They’re not perfect but these woman are fit and healthy, and they’re proud of it.
Shirley Thien
Standing confident at 152cm, Shirley has been petit and curvy all her life. But that kind of shape hasn’t always been accepted in some of her most personal circles. Luckily for her, the 42-year-old co-director of a construction engineering company in Kuala Lumpur isn’t perturbed by the dissing of her natural shape. Her concerns for a fitter and healthier body has led to her transformation and fitness journey.
THE PROBLEM
Dabbling in various activities such as taekwondo, tennis, swimming and hiking, Shirley was an active kid in school. She enjoyed both the adrenalin rush and joy that the activities gave her. But all of those physical activities came to a stop not long after she went to further her studies in the university. Studies, course work and practical training began to take all of her time. It was then when the pounds crept in without her realising it. “It was easy to put on weight with the sudden lifestyle change. People including my family members kept saying that I was fat because all the ladies in my family are 45kg or under. I am the curvy one among them. I did go to the gym almost daily and jogged around my neighbourhood after that but I didn’t shed a gram of fat,” says Shirley.
THE TURNING POINT
However, in Shirley’s mind, she wasn’t overweight for her frame. Sixty kilograms to 152cm in height seemed alright to her. It took her about 10 years to finally realise that she had serious weight issues and needed to do something about it. The biggest motivator for her was when her clothes couldn’t fit her and how the sight of her big belly made her sigh helplessly. “Of course, there was also peer pressure from everyone who was picking on my shape and size,” she says.
THE JOURNEY
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Esta historia es de la edición January 2017 de Shape Malaysia.
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