But his story is particularly inspiring because these lifestyle changes came about as the result of a series of events in his life, starting with the diagnosis of a hiatal hernia in his late 20s.

“In 2016, roughly around May, I started vomiting a lot after every single meal. I just couldn’t understand why this was happening. I thought it was stress or something. It didn’t make sense,” he said. At the time, he had never heard about this condition he was suffering from where the stomach protrudes into the chest through an opening in the diaphragm.

Despite taking his medications and giving up nasi lemak and ice cream along with other foods that triggered the vomiting, his condition more or less remained the same.

It was likely because of his other lifestyle habits – he was a heavy smoker who drank alcohol every day. He also hardly slept as he was up till late most nights playing video games online.

But it was his girlfriend breaking up with him on his birthday that truly jolted him into taking stock of his life. It didn’t help that he was struggling at his job as an insurance and advertising salesperson.

“I thought to myself: I am not designed to be sick or living life like that, smoking and drinking every day.”

After a heartfelt chat with his family, he resolved to get back up and make some drastic lifestyle changes.

He quit playing Dota, the online video game he loved. Next, he kicked his smoking habit and cut down on his drinking. These days, he only drinks occasionally. More significantly, on Jan 11, 2020, he started hitting the gym.

“I wanted to show people that we can transform. I just wanted to live healthy, and I believe that exercise is part of the healthy life programme,” he said.

Before working out regularly, he weighed 52kg – skinny on his 174cm frame. A few months after regularly hitting the gym, he took up bodybuilding in his effort to bulk up.

“I asked myself: what is the benchmark for body transformation? Where is the stage? The stage is simply bodybuilding,” he said, adding that although he was still vomiting from the hiatal hernia then, he persisted.

Incidentally, bodybuilding was something the Yap had always dreamed of. But as a teenager, he never followed through for lack of discipline.

Yap also began eating healthier and cooking at home, which helped him track the nutrients he consumed. “Because I cannot eat so much food at one time, I had to split it into six meals.”

His hard work, determination and discipline eventually paid off when he placed fourth in the “Men’s Fit Model (Novice) below 175 cm” category at “The First Naturals” competition.

These days, life is remarkably different – and much healthier – for Yap. He said that he no longer deals with bouts of vomiting but continues to monitor his condition with annual health check-ups.

“I’m so grateful to myself and to God that I made a decision to step up. I’m a completely changed person.”

Yap said he would never forget the exhilaration he felt at participating in last year’s competition.

“When I was on the stage, I looked back on how far I had walked and pushed through. It was almost impossible for me to be standing on the stage,” he shared.

“The journey has been totally worth it,” he added.