You’d think Kim Lim has it all. Her father, Peter Lim, is one of the richest men in Singapore, with a net worth of 2.1 billion dollars! She herself is an Instagram superstar and influencer with over 219,000 followers.
And yet, did you know that Kim Lim is a terribly insecure person?
“I’ve always been like this. I have my insecurities. People say you are so rich, you got this, you got that but everyone has problems. I’m always fighting with myself in the mirror, like I feel like I’m not good enough,” she says, in a recent interview with 8 Days.
Things got so bad that, for years, Kim suffered from an eating disorder. What finally helped her though, was becoming a mum.
“My son really changed me,” she reveals.
Kim Lim’s Battle with an Eating Disorder
Kim’s insecurities about her looks probably started way back in primary school.
She tells 8 Days, “Do you know in primary school I was in the TAF (Trim and Fit) club? I used to get bullied in primary school.”
“People would make fun of me ’cos I was fat. I think it has left a mark. I’m always fighting with myself in the mirror, like I feel like I’m not good enough.”
And maybe being in the public eye didn’t help much either.
Photo: Instagram/Kim Lim
Things took a turn for the worse when after primary school, Kim Lim went to a boarding school in London. She discloses, “All the girls wanted to be skinny. And everyone would compare who was skinnier and so everyone just didn’t eat. And I think that me going there already feeling insecure [about myself], it just got worse.”
She ended up skipping meals and developing gastric problems. She also took diet pills, which messed up her stomach.
Heartbroken dad Peter Lim consulted experts, “He would take me to see counsellors, but I was so stubborn and rebellious, I didn’t listen.”
“My son changed my life”
Getting pregnant proved to be a turning point. Eating away without feeling guilty liberated Kim from many of her insecurities. She also almost completely disappeared from social media. No one had a clue about the pregnancy!
Kim tells 8 Days, “I miss those times when I can just eat what I want and not feel guilty. I mean, I did think I was fat and all that but at least, I learnt how to enjoy the moment.
“I didn’t fight with the mirror every day ’cos I told myself, that I would lose it all after giving birth. It’s the first time I felt that way.”
She ended up putting on 28kg during pregnancy, and was 83kg when she gave birth!
Photo: Instagram/Kim Lim
News of her baby had then triggered a media frenzy of sorts. The secret came out when football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo dropped in to Thomson Medical Centre to visit new mum Kim. (If you didn’t know already, Peter Lim owns Thomson Medical Centre, Spanish football club Valencia and the image rights of Cristiano Ronaldo!)
Motherhood Changed her Life
So how did becoming a mother help Kim with her eating disorder?
She reveals to 8 Days, “After becoming a mum, you really start to mature. I realised that I need to be alive and well to take care of my son. I have to be strong for my son.
“You start to appreciate your life a lot more. Before him, I didn’t care for my health. I would drink so much, like really go at it. But now I can’t be like that, or at least I drink in moderation. I have a lot more discipline now.
“So now I eat healthy, have less rice and work out four to five times a week.”
She sure has learnt her lesson, “Because of what I did (earlier), my stomach gives me a lot of problems now. My gastric can’t be cured and many times when I’m in the hospital, it’s because of it.
“So now I tell people to not do what I did. Once your health goes, you can’t get it back. I have to be on medication for life if I want to control my gastric.”
Photo: Instagram/Kim Lim
She can’t stop gushing about her son Kyden, who will turn one this July, “My husband thinks the baby looks like him but I think the baby looks like me. But his loudness is definitely from me. Sometimes when he screams, my stepmum will look at me and we both know where he got that from.
“With my son, I have something to look forward to every day. He’s really the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Wedding Postponed to October
Most of us had expected Kim to have her wedding banquet in March 2018, but she unexpectedly postponed her big day. Because she felt fat and not good enough. Uh oh, is that her insecurity talking again?
She tells 8 Days, “It’s ’cos I’m still fat! Really! Everyone will think I’m crazy but it’s true. I want to lose weight the healthy way. And I want to look good for myself.
“Your wedding only happens once in your life so you have to prep for it and I don’t think my prep was enough. I’ve just been so busy with my baby.”
Photo: Instagram/Kim Lim
So, are there any plans for Baby No.2?
Kim discloses, “I eventually want to have three, four kids but I don’t want to get pregnant again so soon. Maybe at the end of the next year.”
She recently told The Straits Times, “Everyone keeps telling me, you better have them before you’re 30, otherwise you can’t slim down anymore.
“I want to be a hot mum… So if I want four kids, like, I better start soon, you know what I mean?
“My dad wants me to have 12 kids. I was like, crazy. But he really loves kids. He’s been asking me to have kids since I was 23.”
Kim hopes her son will treat her more like his friend, “Some mums are too strict and the child starts to hide everything. I don’t want that. I want him to share stuff with me.”
Kyden is currently the family’s little star, “My father loves the baby so much and would offer to help take care of him. Our whole family spoils the baby, he’s our family’s joy.”
Sources: 8 Days, The Straits Times
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