Being a woman is never easy, and it really takes survival skills for us to navigate our way through our life with the many hats we wear.
Daughter, sibling, mother, friend, employee, chef, caregiver, mediator, manager, and the list goes on. It is almost hard to imagine how modern women, especially working women, keep their life in balance with the many roles they play. If you are preparing for that board meeting and flying off for work, you can't be there for your little girl's sport's day. If you are out with your girl friends for that catch-up afternoon tea session, you can't bring your parents out for a dim sum get-together.
It can be very easy to get sucked into your roles and lose your balance, or even find time to do the little things you love, or to take care and pamper yourself. As a modern woman who competes on equal grounds (did I forget about the glass ceiling and gender stereotypes?) with their male counterparts, our schedules are hectic and personal time becomes a rare commodity.
As a special way that Marie France Bodyline celebrates International Women's Day, we interview three women on the many hats they wear, and how they manage their time amidst all their responsibilities.
Fann Wong, actress
Definitely a familiar name to Singaporeans, Fann Wong just finished her latest movie, Packages from Daddy, and shared with the media on how she insisted on going bare-face to fit the role she played. A mother to her precious toddler, Zed, Fann still looks gorgeous even without any trace of foundation.
Juggling her busy work schedule and her wife and mummy duties, we were wondering how Fann manages to look so put together all the time. Fann said that it was hard to leave Zed to film Packages from Daddy in Taiwan, but her supportive husband, Christopher Lee, gave her all the support and urged her to take on the role since she felt so strongly for it when she read the script. Although flying back and forth was tiring, Fann she flew back every few days just to see her family. Talk about the sacrifices of a working mum!
Fann emphasized the importance of treasuring our loved ones no matter how busy we are since they are the ones providing us with all the support in life. And especially after watching her latest film herself, she told Christopher to please live to 100 years old so that she will not feel the grief of losing a loved one.
- Recommendation by nutritionist:
As woman age, they will find keeping their body in good shape more challenging.Fann should make sure she gets enough protein, Vitamin C and calcium to reduce losses of lean body mass and bone density.
With her busy lifestyle and frequent flying, she should find time to rest in between filming schedules and flying or whenever possible to re-charge her body. Drinking enough water after a flight will combat the dehydrating effects due to flying. Exercises like light jogging, light weight training and stretching will keep her body in tip-top form to handle the demand of her busy lifestyle.
It is recommended that she consumes more fruits and vegetables because they are packed with vitamins A,C & E, selenium and lycopene that are needed for radiant skin and gives her the confidence to go bare-face.
Charlotte Khoo, 33, Freelancer/Blogger
Credit: Instagram sparklyfaerie
Being a mum to a young toddler and having a full-time office job is no easy feat. Charlotte who was previously an office lady had left her desk job recently to refocus on her life.
Credit: Instagram sparklyfaerie
Charlotte feels that as a working mum, having a work-life balance, or even just having enough time for your family cannot just depend on the individual. In fact, it depends a lot on the company culture and whether the employer takes a family-oriented view.
However, every mother knows the importance of spending quality time with their children. Therefore, to make sure that she can be with her child throughout his growing years, Charlotte told us that she will take leave if she was working should her child needs her, and schedule her work accordingly and try to leave evenings and weekends free for family time.
Credit: Instagram sparklyfaerie
Now that Charlotte has left her job, she will focus on a few of her personal projects and spent more time on her hobbies like crafting, floristry, and blogging. To Charlotte, it is a great time for her to find herself and focus on her personal growth, and at the same time spend more quality time with her loved ones.
As for her personal health, she wants to move from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active one and hopes to go back to doing some Yoga. Charlotte also wants to be more confident and therefore, hopes to be able to slim down and tone her post-pregnancy body.
Quote/Values: I believe that positivity, gratitude and youthful thoughts make you appear younger than you are. Interestingly, there are studies which prove this to be true!
Beauty & Wellness: Sometimes less is more, you do not need a lot or the most expensive beauty care to look your best. Just go with what works best for you without overdoing it.
- Recommendation by nutritionist:
A woman in her thirties needs to take care of her health. A balanced diet with lots of plant-based foods that are rich in antioxidants which have anti-aging and protective effects for the body.
It is commendable that Charlotte plans to move from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active one.
But she may want to step up gradually so as not to overwhelm her body. Yoga is a good start as it tones the body and makes it more flexible. In line with her yoga practice and her goal to slim down, she can practice clean eating by reducing consumption of processed foods and opting to go for more natural foods instead. Charlotte may add on light weight training to her yoga sessions when she is ready. The light weight training will further tone her body and keep the calories burning process going longer.
Women plagued by sagging skin after pregnancy should have healthy servings of legumes, lean meats, fruits and vegetables. These foods provide the nutrients for the body to produce protein, collagen and elastin to support our structure of the skin and make the skin more supple.
MaybelineSim, (late twenties), Full-time Business Development Manager/Part time Blogger
Credit: Instagram maybelinesim
Maybeline is a vivacious lady in her late twenties, and if you follow beauty and lifestyle influencers in Singapore, you would definitely have seen her around. A typical work day sees Maybeline ending her work past 7 pm in the evening, and she attends media events and product launches for her blog almost every other day after that.
When asked how she manages her time with such a tight schedule, Maybeline honestly admits that it is definitely not easy and she does not get to sleep a lot on weekdays. "Working full time and being a part time blogger is like having two jobs at one go. I work hard on weekdays and even harder on weekends to clear pending advertorials." But luckily for her, Maybeline has got a supportive boyfriend who accompanies her to her blogging events so they meet very often after work and couple time isn't an issue.
Credit: Instagram maybelinesim
As a beauty blogger, Maybeline mentioned that having a good skin care regime is necessary and she also takes care of her health by avoiding fried food and taking health supplements. With her change in job scope after switching career tracks, she sadly mentioned that she has put on weight and can no longer fit into XS bottoms. "Even my boyfriend commented that my tummy is getting bigger!" she exclaimed.
Credit: Instagram maybelinesim
Being a filial daughter, Maybeline makes up for the lack time spent with her parents by bringing them out for a good dinner at least once every two weeks. Definitely quality time over quantity.
Maybeline has marriage on the cards too and she is looking forward to starting a family with James. “I hope to have some couple time for at least 2 years before we have kids too. I’m very worried that I will get out of shape post-pregnancy so I hope to maintain my figure for a while longer!” Maybeline laughed. And being a dog-lover, Maybeline also thinks that a home is definitely not complete without a canine best friend.
- Recommendation by nutritionist:
A woman in her early and mid-twenties is in the prime of her life. As Maybeline is in her late twenties, she is in the stage of her life to start laying the foundation for healthy lifestyle and diet. If she is eating on the go due to her stressful workload, she has to choose her foods carefully and make sure to have just the right amount of carbs to provide her with energy but not make her put on weight. A chicken breast sandwich prepared from wholemeal bread packed with fresh veggies like lettuce and tomatoes and with less dressing will make an ideal choice. She has to make sure not to skip meals as this will slow down her metabolic rate. Because of her demanding work life and her desire to slim down, she needs a special meal plan that will rev up her metabolic rate. Smaller but more frequent meals may help her do that.
Getting at least 7 hours of sleep a day should also be part of her wellness and slimming regime. Sleep is a time for the body to re-balance its hormonal system and this has beneficial effects on health and weight status.
Maybeline has made a good point about avoiding fried foods maintain good skin. While food supplements may be a mean to achieve beauty from within, it is best to obtain the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients require for good complexion from a well-balanced diet.
Quote: You need to love yourself before you can love others. So treat others good and yourself, better.
Beauty and Wellness: It is not about how much you eat but what you eat. You are a reflection of what you eat. So start making the right choice today!
In conjunction with International Women's Day, these three ladies from different walks of life shared their stories and their struggles with fulfilling the many roles the modern women of today have to take on. With the amount of stress modern women are facing, it is also important to take good care of our health, so that we will be fighting-fit to take on all the challenges in our womanhood journey.
Speak to a nutritionist from Marie France Bodyline should you need any advice. Regardless of how busy we are, always make sure that we pay attention to our body changes to be confident women you are.