Dr. Shima is a surgeon who specializes in  Ear Nose Throat (ENT) and mother of 4 young children. Within less than a year, she participated in many many runs. Here’s a brief on what drives her to keep FIT!

“I had my 4th baby just after Raya last year (August 2013) and I felt like I wasn’t losing weight. I had never really taken care of myself after my first baby anyway. Seemed like life and work got in the way! Although this was my 4th C-section, it was still hard to get back into the normal routine. I was very lethargic all the time. So when my baby was about 3 months, and having never ever run before, I taught myself to run, using certain applications on the smart phone. My first official run was the Bangi Fun Run, end of last year. With the support of friends and family, I found that I actually liked running and yes the weight was starting to fall off and the rest, they say, is history!”

YAY for Dr. Shima!

Here’s some sharing about Dr. Shima and her active lifestyle.

1) On this month of Ramadhan, do you do any exercise ?

I try to do some aerobics at home, but it is minimal as there are other ibadah that take up my time.

2) How do you feel when your weight is reduced and that you have achieved your certain target?

I feel great, of course, and more importantly I have learnt that there are no ‘short cuts’ when it comes to health. It is a type of investment – you need to put in time and effort to achieve good results.

3) What is your fitness target?

To achieve a normal Body Mass Index (BMI). And to maintain it!!

LOOK HOW MANY RUNS DR. SHIMA PARTICIPATED IN LESS THAN A YEAR!

4) How do you manage your time between work, family and fitness?

I usually workout after 8pm during weekdays and early mornings during weekends. The workout schedule may be ‘ruined’ due to a child’s illness, or being called to the hospital during On-Call. It is a challenge, but you do what you can.

5) Do your other family members have an active lifestyle? How old is your eldest and youngest child? Do you do any activities with them? 

My husband plays futsal twice a week but he doesn’t fancy running. My eldest is 10 years old and my youngest is 11 months old. My older 2 children – Nazme who’s 10 and Effa who’s 8 – have started to want to join me in running events and so we train together during weekends. My 3rd one, Ezza who’s 4, wants to join too but she’s still has some growing up to do before she can.

Isn’t Dr. Shima awesome? Not only she has a HIGH self-discipline teaching herself to run and keeping up with it, she also shares her active lifestyle together with her children.

Dr. Shima like many other mothers, gets through her daily life by ‘doing what she can’  in taking care of the children and balancing career and health. Yes, there is no short cut. Fitness like anything else in life, requires EFFORT.

A big thanks to Dr. Shima Rashid who gives us many words of encouragement to build better products for modest women like her. She wears Nashata’s  Ultra Top, Riada Tops, Amin and Iman Hijabs and Riada Active Pants. She has got them all!