outlet for your emotions that isn’t food?
When I’m stressed or I’m sad, I always go to food. So now I try to find different things to cope. I’ll try exercise, taking a walk outside or just going on social media for a minute. But honestly, I just try to work out or I’ll talk to somebody. I’ll text a friend and it will switch my whole mind. Or I’ll pray.
As you touched on previously, you weren’t happy at your smallest weight. Was it because you were trying to just reach a number to be able to say you made it, or was it because you were having a hard time trying to maintain all the hard work?
It was actually trying to reach a number. Throughout high school I always wanted to be 165. I felt like that was the perfect number because my charts and stuff would be like, for my height I should be 165. When I started keto I was like, my goal is to be 165. I was always stepping on the scale to weigh myself. But then, my mom would be like, “You look good! Why are you so stuck on the scale? The number doesn’t mean anything.” Now I don’t get on the scale much at all anymore. I’m trying to stay away from it because honestly, a number doesn’t mean nothin’. As long as you’re happy where you’re at, that’s that. I’m actually really happy!
You also noted as someone on keto that you’ve noticed changes in your hair, that it has grown a lot, and other people have commented that it is likely the protein consumption. What are the changes you’ve seen?
Oh my gosh, so I actually did a before and after with my hair and when I put it in a poof ball, it would barely look like one. But now my curls are so defined and my hair has grown so much. I think it’s because I cut out all of the sugar. My skin is even glowing now. It’s just a lot of stuff. If I cheat on sugar, my face will break out. I will break out as soon as I eat the sugar. My hair has grown a lot, and I think it’s because I’m not eating that many processed foods and just all of the junk. I drink a lot of water and tea, too.
Do you feel like the keto way of eating is something you will want to and be able to maintain for the long term? Everyone says yes because they feel it’s different from a “diet” that’s very restrictive.
I think I can do it for the long term. I honestly feel better when I’m keto because as soon as I get off and I eat whatever, I’m so bloated and I just feel stuffed. But on keto, I do have cheat days every now and then, but the bloat goes away in like a day. If I were to stop doing keto, I would transition to a simple low-carb plan. Have a burger every once in a while. But I really do love this lifestyle. It’s so much stuff you can have, so it’s really not strict.
As someone who is so young and likes to hang out with friends but also does intermittent fasting, how do you meet the time frame that you have if you’re a very social person? I know people who fast like that and only eat in the window of 12 to 8. How do you do that with an active social calendar?
I don’t do it every day. Even though it’s a habit that grew on me, if I don’t want to do it on say a Saturday and Sunday, I don’t. But it’s so easy to adjust times. Like, my times, I eat from 12 to 8. Half of the time that I’m fasting I’m asleep and then when I wake up around 8 a.m., I just have to wait four more hours and then I can eat. I think it’s really easy. You can adjust your times and do longer fasts or shorter fasts. Keto and fasting is such a great combination.
Do you feel like when you finally get to eat, as someone on the keto diet eating so much meat and protein, that you don’t desire to do a lot of snacking?
Actually, with fasting, when it’s really time to eat, I’m not even hungry. Fasting really staves off your hunger. When I’m fasting I’m like, I can’t wait to eat! Then when I finally take a bite out of my food I’m like, oh man, I’m full.
So how did you get into making money creating weight-loss challenges and meal plans?
I always knew I wanted to be my own boss. Even before I did keto I was trying to make wigs and I was just like, ugh, I can’t do this. I was praying to God like, “God, can you please show me my path? I want to have my own business and I know I’m meant for that.” I swear, when I started keto I just had a vision that I could really do something with it. Eventually, my platform, it was growing every day and people kept writing under my pictures, “Oh my God, you should come up with a meal plan” and this and that. I came out with a meal plan in April and in that month I made $10k and I was so shocked. I never had that much money in my hand. I was 19! I was so happy. Then eventually, I was like, to make it even more fun, I’ll do challenges. Now the challenges are really booming and I’m so shocked, but at the same time I’m not shocked because I saw the vision. It’s crazy.
In what ways aside from the physical and financial have you seen a transformation by going through your weight-loss journey?
My confidence is so much better. When I was bigger I really had low self-esteem. I’m more confident in my clothes. I also met a lot of people through Instagram and it changed me a lot because I feel like I wake up every day with a purpose. I have a business. It’s blessed me in so many ways that I didn’t know a diet could. I’m changing people’s lives, too, and that makes me feel happy because it’s something I have a passion for now. I’m excited to do it every day.
Be sure to follow Chayla on Instagram and check out the rest of our inspiring Fitness Fridays profiles here!
