I was never a thin or skinny girl. My heaviest weight was 96kg at the age of 13 years old and I was considered obese. Everyone called me all kinds of names linked to fatty or piggy and not many people wanted to be my friend due to how I looked (because of how fat I was), hence I had very few friends. Boys I liked never liked me back and when I eventually had one, he left me for a skinnier and prettier girl.

There was even a period of time where my own family didn’t believe that I’ll be able to slim down. They became very worried about my health and how I was consistently putting on weight. I felt really depressed and that’s when I fell to binge eating, to a point where my health became at risk. I had to go and see a doctor because I was constantly out of breath.

The doctor told me, “Michelle if you don’t start doing something about your health, you may get heart disease at the age of 15!”

That got me thinking. I sat down to mull over what the doctor said and I made up my mind to change. I told myself that I didn’t need anyone to believe in me, that I would be able to achieve what I wanted, that I didn’t need anyone to love me because I was gonna love myself. This is my life and nobody can change anything except myself.

Over the next three years, my weight went down from 96kg to 80 to 70 to 60. I learnt how to cut down on my food intake and I put in the hours to work out regularly. I also became more active, partaking in activities such as bungee jumping and scuba diving.

Now I weigh over 50kg and I still have my flabby parts as well as cellulite. I’m nowhere near “perfect” and probably will never be, but that doesn’t matter because I will continue to do the best for me.

Self-love is loving yourself when nobody loves you; it’s believing in yourself when nobody does; it’s fighting for your right to be healthy and happy.