Iryani Mohamed Ali: I am amazed at what my body can do – Rock The Naked Truth

Iryani Mohamed Ali: I am amazed at what my body can do

Having to admit that my marriage failed is one of the bitterest pills I’ve had to swallow in my life. That’s 10 years of marriage, not including the courtship years. The course of separation was an extended one that dragged on longer than it should, thus affecting me a great deal.

I kept it to myself and it was very tough because I still had to go to work, I still had to see my friends, I still had to clock in the mileage for the marathons I was taking part in. Thankfully, the ordeal is finally over and the worst of the pain is past me.

Throughout it all, it was running that helped to keep my sanity in check and I am now training for various marathons (both local and overseas).

I didn’t always like running though.

I remember being one of the biggest in school and I hated my body so much. I wanted to be slim like the other girls so I took up sports but it made me bigger, so I started to take slimming pills, on top of suppressing my appetite and eating only one meal a day.

When I went out to the workforce, I got so busy I didn’t have time for exercise and my weight ballooned. From size M, I progressively grew to XL and I got to a point where I was wearing oversized clothes to hide my body. People were asking if I was pregnant and that upset me greatly.

I sought solace in alcohol almost every day and was partying every other night. Being intoxicated helped me momentarily forget my troubles and I led my life this way for two years. My career was affected and I was putting on more weight!

One sober day I freaked out at my reflection in the mirror. I dragged my sister out of bed for a run and we struggled very badly, which was pretty embarrassing as we both used to be athletic in school! We cleaned our lives up – started eating healthily, started exercising more and cut out the booze and partying. We also found ROCKrunners and they helped to keep me on track.

Today, I am amazed at what my body can do, especially with each marathon that I complete. No matter how hard life knocks you down, or how painful an experience is, believe that you can emerge stronger.

LATEST Inspiration

Teresa Alicbusan: I became healthy because I want a long life with my kids

Nov 22, 2024

I was really chubby as a teenager. Back then it didn’t bother me at all - no insecurities

Cheryl Lynn Tay: I became a single teenage mother before I turned 15

Nov 22, 2024

I’ve got terrible stretch marks – so bad that I’m ashamed of it. I had them since

Evelyn Tham: Being worthy is my own birth right, no matter how my body look

Nov 22, 2024

I was a chubby kid growing up as I was pampered a lot by my maternal grandma. She was a great cook

On Facebook

On Instagram

rockthenakedtruthsg

There’s a pressure to look good for some jobs, s

There’s a pressure to look good for some jobs, so how can they deal with it and not let it turn into something negative?

@goodity.co has the goods…

When we struggle with something, naturally we want

When we struggle with something, naturally we want to talk to those closest to us. But sometimes, these are the very people who brush us off or worse, scold us.

So who can we turn to? @goodity.co tells us…

Someone in your family, a friend or a colleague mi

Someone in your family, a friend or a colleague might be struggling with something. Perhaps they have been more distant and withdrawn, perhaps they have been excessively dieting and exercising; you sense that something is not right.

How do you approach this person without offending him/her?

@goodity.co has some amazing advice for this…

Positive self-affirmations like, “You are enough

Positive self-affirmations like, “You are enough”, “You are stronger than you think”, can sometimes make you feel worse. How else can you improve your self-esteem?

@goodity.co shares some advice in this video…

People are often so quick to criticise and give ne

People are often so quick to criticise and give negative comments, especially about our appearances.

“Wah you gained weight leh”, “Why you exercise but still so fat ah”, “You better slim down if not nobody want you ah”.

How do we tell these people to stop commenting, especially if they are friends or family (eg. relatives, in-laws)?

Watch this video with advice from @goodity.co.

We have a tendency to compare ourselves (what we h

We have a tendency to compare ourselves (what we have or don’t have) to others and that can leave us feeling bad about ourselves. What can we do to stop this?

Watch the video to hear from @goodity.co.

I had a very unhealthy relationship with my body w

I had a very unhealthy relationship with my body when I was in my early 20s and the relationship carried till Circuit Breaker. This period of isolation forced me to reflect on my own inner child wounds.

I was born with big hips structure and damn jialat metabolism. At 24, I tried to lose weight by jogging every morning and only having yogurt for the whole day. I did lose some weight but I also lost a lot of my hair. That lifestyle lasted for 2 months and I was not in a good mental space. Then I went back to my usual diet and gained all the weight back.

In 2021, I got molested in the bus by this Gray Hoodie Ah Pek. He sat beside me, pretended to fall asleep and circled his thumb on my thigh. He then alighted the bus and looked back at me with a smirk. I swear I was beyond disgusted.

Due to genetics, I have a heavier bottom and the yoga pants and bicycle shorts that I buy online are not squat-proof (very transparent at the butt area) so most of the time when I head out for training I would need to double wear my yoga/bicycle pants with shorts. But that day, I was in a cover-up dress that showed nothing and was feeling disgusted and fat. I reported him to the police anyway.

Later, I released myself from a very toxic situation when I was constantly seeking for acceptance and at the same time, I received news that Gray Hoodie Ah Pek was sentenced to 2 counts with 4 months imprisonment.

At that point of time, it was very dark and I questioned myself frequently, “Is it because I am not good enough?”, “Confused, I was fat but why did that ah pek still touch me?”, “Guilty, because I was one of the reasons that sent him to imprisonment and he might have a family to feed.”, “Why me?”.

To cope, I went back to doing yoga and also started Muay Thai. I felt more balance, love and acceptance towards myself; learned self-defence, resilience, discipline and how to stay grounded.

Definitely, there will still be days when I question myself with my own self-acceptance, but I made a promise to myself to continue to learn and grow mentally and never stop.

Thank you for reading my story. Namaste.

- Val (@soundslikehokkienmee)

Came across this photo taken in 2010 and I had pos

Came across this photo taken in 2010 and I had posted it on Facebook with a caption “omg I look so fat here”.

This was when I was struggling with my eating disorders. I was starving myself, taking slimming pills, counting calories and I remember feeling so miserable all the time.

How was this fat?! I clearly was struggling with my body, with my self-worth, with my confidence. And this lack of self-confidence showed in many different ways.

For example, I was constantly in relationships or dating because I needed attention for validation. I would stay in toxic relationships even though I know it’s bad, and I would enable it further, because at the back of my mind I just want to feel loved.

It took me over a decade to reach where I am now and it hasn’t been easy at all. There are days when some of these past demons rear their ugly heads but I am able to better deal with them now.

Self-love is a journey, so be patient and keep working at it!

“I hated my body with a passion, the entire preg

“I hated my body with a passion, the entire pregnancy, and after my pregnancy. I hated it. I felt like it failed me. I felt fat my entire pregnancy instead of embracing the fact that my body was growing a human and creating a life and just being all around awesome.

I was still weighing myself and going, “Well, how much does the baby weigh and how much weight have I put on?” I couldn’t find clothes that fit me.

Part of my trauma (on top of PCOS, lupus, endometriosis, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome) during my IVF journey as well, was multiple people saying, “Oh, when are you due?”, when I wasn’t even pregnant. I’ve had two flight crew in the past saying, “I do have your letter of authorization for travel.” I’m like, “What are you talking about?” “Well, you’re pregnant. You must be due soon.” And that was when I was just fat and trying to get pregnant.

My body issues and my self-esteem issues followed me into my pregnancy. I gained 27kg while I was pregnant and it was because of the meds. I wasn’t eating everything or anything I wanted; in fact, I was vomiting every day and still getting fat.

I gained more weight after I gave birth and got to 129kg, which is the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life with a baby going, “I’ve done this bit. Why aren’t I having the other bit now?” I literally was worse after I had the baby in terms of my mental health surrounding my weight.”

- @jazskimo keeping it real and sharing her thoughts about her first pregnancy and childbirth. This was after 7 years of IVF and S$130,000 spent. She’s in a better place mentally now with a beautiful son and is on her next IVF adventure to try for her second child.