How 21-year-old bounced back from fitness obsession that caused her to have less than 4% body fat

If you met Bethia Wee for the first time, the vivacious 21-year-old would make it hard for you to believe that she was once severely underweight. 

The former physique champion is passionate about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and exercise regime. Her passion for fitness however, went to the dark side when she was 19. 

When she was working towards competing in physique exhibition events, she went into overdrive. 

For the unfamiliar, physique competitions are similar to bodybuilding, but the emphasis is on muscle definition instead of bulk. 

"I was really into fitness and was very concerned about how I looked and worked towards competing so I could challenge myself," she explained. 

"When you compete, you will actually force yourself to go all the way and I took that as my first step to actually get the physique I wanted."

Bethia went on to do well in competitions and even came in first to win the title of NutriGirl. 

However,  the 1.58 metre tall girl became so obsessed after seeing the results that she worked out with literally no breaks and weighed just 43kg. Her body percentage was below 4%, a level that was dangerously low.

"In 2015, there were 365 days. I trained for 360 days and had 4 rest days, but those days were for cardio. 

"So in a way, I never let my body rest for a whole year and my training then was one-and-a-half to two hours a day."

Bethia also developed an eating disorder where she became obsessed with what she was putting into her body. 

She shared with Stomp in an interview:

"If I went out to eat my family, I would weigh out the amount of rice, the amount of chicken and everything and if I saw the food was greasy, I would use water to wash the meat. 

"I would also use tissue to dry out the oil.

"Once I saw food was not to my satisfaction, I would get very angsty."

Her social life also took a hit when she started thinking that her friends were "detrimental" to her goals. 

Her turning point came after her third competition:

"Something just hit me. I was getting really very skinny and very unhealthy and I just felt like I knew I wanted to do a lot more in life, so I decided to focus a little bit more on the things I wanted to do, like work and business. 

"I started working in a startup as well and I decided to make the change. I still eat what I enjoy eating but I don’t track anymore. 

"I still want to eat healthy, I still want to eat clean, because it’s something I like to eat. 

"I always eat lunch at this place called Wafuken at Asia Square, from Mondays to Fridays, without fail. It’s like my default meal."

Now, Bethia offers advice to people who are struggling and are going through what she experienced. 

With over 50,500 followers on Instagram, She interacts with them through social media or via email. Some even approach her when they see her in public.

Despite what she went through, she still keeps a tight workout schedule, training five to six times a week, including an intense session at Visiongym in the Central Business District (CBD) where she works. 

Even though she is just 21, the Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduate is already the head of business development of HeyMeet, a networking application that she often uses herself. 

"I enjoy getting to know like-minded people over coffee. You never know who you'll meet. 

"I've met potential clients through these sessions and some may even meet potential love interests."

Having worked since she was 15, Bethia has a strong work ethic and decided not to follow the norm and go to university despite doing well in school.  

"I have always been very entrepreneurial and business-driven. 

"Even when I was younger,  I started giving private tuition and tried out online businesses. 

"It was really my passion and I just continued on after I graduated."

One thing is for sure, there's nothing stopping this young woman.

Have a look at what she shared with Stomp in the video below. In a second video, we also asked her some quirky, quick-fire questions, and she gave us some pretty interesting answers. We will let Bethia take it away from here.