At 47, Jacelyn Tay's figure is the envy of many women. Standing at 1.7m, the former actress weighs only 54kg, and has a body fat percentage of only 24.
Despite being so svelte, Jacelyn isn't shy to admit that she eats like a man. During an interview with Shin Min Daily News, she said she once ate two portions of lunch while filming as she didn't feel satiated after finishing the first.
Her large appetite was a shock to actor Christopher Lee, who remarked: "You're such a weird person, how can you eat so much!"
Recalling that anecdote, Jacelyn laughed, adding that her 75-year-old mother eats about the same amount. She told the Chinese daily she eats three square meals a day — consisting of rice, vegetables and soup for every meal.
Jacelyn also makes it a point to include plenty of fruits in her diet, such as blueberries, kiwi, apples, bananas, dragon fruit, and oranges.
The former actress is the owner of Body Inc, a holistic wellness centre. Body Inc was set up in 2006, after Jacelyn left Mediacorp as a full-time artiste. The wellness centre currently has two outlets at Ngee Ann City and Lucky Heights.
Although meat is a rarity in her diet for the most part, she doesn't restrict herself when she's at social gatherings or with friends and admits that she'll "still eat fried chicken."
To keep herself fit, Jacelyn does pilates, goes on walks, and occasionally goes cycling and swimming.
At her age, she says that it's most important to prevent her skin from getting loose — which means she can't let herself become too skinny or too fat.
"When you're young, no matter how skinny you are, your skin will still be firm. But once you're older, being too skinny is ugly!"
Like Mother Like Son
Jacelyn also enforces the same dietary restrictions on her 11-year-old son, Zavier, who sometimes laments that there isn't enough meat in his meals.
"I will ask him, 'Do you want to eat vegetables or medicine?' There's no point protesting."
Jacelyn, who is very close to her son, also revealed her simple wish for her son. She said: "I hope he knows how to discern between good and bad, and knows how to protect himself."
When asked whether she wants to nurture her son to become an elite, she insists that there's no need.
"Zavier actually asked me why I didn't let him take the IQ test, I felt there was no need to, because if he scores well, does that mean he can be proud and complacent? What if he doesn't do well? Does that mean he should give up on himself? Both are wrong, I don't want him to have these preconceived notions."
This article was first published on AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.
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