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Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Hanli Hoefer

Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Hanli Hoefer.
Hanli Hoefer is a content creator. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

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: Hanli Hoefer (@hanlihoefer)

Age: 28

Height: 1.75m

Weight: 66kg

Occupation: Content Creator

Status: Attached

Food: I don’t restrict my diet but I do eat a lot of vegetables, fresh fruit and fish. I also do intermittent fasting with a 8:16 hour ratio.

Exercise: I do a 30-minute HIIT three times a week and strength training once a week.

Have you always been in sports?

I played touch rugby competitively when I was a teenager and as I got older, I did all sorts of sports like yoga, boxing, running, CrossFit and weightlifting.

What does fitness mean to you now?

.Having an active lifestyle is a non-negotiable for me; it’s a huge role in my life It truly helps my mental health stay balanced. I’ve educated myself on nutrition and eating properly through fitness and it’s a big part of my social life too. I love going to the gym with my friends and having a healthy meal after. We call them healthy dates.

Hanli works out with 30-minute HIIT three times a week and strength training once a week.
Hanli works out with 30-minute HIIT three times a week and strength training once a week. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

Being in the entertainment industry, do you face any pressure to look a certain way or be of a certain size?

Of course! However it was a lot worse when I was younger. Working on TV and being a model caused me to put so much focus on my image. I would be so self-critical about my body and what I consider imperfections.

These days I have a healthier approach to self-image. I’m still learning to love my body as it changes with age, I love following body positivity or neutrality movements and in general I’ve stopped putting so much value in my appearance.

Did starting out in the entertainment industry at a young age cause you to develop certain body image struggles?

Yes and no. I think I struggled with the same sense of body insecurity as the next person, but being in front of the camera almost forced me to forge a deeper sense of self early on.

I consider myself to be a confident person and in this line of work, you have to be. Because of this, I’ve been practising self-love routines since a young age – journaling, days where I just do whatever I want for myself alone, exercise, a nutrient-rich diet and high quality of sleep are all forms of self-love.

Did you go through any adversities in life, younger or now, that made you change how you viewed life?

When I was younger not so much to be honest. When I reflect on my younger days I was so full of outward energy, I was a total extrovert, I was fiercely independent and my parents raised me and my brother to be independent thinkers so I was very driven by a sense of uniqueness.

Hanli Hoefer used to be self-critical about what she considered imperfections to her body, but has since learnt to have a healthier approach to self-image.
Hanli Hoefer used to be self-critical about what she considered imperfections to her body, but has since learnt to have a healthier approach to self-image. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

I actually feel like my insecurities came about in recent times. During the Circuit Breaker (CB), like so many of us, I was forced into stillness which was new to me. And suddenly a lot of thoughts and feelings that didn’t have the space to surface before rose to my attention.

I’ve learnt so many lessons about myself in the past 18 months and with the new wisdom I’m gaining I’m being a lot more selective with my energy and where and who I invest my time into. I’ve adopted a slower approach to my days, I’ve relieved a lot of pressure I was putting on myself and just in general chilled out a whole lot!

When did you feel the least confident about yourself?

During the CB I was definitely not feeling confident. I had put on a little CB weight from comfort eating and just not being as active as usual. I live alone and was starting to feel depressed and lonely without other humans and I was not as busy work wise because of the pandemic and I felt, for a lack of a better word, useless.

How did you overcome that period?

I overcame it by truly practising how to be there for myself and by also starting therapy for the first time. Once I started to be truly authentic with myself I learnt valuable lessons in self-compassion. And now my confidence comes from a deeper place. It’s a confidence built on trusting myself that I am my own best friend and I got this. It’s a whole new level of independence.

Hanli Hoefer struggled with confidence issues during the COVID-19 circuit breaker period last year.
Hanli Hoefer struggled with confidence issues during the COVID-19 circuit breaker period last year. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

Are you satisfied with your body now?

I would be lying if I said yes. Like all people, I go in and out of body confidence. Some days I’m body proud and flaunt it, other days it’s oversized clothes and loose jeans.

Have you ever received any comments about your body?

Of course! I’m 1.75m tall! Every other day someone comments about how tall I am. It’s a funny experience being this height as a woman in Asia. I get all sorts of comments like “You’re too tall”, “Why are you wearing heels, you don’t need heels”. I even had someone say, “Wow you’re so proportionately large!”. I’m half-European, of course I’m tall!

If you could change anything about yourself, would you?

I would like to have more patience. I admit that I need to practise patience more, but it’s hard, okay? But apart from that – nope. I’m happy with my path and I’m grateful for even the bad days because I truly think life on this earth is beautiful.

Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Hanli Hoefer.
Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Hanli Hoefer. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)