Life goes beyond the digits of the scale and your body is capable of much more! Yahoo’s #Fitspo of the Week series is dedicated to inspiring men and women in Singapore who lead healthy and active lifestyles. Do you have someone to recommend? Paste on either !
Name: Deb Fong)
Age: 30
Height: 1.74m
Weight: 61kg
Occupation: FinTech Marketing
Condition: Single
Food: I’ve found that I don’t do well limiting the types of food I eat, but I do intermittent fasting from time to time when I feel like I’ve overindulged in fatty foods or alcohol. In general, I also try not to eat anything too late at night.
Exercise: I try to do two to five fitness classes a week if the schedule allows, usually spinning or Barry’s.
Q: When you were younger, did you do sports/fitness?
A: I was on the varsity swim and rugby teams at a couple of my schools, and I was the kid who was always up for trying new sports, from softball to field hockey to horseback riding and even scuba diving.
Unfortunately, I don’t play many team sports anymore. Now I prefer to encourage my friends to try different fitness studios and activities with me.
When did you go to your first fitness class?
I used to work at Lululemon, where I was surrounded by a community of people who loved to exercise, from my colleagues to people who visited the store. So I ended up accompanying them to different fitness classes, from barre to yoga, HIIT (high intensity interval training), spinning and boxing.
I love trying new fitness classes with people I’m comfortable with, so at least if you fail miserably, you get a good laugh.
It seems you do a lot of spin classes now.
Spinning was one of the first fitness classes I attended and is still my favorite because of how immersive the environment is. It’s cathartic to be able to walk away from life for those 45 minutes and just ride the bike to the music.
What are your fitness goals now?
My general focus now is to maintain the perfect balance between health and wellness. I’ve found that fitness classes are a great way to maintain both physical fitness and mental clarity. When I look and feel like the best version of myself, it spills over into every other area of my life.
Do you struggle with your body?
I think everyone struggles with body image growing up. Well-intentioned people will tell you that you are too skinny, too fat, that you don’t have enough breasts, that your face is too round, that your butt is too flat.
It’s taken a long time, and it’s 100 percent still a constant work in progress, but I feel like I can say I’m at peace with who I am today. Being in love with yourself doesn’t happen when you’ve achieved your perfect self, it comes with the grace and humility to accept your imperfections and continually work to be your best self.
It’s a constant struggle, especially when we’re surrounded by so much unrealistic and edited content everywhere. I’ve definitely been guilty of my insecurity leading me to be affected by and contribute to that content, and it’s a vicious cycle that can sometimes feel like it will never end. That’s why it’s so important to me now that I’m focused on empowering the people around me, because I’ve found that, at least for me, feeling good on the inside puts an end to comparisons on the outside.
When did you feel less sure of yourself?
Confidence is something I have always struggled with from time to time. I still have impostor syndrome to this day: You’re not fun enough to hang out with this group, you’re not qualified enough for that job, you’re not skinny enough to wear that.
Learning to find confidence in different areas of my life will always be a challenge, but I have been very blessed to have a strong support system, both in my friends and family, and in the community around me: at work, fitness classes. and in other places. And they make a big difference in getting me up when I’m down and vice versa.
Are you happy with your body now?
I think that instead of working towards satisfaction with my body, I always try to appreciate it for everything it gives me: strength, mobility and physicality.
But in all honesty, I would never judge someone for choosing to edit or keep the body they were born with and I personally wouldn’t rule out the possibility of changing my body in the future if I felt like it. Your body, your choice.
However, I wouldn’t hide it if I decided to change something, because I don’t think it’s anything to be ashamed of and transparency always helps eliminate unrealistic expectations.
