Jasmin Ting knew it was time to take action when climbing up a flight of stairs proved too much of a struggle for her.
The 35-year-old administrative executive barely made it up five steps before needing to catch her breath.
Jasmin tells AsiaOne that this incident occurred over a year ago, when she weighed in at 110kg.
Today, her weight hovers around 68kg. In under two years, Jasmin has shed 42kg and it all started from that momentous incident.
On Tuesday (Aug 23), she posted a TikTok video of her journey. The 58-second clip has garnered over 11,000 views at the time of writing.
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@eggtingg/video/7134913801559739650?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6944924152827184641[/embed]
The video includes snippets of Jasmin's past, from her laughing with friends to her exercising alone at home.
Throughout the video, she can be seen gradually slimming down.
While Jasmine practises intermittent fasting, her main form of exercise is simply just walking, she says. She walks between 6km and 10km a minimum of five times a week as it's "easy and low cost".
"I love walking while listening to my favourite music. I hate jogging!" she admits.
Weight loss is often associated with sessions at the gym but Jasmin prefers exercising outdoors.
She explains that she finds gyms intimidating sometimes and is "shy to go" as she's not familiar with the equipment. The environment also makes her "feel fat", she adds.
Fortunately, the ladies section at Woodlands ActiveSG Gym has provided her some respite.
Having already lost 42kg, you'd think she'd call it quits on her weight loss efforts, but Jasmin is far from done.
While she notes that the most important matter is to have a healthy body mass index (BMI), she is keen on reaching her ideal weight of 55kg.
According to Healthhub, a BMI value of 23 and above indicates a person's weight is outside the healthy weight range for their height.
Currently, Jasmin's 25.9 BMI value is an indicator that her weight is slightly above the healthy range for someone of 162cm.
Keeping fit and healthy has become a priority for her as she does not want to burden her family with illnesses, be it now or in future.
On a more personal note, Jasmin has a few other motivations too.
"I need to be responsible for my own body and health so I can earn money and travel!" she quipped.
In the comments section, netizens were congratulatory and relayed their thanks to her for being so inspiring. Watching her video seemed to have sparked the fire in some to begin their own fitness journey.
Going through such messages fills Jasmin with joy and pride.
She admits that whenever she steps on the weighing scale and her weight doesn't drop to the intended level, she "will get depressed".
But affirmation from strangers and friends has given her a lift.
"These words keep me moving. I am also proud I have friends coming to me saying they lost weight or started exercising because of me."