Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Priscilla Chan

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: Priscilla Chan (@westartariot)

Age: 33

Height: 1.57m

Weight: 48kg

Occupation: Producer

Status: Single

Food: I don’t exactly follow a diet, but I am very picky with my food.

Exercise: I mostly run – in a week I would typically clock two sessions of speed work, one long run and one easy run.

Q: When you were younger, were you active in sports?

A: I was part of the school netball team back in my primary school days, followed by track and field during my ITE days.

Occasionally, I play badminton with my sister. That’s pretty much all my fitness journey was about when I was younger.

What did you get into as you got older?

To be honest, I was pretty much a party goer once I hit the legal age, and I did not do any sports at all. I would say I wasn’t really “living the healthy lifestyle” then. But slowly, I got into running when I started working full-time thanks to my mother.

How did you get into running?

The funny thing is, I landed my first full-time job at one of the biggest sports brands in the world even though I wasn’t really into sports. The irony!

What got me started in running was actually my mother. I started joining her for track sessions (Yellowfish Strides), easy runs and long runs, and then I eventually completed my first 10km race with her. Thinking about it now, I actually ran my first 5km and 21km race with her. Without her, I wouldn’t be as active as I am now.

What is it about running that you enjoy so much?

I feel a sense of accomplishment whenever I complete a run, be it easy or a hard, and I also like being able to meet people through the running community.

Any memorable experiences from your running journey?

Definitely my first ever marathon experience was the Gold Coast Marathon back in 2019. The sports community and support there is so amazing and I felt good vibes throughout the entire event.

What are your fitness goals now?

My current fitness goal is to continue staying active and keeping that good habit going.

Right now, I’m placing my focus on the upcoming Great Eastern Women’s Run 2023 half-marathon, which will take place in October this year.

When you were younger, did you experience any incidents that made you feel insecure about yourself?

I had really bad eczema when I was younger and always had a fear of people's gaze which made me uncomfortable. But it got better as my eczema slowly disappeared over the years. (It does come back once in a while though.)

Did you ever struggle with your body?

I've struggled with my weight in my 20s. I had this ideal figure in my head and I was trying very hard to achieve it. struggled with trying to hit a certain number on the scale or keeping between a size UK 4 to 6.

I started exercising excessively, skipping meals, and doing whatever it took for me to reach my ideal weight on the scale, to the point that it took a toll on my body and mental health.

Are you satisfied with your body now?

I would be lying if I said yes. I still struggle with how my body looks and with the numbers on the scale from time to time, but I am slowly learning to accept my body in recent years.