Tay Ping Hui: I once almost weighed 100 kilos
TV hunk Tay Ping Hui admits he was once a very chubby kid.
Yahoo! Singapore
Tay Ping Hui, leading man and resident MediaCorp hunk – fat?
Looking at him now, he doesn’t look it one bit, but yes, the 1.86m actor was once so unfit and fat, he tipped the scales at almost 100 kilograms.
The star of the upcoming Channel 8 series “New Beginnings” said of his pre-acting days: “After I graduated from National University of Singapore, I worked really hard for about four years. It was a start-up company and I worked very hard and put in very long hours. I had no exercise at all and I was on a constant diet of beer, fast food, pizza, cookies.”
“I committed adultery with food of any kind,” the 38-year-old actor admits sheepishly. “At my ‘peak,’ I was 98 kilos. I shot from 81 to 98 kilos within one and a half years.”
So what was the turning point?
“One day, I looked in the mirror and told myself I looked like I was 50 when I was just 26, ” said Ping Hui, who now weighs a trim 85 kilos.
“I told myself, ‘This cannot go on, that’s just not right.’”
And so Ping Hui gradually nursed himself into shape. But those early days of exercise were rough.
“It was tough at first, because I ran alone. Running is a solitary exercise, a lonely pursuit. Initially I was very lazy and I kept giving myself excuses. But very slowly, I gradually built up my mileage, from 2km to 5km to 7.5km to 10km… it took me about 6 months, but I lost weight and I didn’t get injured.”
“Now I firmly believe in the ’Trinity of Health’ – exercise, diet and rest. I believe all three are inter-linked.”
But even now, the star of hit series like “The Reunion” (2001), “Destiny” (2005) and “Baby Bonus” (2009) admits that keeping in shape is a constant battle.
“I’m unhealthy all the time,” he says, before laughing heartily.
“I was really fat before I hit puberty. I was 12 years old, about 1.59m and my waist then was 28. I was very, very chubby. My parents then allowed me to eat anything and everything. We weren’t choosy about what we wanted to eat,” the former Catholic High and Catholic JC student said without a hint of regret.
The problem, he says, is his love for good food – anything that’s “good for the mouth but bad for the waist.”
“I love to eat good food,” he said.
“And my love for food is really in conflict with my occupation because my job requires me to look a certain way. Running has definitely helped in my career because it helps me to maintain my shape, which helps in my TV roles.”
Ping Hui takes a backseat as he watches the camera crew at the Nike+ Human Race 10K photo shoot.
The avid golf (handicap: 21) and basketball fan now says running is part and parcel of his exercise regime — whenever time permits.
“When I need to think things through, I run at the stadium. Before it was at NUS or Toa Payoh, but lately it’s the CPE campus at Bukit Timah. I run quite late about 9pm or 10pm, after I finish my work. Or sometimes I run very early in the morning because the air is so fresh,” said Ping Hui.
With running so close to his heart, it’s no wonder the actor has been handpicked to captain the Guys team in the 2009 Nike+ Human Race 10k “Guys v Girls Challenge”. Hype Records’ singer/actress Rui En will captain the Girls team.
This year’s race will take place on Saturday, 24th October and will be hosted by 24 cities, including Singapore. But thanks to the wonders of technology, (www.nikeplus.com.sg), runners the world over can be part of the race, either physically or virtually.
Prior to the race, a “Guys vs Girls” challenge will be held via the website to raise funds for charities, the World Wildlife Fund and ST Pocket Money Fund.
Tay Ping Hui will captain the Guys team while Rui En will lead the charge for the Girls.
“I think the idea behind this race is fantastic,” said Ping Hui.
“You get to have a sense of identity, meet new people, lose calories and train all at the same time. Plus it’s all for a good cause.”
So what kind of timing is he aiming for at next month’s race?
“I’m not going to kid you and aim for a sub-40 minute race. That’s crazy. Anything less than an hour and I’ll be satisfied,” Ping Hui chuckles.
Sub-hour? Not bad for someone who once survived on junk food, late nights, no exercise and weighed over 200 pounds.
There is hope for us all, after all.
Ping Hui and Rui En are both naturals as they shoot a video for Yahoo! SEA.
Tay Ping Hui on:
His passion for running
“It started when I was very young. When I was in Sec 1, I was trying out for the basketball team and for me, running is the basic foundation for any athlete to build up their cardiovascular strength and endurance. It started from there. I was also in athletics and we used to do interval training. I used to puke all over the court.
“Now, of course, my aims are a little bit different. I run to maintain my fitness so if I feel a little unfit, I go for a quick run. I also know it sounds weird but when I run, I actually think about things and at the end, you solve things, so it’s very therapeutic for me. I think about my work, on my new role or characters, or solutions to problems I might have.”
His current mileage
“I’ve been busy for the last two months but I try to clock about 10 kms every two weeks. If I don’t run as much, then I try not to eat too much junk food, chocolates, snacks.”
The music he listens to when he runs
“I used to run without music but now, it’s a big part of my run. Please don’t laugh but I actually like the Bee Gees (laughs heartily). I know, that is so not cool, right? I also like hard-pumping stuff like FatBoy Slim or fast music when I’m doing interval training.”
Objectives for the Human Race
“I will be traveling a lot over the next month so I don’t have much time for training but I’ll be happy with a sub-hour race.”
It's all business between Nike+ Human Race ambassadors Ping Hui and Rui En.
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