Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Ginger Lam

Life goes beyond the digits on the scale and your body is capable of so much more! Yahoo’s #Fitspo of the Week series is dedicated to inspirational men and women in Singapore leading healthy and active lifestyles. Have someone to recommend? Hit Cheryl up on Instagram or Facebook!

Name: Ginger Lam (@ginger.lam)

Age: 29

Height: 1.58m

Weight: 51kg

Occupation: Outsourced accountant and fitness trainer

Status: In a relationship

Food: I don’t really count my calories or food intake, but I do watch my carbs intake.

Exercise: I do F45 workouts every day. On Sundays I usually switch it up and attend classes at other gyms or go for a run.

Q: You didn’t get into fitness until you were an adult.

A: Yeah, I was never an active person growing up. In fact, I was in the Singapore Youth Festival Chinese Orchestra for 10 years.

Did you have an idea of the type of body you wanted?

My fitness goals have always been the same – to be lean and fit. It was only in 2013 when I took a gap year before university that I decided to join a gym that was accessible to me. Back then, when I was still new to the gym, I didn’t dare to use the gym equipment and only attended classes.

When I went to university in the United Kingdom, there weren’t any gym classes for me to attend so I worked out with my friend and followed her training plans. Weather in the UK is colder so I didn’t have the appropriate activewear and wasn’t consistent with my regime.

The bad breakup in 2016 also didn’t help.

Yeah, I tried many methods to achieve my fitness goals. I even had prescribed diet pills and kept track of my my workouts. But my bad breakup caused me to lose myself and there was no motivation whatsoever as the UK is pretty cold.

My ex was still living with me after my breakup and mentally I couldn’t handle it, so I was often kept up at night. Every day I would go to Tesco or Sainsbury’s and get the cheapest wine to drink myself to sleep.

Thus, the lack of a consistent workout regime and the alcohol caused me to gain weight. Thing is, my clothes could fit and I was layered up most of the time, so I couldn’t tell I was gaining weight.

When did you start picking up a fitness regime again?

I came back to Singapore in 2017 and tried to start working out again but the gyms in Singapore were super expensive compared to the UK. It gave me a reason to not start working out regularly.

Plus, honestly the bad breakup took me a really long time to get better. All my friends who spoke to me or was there for me at different points of my life after my breakup told me to be happy on my own and that everything will fall into place

Eventually, I was so sick and tired of being in that state so I threw that thought to the back of my head and drowned myself with work. Three-and-a-half years later, I had enough.

I had already joined ClassPass and managed to clock in my workout one to two times a week. But when I decided enough was enough, in 2019, I found myself at F45 with my friend and I loved the endorphins released after every workout.

I realised I was so focused on others that I’ve neglected myself. From there, I started trial hopping through the different F45 studios. Finally I found my favourite F45 studio and have been consistently going there ever since.

When did you feel the least confident about yourself?

I feel least confident when I think about what I am doing with my life, career wise. Once, I felt really small and useless when I applied for a job I think I am qualified for and was willing to start from the bottom, but I got rejected. Truthfully, I never overcame it because I’m currently still struggling with it.

Are you satisfied with your body now?

I am satisfied with the body now. I’ve achieved my goal of looking fit and lean and currently I am just maintaining my daily workouts with the occasional change of activity to challenge my body.

Have you ever received any comments about your body?

Yes, lots! I’ve received both good and bad comments from my relatives and friends. There’s always something to comment about.

If you could change anything about yourself, would you?

If you asked me this question a few years ago, I would have had a list. But today, I don’t really have anything I would want to change. I’m happy with myself.