From an overweight boy to a fitness boss, Yanga Ngcayisa shares his health story

Yanga Ngcayisa lost a whopping 34 kg in 2019. Now he's a fitness entrepreneur inspiring others to live a healthier lifestyle.

• Yanga Ngcayisa battled with his weight throughout his childhood and into his early adult life

• In 2019 he lost a whopping 34kg in six months

• He's now a fitness entrepreneur and a the founder of Y NOT Fitness

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Yanga Ngcayisa was always the overweight kid.

Despite playing sport during his school career, he always carried a bit of extra weight, something he thought would be the case throughout his life.

He was an avid rugby player at school, a sport which helped keep him fit to a certain degree.

But once his school career was over, he gave up on the idea of being a professional rugby player. This in turn resulted in his health and fitness taking a backseat. And that's when the weight just kept piling on.

This went on for a while, until 2019 when he did research into healthier living, as well as factors that are influencing his weight gain.

2019 turned out to be the year that changed Ngcayisa's life in more ways than one.

The research led to him adopting a more healthier lifestyle, which included eating more whole foods, and curtailing his intake of refined foods.

This led to a whopping 34kg weight loss, and the beginning of something special for the Cape Town local.

Fast forward to 2022, Ngcayisa is now a fitness entrepreneur, the founder of the Y NOT workout deck.

How does the Y NOT fitness deck work? Simply draw a card, the number represents how many repetitions and the illustration is the exercise that must be performed.

He joined CapeTalk presenter Sara-Jayne King on Weekend Breakfast to explain more.

The change came when i went home to Port Elizabeth, and I remember my mom not being able to recognise me. She was just like, WOW!

Yanga Ngcayisa - Founder Y NOT fitness

This was a wake up call because I couldn't even recognise myself.

Yanga Ngcayisa - Founder Y NOT fitness

When you're in a team sport, it's all fitted for the entire group, so it's not personalised to make you change. When I was doing my research into nutrition, it's actually more of a food game that you're playing.

Yanga Ngcayisa - Founder Y NOT fitness

Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the interview.

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