Karen Lim, 22
Lost 10 kilograms through diet control and exercise to achieve her ideal body weight
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BeforeKaren Lim lets Sophie T. in on the weight loss plan that kick-started her quest for a healthier lifestyle.

All my life, I wasn’t really bothered with how much I weighed or how I looked. In fact, I tired fast of friends who fussed over their own weight and appearance, and constantly reminded myself that I could do more with my time than worry about the way I looked. I suppose I took my belief a little too far, and in later years, I began to wonder if my friends had a point when it came to this need of theirs to be trim and to look good.

When I was in college, I noticed that I started feeling extremely lethargic at sporadic intervals during the day, and I now understand why. At the time, I was extremely pressured to excel in my tertiary studies and my course involved long hours of lectures. To stay awake in class, my friends and I would snack on junk food – my absolute favourite was chocolates. I was a real winner then; I could finish a 400 gram bar in a single sitting! Chocolates became a classroom staple for me and on top of that, I developed a craving for supper after class, which would run late into the night.

While I didn’t balloon to a big size, I did experience frequent bouts of fatigue due to my unhealthy eating habits and this made concentrating difficult at times. During those years, I did gain some weight, but did not quite realise the subconscious impact the weight gain actually had on my self-esteem. Looking back, I suppose I lured myself into a false sense of security that I was happy with the way I looked. I would avoid wearing sleeveless tops as I hated the idea of looking “tubby”, and wore, at all times, clothes that amply concealed my arms, shoulders and waist.
I was 19 years old and weighed a hefty 67 kilograms when I decided that a healthy lifestyle change was timely and necessary. I was a good 10 kilograms over the ideal weight for my 165 centimetre frame. While the main objective in losing the unnecessary pounds was to be healthy, I also thought it was high time I worked on my appearance.

I firmly decided that I did not want to find myself ill and unhealthy decades later. Many of my older friends at the time had become more health conscious and this had an irrefutable influence on me as I watched them take positive steps toward a healthier lifestyle. I noticed that many of them were starting to look and feel better than they had in years, and the positive change I saw in them really caught my attention.

Because I had such a robust appetite, I knew I had to find a way to manage my weight without forcing myself to quit my favourite foods. I did not want to fall into the trap of going overboard with a diet plan only to find myself bingeing on cravings later on. I knew people who would starve themselves in an attempt to lose weight, and then stray from their programme when hunger pangs and cravings struck.

I decided to go on a weight management programme that consisted of nutritional shake-meals and a meal allowance of my choice – I thought this was a good plan to be on so that I would be satiated without having to deal with cravings after. I was also happy that the programme allowed me to continue indulging in my favourite foods such as chicken, fish and rice, but consumed in smaller portions and in moderation. I think that’s what a good diet should be, one that helps us achieve our weight loss with a good balance and without having to go to extremes by eliminating certain foods from our diet, something I was not willing to do anyway!

AfterThree months after getting on the diet programme, I lost my first eight kilograms. I was ecstatic! I felt a tremendous surge of energy and responded to a newfound motivation to start exercising. That was the steady momentum that followed in my pursuit for a healthier me – the more I exercised, the more I wanted to eat right and achieve greater fitness. I also found that exercise was a good avenue to ease my mind of the stress I was facing at work and in my studies, and boy, was it a wonderful payoff!

I was soon able to slip into “M” sized clothing, compared to the “L-XL” sizes I was used to. Finally! I think one of the most notable emotions I experienced was the joy of comfortably slipping into pretty fashion clothing, especially those with cuts that I would avoid before. That was the first time I realised that my sense of confidence could soar so high – I felt as though I had the world at my feet!

I have kept the weight off for two-and-a-half-years now. When friends ask, I tell them that a sheer sense of self-motivation kept me going when the challenge seemed arduous.

Because my results were so rewarding, I am now devoted to helping others achieve good health just as I have. As a Personal Wellness Coach, the rewards keep coming as I watch my customers’ health transform for the better.

This journey of mine has not just been about the weight loss; instead, it also encompasses a fruitful lesson in developing the right lifestyle approach to good health. In return, looking and feeling wonderful are by-products of that decision. Today, I can wear anything I like and feel extremely confident – I even get to indulge in rich foods once in a while because I now understand the key essentials to maintaining my good health and weight. All I had to do throughout this quest was keep reminding myself that the results would be really rewarding – and they were!

PHOTOGRAPHY: Shawn Lor @ Blink Studio
MAKEUP: Sammi Cheng for Averine Therapeautic Skincare Colours
HAIR: Vincent­ for Miko Hair Studio
CO-ORDINATION: Veena Sidhu

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