She wasn’t fat, but in high school she was teased relentlessly about her weight that Jazzy Tasdelen was made to believe she was fat. At that time, sports and health were not top priorities for the 38-year-old mother of a new-born and marketing director who was more into creative subjects at school. The bullying at school became so bad that she attempted suicide twice in her teenage years.
Things got slightly better after she left school but she faced a different set of troubles in her adult years. At the age of 30, she was diagnosed with hormonal conditions polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, as well as lupus which is a long-term autoimmune disease. The hormonal conditions make it very hard for her to lose weight and also caused a heap of fertility issues.
Understanding that her weight gain was medical, Jazzy did not let that affect her too much and she continued to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. She engaged a personal trainer and started lifting weights. She also tried to do more activities such as stand-up paddle boarding, running, pilates, yoga, body combat and other gym classes like spinning.
Previously, fitness was all about the weight loss and appearance to her. But after giving birth, her mindset has changed. “Now that I’ve had a baby, my mindset has changed. Working out is not about weight loss but more about the future of my health and the longevity of my health. I want to be fit and healthy to be able to play games and sport with my son and live a long life,” she said.
Through these struggles with weight and fertility, Jazzy’s biggest internal challenge was self-doubt. “I have a lot of insecurities about being a larger person and the fitness industry is so geared towards people having a certain physique and looking a certain way. I would often let myself be intimidated by this identity and not push myself or reach my full potential,” she revealed.
Fortunately, Jazzy had supportive people around her. She started sharing her journey on social media where she found like-minded people who encouraged her to rise above and beyond her anxieties, and she began to push herself to reach her full potential. Her milestones include completing her first ever 5km Fun Run and deadlifting 120kg in her first ever lifting competition. “Doing an early journey story with Cheryl from Rock The Naked Truth was a also really good starting point for building my confidence,” she mentioned.
Jazzy believes that a huge misconception about fitness is that ‘big’ people can’t be fit; that they are lazy and they make themselves as such. “There are some physical limitations for some sports or exercises, but that doesn’t mean larger framed people can’t run, bike, swim, lift, do yoga and still be fit! I hope to change this by leading by example, by trying the sports and exercises that some deem I’m not fit enough for.”
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