For each of her two pregnancies, Eilenia Tay gained nearly 20kg. As a working mum and someone who devoted any available time to her kids, the 39-year-old defence executive officer in MINDEF found it difficult to shed the weight.
“Besides having bigger hips and rib cage, my boobs shrank to smaller than before pregnancy after I stopped breastfeeding. I also had flabbier thighs, butt and just the whole lower body area. My tummy area bothered me the most as it was also covered in a lot of stretch marks, from hip to hip and up to my belly button,” she recalled.
“And because I was quite active before having kids, all the extra weight and flabby bits bothered me a lot. However, I just kept quiet about it as there wasn’t anyone I could confide in.”
She had her first kid at the age of 26, an age where many friends were still dating and out partying, thus Eilenia couldn’t help feeling insure because of how her body changed after childbirth. Her husband also made her feel extra insecure – at that time – as he was always using work as an excuse and rarely spent time with her.
When both her kids were in primary school, Eilenia slowly started to exercise again and it was only during Circuit Breaker last year when she truly started feeling better about her body.
“I was running at night with just my sports bra (no top) as there were very few people out and about, so no one would see me. But I’ve now gotten used to not wearing a tee and am actually more comfortable running in just my sports bra!” she shared.
Right now, Eilenia hopes to inspire her two kids to make exercise part of their routine so they can keep fit and healthy. Her goal is to do a running race with them one day.
“Health and fitness is more important than weight or body shape. I struggled silently on my own previously so I want other women to know that they are not alone in trying to lose weight or be more confident about their own body, and also that they have what it takes to achieve their goals.”
*This is a collaboration between Rock The Naked Truth and Pink Salt
