Cover Story

Debbie Lee:“I Love Chatting With

Jordan!”

Debbie Lee — being a mum is her top priority!Nothing else can measure up to that —

neither her successful career as a fitness instructor nor entrepreneur! Parenthood introduces to you the woman

behind Fit For 2 and bijou.

By: Kua Kee EngPhotography by: Johny Kok

Make-up & Hair: Amy NgLocation: bijou, Mont Kiara

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There were chuckles of laughterwhen Johny, our photographer wassnapping away pictures at bijou. Well,the whole crew couldn’t help smiling,laughing and blowing whistles into theair when the adorable four-year-oldposed unabashedly for the camera.Accuse me of exaggerating but Jordan,the pretty girl who graced our coverwith her mother this month, was soconfident and poised, she could strikeatt ract ive poses without beingdemonstrated, and very natural too, atthat. Her mother, Debbie, did not minda single bit that her daughter wasstealing her limelight. And she obviouslyenjoyed watching her daughter in themiddle of everyone’s attention.

Why Debbie on Cover?When my editor, Teresa, said that we’rehaving Debbie Lee on Parenthood’sMarch cover, the first question I poppedto her was “Is she someone famous?”“Famous is not the factor,” came thereply. “She is a successful entrepreneurwho owns a fitness studio and arestaurant. She has the looks of ahealthy radiant mum. She is a Datinwho prefers not to use her title. She’shumble, she’s fit, she’s every inch whata modern mum should look like,”Teresa tattered off.

Well, enough reasons to be on the cover.And the first time I met her in person,my impression of her was a woman fullof energy. Debbie is cheerful, practicaland most obviously a loving mother. Afitness instructor by profession, Debbra,affectionately known as Debbie, ownsFit For 2, a fitness studio in Bangsar,and co-owns bijou, a newly openedrestaurant in Mont Kiara with herhusband and her father- in- law.However, it doesn’t matter howsuccessful her career is, nothing cansupersede her only child, Jordan.

“Priorities have not changed sinceJordan was born. She is my number onepriority, then work, and then comes myhusband and finally, there is me,” washer remark when asked about her listof priorities.

Life Revolves AroundJordanThere isn’t a word that could describeher passion for being a mum; Debbielikes to be a mum more than anythingelse. When she was asked what’s thebes t th ing about motherhood ,“Everything!” was her absolute answer.Motherhood has definitely changed herl i fe . “Nothing prepares you formotherhood! There is the immensefeeling of love for your child. Also, it isamazing how protective you become ofnot just your child, but your family unit,” said Debbie, “it becomes ver yapparent just how important familybonds are and how unimportanteverything else is in comparison.”

Debbie also admitted that she’s aperfectionist, a control freak, having tothink back of the time she first becamea mother. “When I was first a mother, Iwas completely out of my comfort zoneand I didn’t like not being in control. Iwish I had known then that I ought torelax and just let things take theircourse,” she said. Indeed, she wouldhave had a much easier time adjustingherself to being a mother, only if sherealise it then. Still, I think Debbie hasyet to rid herself of the perfectionismin her motherhood (of course there’snothing wrong being a perfectionist,except a bit stressful though) — whenI asked her to rate herself as a mumfrom 1 to 10, guess what’s her answer?“A definite 10” was what she waslooking for, if ever this question wasaddressed to her daughter, Jordan. Seewhat I meant!

Now, let’s take a closer look on howDebbie’s life revolves around herdaughter, Jordan. “My daily routinestarts with my daughter waking me upand then getting showered beforesitting down for breakfast. I then dropmy daughter at school before headingto Fit For 2 for a meeting at 9 a.m. withthe manager there and followed byteaching two classes to pregnant mumsand new mummies. I then pick up mydaughter from school and head homefor lunch with her,” said Debbie, “and

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then we follow whatever schedule shehas for the day, such as play dates,mandarin lessons or just reading anddoing arts and crafts. Then we organisedinner and sit down for dinner beforeshe is showered and then we read abook together before I put her to bed. Itis after she’s in bed that I head eitherto the gym or the tennis court.” Herbusy routine does not stop there, afterthe gym; she will head towards bijouto ensure things are running smoothlythere. Isn’t it obvious? Looking atDebbie’s tight-schedule, Jordan alwayscomes first before any other thing.

Spending time with Jordan, is theutmost important thing and thehappiest moment for Debbie. Shebelieves that children see thingsdifferently — simple and outright —perhaps it’s because innocence andsincerity always exist in a child’s heart.“I love chatting with Jordan, we havea great time just hanging out andchatting. We chat about everything andit is so much fun and extremelyenlightening to see the world throughJordan’s eyes. Kids see things as theyreally are and say how they really feel,” she said. Well, I couldn’t help, but toagree with her on this one. I believe thatmost of you, will see how direct andoutspoken your children actually are,whenever they are giving theiropinions, and just about anything.

Active, outgoing and confident are thethree words that I would use todescribe the charming Jordan. Duringthe photo-shooting session, shemanaged to bring forth so manyprofessional poses, without anyhesitation or shyness — well, it’s nottoo much if I said she actuallyenjoyed posing like a supermodel,

and she did, just check out thephotos! It’s true that you can see a

child’s happiness through her eyes andher behaviour. The way she clings onher mum, the broad-smile of hers, theway she carries herself with confidence— all these are the evidence of Debbie’shard work for ensuring a properupbringing of Jordan,into a fine lady oneday.

Dreams Come True …“I never thought I would be doing whatI am doing now, but I’m so lucky to bedoing what I love …” said Debbie. Shefirst started out as a fitness instructorwho had been accepting freelance jobsfrom various fitness studios. Luckyenough for her that she has had a verysupportive father-in-law, to the extentof providing her with a loan to start-upher own fitness centre, Fit For 2. Toshow her gratitude towards hisgenerosity, she has made sure that thebusinesses of her centre a successfulone, and keep growing, so that shecould repay her father-in-law with theprofits she’s making. Debbie nowfocuses in pre-natal and post-natalexercises (of course, she’s teaching inher own fitness centre).

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Not only that, currently, she is one ofthe owners of a new restaurant in MontKiara, namely bijou, apart from theother two owners — her husband andher father-in-law. She oversees thedaily business in bijou. (Oh, pleaseallow me to slot in some informationabout bijou, as I feel guilty not to share,since I personally tasted and knew howdelicious they are!) Most of the foodthere, be it specialties or not, are madeup of natural source of ingredients; thegrains used for baking the bread, thefresh fish fillet, the salad and dressings,and so on. Debbie said that she dislikesprocessed foods and anything withpreservatives. Thus, she came up withthese ideas of turning all the dishes inthe menu into healthy meals that aremade up of natural ingredients. Junkfood is out of the menu when it comesto Jordan’s meals time. Everything thatshe eats is home-cooked (or from bijou),w e l l b a l a n c e d m e a l s m a d e o fingredients from natural sources. (Sorryfor the little detour, do check out thebijou’s review in Parenthood’s Febru-ary issue!).

Lucky as it might seem to you, but thetruth is, Debbie had put a lot of effortinto running the fitness centre as wellas the restaurant. True, she has had avery supportive husband and father-in-law, yet, without Debbie’s perseverance

and wits, the businesses wouldnever have turned out as flourishingas they are today. “I have one goalin life and that is to be happy and tolive each day as if it was my last.Dream of whatever it is that youwant, but also MAKE those dreamsa reality. Always be open to newideas and suggestions too — younever know where it may take you,”said Debbie, “as long as I am happyand enjoying every minute of thejourney, then my goal has beena c h i e v e d . L I V E , E N J O Y,APPRECIATE, BE HAPPY!” PH

No kidding —Jordan certainly poseslike a supermodel!

“Priorities have not changedsince Jordan was born.She is my number one priority...”

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