We are so excited that we got to work with homegrown lingerie label Perk by Kate for a Body Beautiful campaign featuring real women and real curves.
We called out for women on Instagram to write in to us with a body positive quote if they were keen on being part of this. In return, they would get a set of lingerie from Perk by Kate, a set of digital photos from this shoot and confidence to last a lifetime. It was so hard selecting the ladies from all the entries we received, but we hope you continue to spread confidence in your own ways too!
We are so proud of these ladies for embracing their bodies and being part of this campaign. Each of us has a story to tell, our own struggles we don’t share.
Here are their stories:
Cheryl Tay, 32, founder of Rock The Naked Truth
My journey to self-love was a long one. It has taken me a long, long, long time to reach this point where I am THIS comfortable with my body.
At 12, I was bullied in school and at 18, I was at the peak of my body image struggles. I had a strong obsession with my weight and became an unfortunate slave to the scale. Anorexia, bulimia, binge eating – I suffered from all of these eating disorders and would even harm myself as punishment.
At that time, I was fixated on losing weight and getting the numbers on the scale down. For example, I ran 20km every morning, did three hours of kickboxing in the afternoon and ran another 6km in the evening. But after losing 20kg, I still felt I was fat. It was a dark time where I starved myself and refused to eat.
For the next 12 years, I continued to over-exercise and under-eat. I also visited slimming centres, tried slimming creams and took over-the-counter slimming pills – just to lose weight. Eventually, my metabolism got wrecked and I gave up on myself.
Then someone introduced me to weightlifting and I started to realise that our bodies are amazing and that we are capable of so much more. I am now competing in Ironman triathlons, something I previously said I would never do.
Accept your bodies for what they are and don’t lose yourselves in trying to force your bodies into something it’s not. You only have one body in this lifetime and you cannot swop bodies with anyone no matter how much wealth you have. Life is too short to be miserable; ditch the numbers and learn to LIVE.
Jolene Chui, 28, investment writer
I went on a crash diet at 16 and I lost weight to the point that everyone said I looked like a skeleton. I would eat very little – fruits in the morning and nothing till two spoonfuls of rice at night. In between I would exercise a lot, running and swimming everyday. I felt chubby even though I wasn’t!
I would continue to go on and off a crash diet and this went on until I entered university. I would often feel very weak and I would feel faint just walking up the stairs, but I persisted because I was obsessed with getting to 42kg on the weighing scale.
It was sometime towards the end of my university studies that I began to question myself. Why was I always feeling so weak and tired? My mindset slowly changed and soon I wanted to be fit instead of skinny. I became active in dance and I started exercising, and now I want muscle tone and definition. I’ve learnt how to appreciate muscles and I feel healthier!
Through pole dancing, I’ve also met many confident women who have helped me on this journey. I see a lot of mothers and even grandmothers who are so comfortable with their bodies and it makes me learn how to appreciate my body too.
Aqilah Norazman, 30, personal trainer and nutrition coach
I was always the biggest kid on the block and I was in TAF club all my school years, with the nickname AG (which stands for Aqilah Gemok – Gemok means fat in Malay). I lived 21 years of my life overweight and it was only in university that I decided I needed a change.
While the intention was good, the execution wasn’t. I started a very low calorie diet of no more than 1,200 calories a day and exercised like a mad person six days a week, making sure I burn 700 calories per session. With a diet that restrictive, I lost a lot of weight – 20kg to be exact and all in 8 months of work.
I was ecstatic because I thought life is just about to begin for me. But boy I was wrong. I started to have frequent hunger pangs, I was hungry all the time and I couldn’t stop thinking about food. It got even worse when I started disliking my body. Because of the frequent binges, my weight kept creeping up and I started to eat only one meal a day while working out twice a day.
Because I was in the fitness industry as a trainer, there was pressure on me to lead by example and hence I had to suffer in silence. Then I made a choice. I went to study more about exercise and nutrition and I reached out to a mentor, my own brother, to learn as much as possible on how to get out of this rut. That helped me so much!
I’ve been a healthy 69kg for the longest time (only because I stopped weighing myself!) but more than just my weight, I am stronger, happier and full of life. I love every single bit of my body and I wouldn’t do anything to change it. Our body is built to make sure we’re functioning well for our daily living – and the only way we can respect it is to love ourselves and take care of our body.
I believe everyone out there deserves to love their body as it is no matter how big or small they are. I wanted to be part of this campaign to give hope – even if it’s just a tiny bit of hope – to everyone out there who might be struggling with their body image that you deserve to feel beautiful. Not for anybody else. But for yourself. And you are.
Naomi Goh, 28, communications manager
I was very conscious of my boobs from as young as 11 years old because my classmates would make fun of them, often pointing at my chest and laughing at me. My body developed quicker than my peers so at that age, I was already wearing a normal bra whilst the others were still in training bras or no bras even. When we changed in class after our PE lessons, that was when we would see each other’s chests and they would pass a lot of comments and jokes about my boobs.
For a very long time, I only wore underwired bras because I was told that it is good for support for my bigger cup size. But wearing underwired bras “eats” into my skin and it also would push my boobs up and out more, which exaggerated my cleavage and drew more unwanted attention. This made me feel miserable and worse about myself.
It was only after I discovered the Celine bralette from Perk by Kate last year that I realised how much freedom I could feel. There is no wire but I still get the support I need, it is comfortable, it makes me feel sexy and I feel a lot better about my boobs. People still make remarks about my boobs but when I look in the mirror now, I don’t go “urgh” anymore. Something as simple as finding the right bra has boosted my confidence so much and I am now at peace with my body.
Amy Ong, 38, relationship manager
To be frank, I am still struggling with my body up to this moment, hence being part of this campaign is a huge step for me.
I used to be chubby in my early 20s, or at least I was made to think I was chubby (I was 65kg then). My first boyfriend was a bodybuilder and he used to pass remarks about how I looked chubby and had a big ass and chunky thighs. After breaking up with him, my self-esteem dropped drastically. That was when I decided I needed to lose weight so I started running.
I was running everyday for a few years and I even went on to run a marathon at 26. Unfortunately I busted my knee in that process and now I am unable to run anymore. It hit me very hard because I was so reliant on exercising to maintain my weight and my self-esteem. My weight was down to 55kg!
Determined to continue exercising, I started going to the gym fervently. Somewhere over the years, I gradually realised that it is not about the weight loss or the appearance anymore. There are days where I face moments of self-doubt, still thinking that I have chunky thighs and struggling to look nice in photos.
Thankfully, I have a very supportive husband and he helped me understand that you don’t need to be slim to be beautiful. Your heart, your strength, your kindness and who you are, are what makes people love you. That was when I realised people who matter, love you for you.
Jaime Wang, 34, housewife
All my life I was underweight. I wasn’t exercising, I could eat a lot, but my weight hovered around the same numbers. By the age of 21, I was between 39kg to a maximum of 43kg. At one point I even thought I should resort to drinking some kind of weight gainer milk.
After the birth of my first child, my body has blossomed and I admit I miss wearing kids’ clothes, but it’s time to move on to be a woman with curves! I mean, I pushed a tiny human being through me, that’s what my amazing body (and every other woman’s) is capable of. Round is still a shape and having confidence is everything!
I like this quote – If Mother Nature didn’t like curves, she would’ve made the world flat. I often say, “I am Flabulous!”
Kan Kai Jia, 33, frontdesk consultant
For a few years in my early 20s, I was battling depression and that caused me to lose motivation to exercise. At the same time, I was often binging on junk food. The weight gain made me feel worse and worse about myself.
Gradually I overcame my depression and I managed to watch my diet as well as started exercising again, with help and support from my family and close friends. I then realised exercising could actually help me to destress, get fitter and healthier and so I began to exercise regularly.
I may not be in perfect shape now but I also don’t have to be perfectly fit. I just need to be healthy and feel happy about it. I wanted to share with other lovely ladies out there that it’s not all about being thin and perfect, being comfortable in your own skin and healthy is so much more important.
Shari Chong, 33, educator
What a journey it has been to lose 17kg in the last three years! My whole life I used to be chubby and my round face made me look fat. In my teenage years, my breasts grew to size DD/E and I had such a hard time finding suitable bras. In addition to that, it was very painful to do any form of physical activity and I had constant shoulder and back aches.
In 2016 I underwent surgery to help resolve these chronic issues. This was a major turning point in my life – when I was at the lowest point in my adult life – and it kickstarted a new lifestyle, as I embarked on a fitness and wellness journey.
I did Pilates regularly, I picked up strength training, I did dance and barre. It was terrifying to go back to contemporary dance and ballet as an adult because everyone else in the class is so young, but dance was something I badly wanted to do again – so I did.
I’ve since gained back some weight due to muscle gain and opening my diet back up to include and embrace carbs and happy foods and I’m still working on that balance of a healthy mindset and body. Many life changes have taken place since but I’m excited for the journey ahead and to keep encouraging and inspiring people around me to live wholly in search of purpose and creativity.
Sophie Drake, 27, full-time mother of 3
I’ve pretty much struggled with my body all my life. For example, I used to be a UK size 6 but I wasn’t happy because I wasn’t eating. This was in my early 20s, before I had any children. You know, when you’re skinny and you eat a huge meal, you end up bloated and you develop this little pouch in your tummy? That used to happen to me and it bothered me a lot.
Now I’m a mother of three and honestly I gave myself a very hard time. In a world of Kardashians and unrealistic fitness models, there is pressure on us to look like we never bore children after childbirth.
Fortunately, a lot of self-acceptance only came after my third child. I finally have an appreciation of what I can do and I respect my body a lot now. I mean, it was hard with the large and saggy boobs, and stretch marks, but I’ve had healthy pregnancies, I breastfeed all my children and I am so amazed at what the body is capable of. I am a mother and I look like one.
The other day, my eldest daughter asked me why my bum was so big, and I realised I had to lead by example and be body positive, instead of behaving negatively about my own body. Let’s be real here and take care of ourselves.
I’ve learnt to be ok with the process and not throw myself a pity party. Don’t give yourself the pressure to snap back after childbirth and stress about having to work out all the time, on top of taking care of your children. Let’s just own up to our bodies that our babies called home and own what we have!
Anika Nafis, 32, marketing consultant
As women, we often get messages from society about how we should look, how we should eat, how we should dress. It is not easy to ignore these messages and sometimes we get sucked into it unwittingly.
It also doesn’t help that comments from others about your appearance and weight don’t really stop, and it hurts more when it comes from people you care about, such as your immediate family who says things like I could lose some weight.
A while ago, my ex-partner tried to carry me and commented that I “weighed too much”. It wasn’t a joke and it led to a conversation about my weight, and that stung for a long time.
Compounded with the rest of the comments, I went on a lot of crash diets and I was hitting the gym all the time. It would feel great for a short time, then you fall off track and it becomes a vicious cycle.
It wasn’t until a year ago that I saw the light. I nearly fainted on the MRT train one day because I didn’t eat and I was exercising a lot. I spoke to a friend about it and I began to see that health is more important than looking good. I’m still going to the gym now, but I am not restricting my diet. I’ve adopted a healthy approach to eating – if I want to eat something, I will.
Also, I’ve learnt that you should treat yourself like how you would treat people you care for. You wouldn’t put your loved ones down, so why would you put yourself down? Compliment yourself the same way you would compliment your loved ones. This thought made me think of all the harsh things I tell myself when I look in the mirror and I’ve since learnt not to be hard on myself!
