From shy and overweight to TikTok fitness trainer

Dressed in sports clothes, 26-year-old Regine Wong strides confidently towards the entrance of a gym. 

This has been part of her daily routine for several years now. 

But her regular trips to the gym stand in stark contrast with her life just a decade ago. 

As a teenager, at 175cm tall, she weighed about 85kg. 

Shy and insecure about her weight, she kept to herself and did not mingle much with her friends. 

"When I went to school, I ate rice, and when I came home, I ate rice again," she said to MalaysiaNow. 

Today, though, her lifestyle and physical appearance have drastically changed. 

"Now, I weigh about 60kg," she said. 

Recalling her determination to lose weight and stick to a healthy lifestyle, Wong said such changes were good for both health and the pocket. 

"If you watch your diet and exercise regularly, it's harder for you to get chronic diseases like diabetes and kidney problems," she said. 

"You can save the money that you might have spent on treatment or expensive medication." 

Not only has she managed to reach her ideal weight, Wong also works as a fitness trainer at her gym, earning the extra money that she needs for the cost of living in Kuala Lumpur. 

Physiotherapy

But for Wong, confidence and a healthy lifestyle is not just about losing weight. 

Her own challenges left her determined to help anyone who felt themselves physically inadequate.

After finishing school, she continued her studies in rehabilitation and physiotherapy at the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology.

She subsequently found a job at a treatment and rehabilitation centre in the capital city. 

After a while, though, she decided to begin working as a freelance physiotherapist, treating patients in their own homes. 

Most of her clients are stroke patients, or accident victims who have suffered serious nerve damage. 

Wong spends her mornings at the gym and her afternoons visiting her clients.

"I feel very happy when they can move again, and when they tell me that they can raise or bend their arms. 

"That is the happiness that I want to achieve," she said.

Social life

Wong is also active on social media and spends much of her time roaming about, looking for content to put on TikTok. 

She is known as a social entrepreneur, and has 38,500 followers on TikTok and more than 10,000 on Instagram. 

She uses her social media platforms to share short clips on healthcare and fitness. 

Right now, she is in the midst of opening her own fitness centre. There, she hopes to help even more people who are struggling with weight issues. 

"That's one of the things we want to do, to increase their self-esteem," she said. 

"Once they become aware, they will begin following the fitness programmes that we hold.

"Then they will know, what I and other people achieved, they can as well."