“My Story”
Nabila Bhimji
Registered Holistic Nutritionist
My Journey to Holistic Nutrition
As a young girl, I was fascinated with health and preventative medicine.
I instinctively knew that eating natural, healthy foods would improve my quality of life.
I would drive my mother crazy during grocery trips, encouraging her to take the time to make healthier food purchases.
My free time was spent pouring over magazine articles and books about the well-being of the body, mind, and spirit, and how emotions affect our health.I also seemed to know intuitively that our thoughts controlled our life outcomes, that I could manifest the life I wanted, and that positive thoughts kept me healthy.
But, as I got older I started to notice what society viewed as “beauty” and as healthy. In the world of modeling and acting, you were praised for your looks and not your inner beauty and accomplishments. TV shows, off-hand comments from family and peers, and magazine articles were screaming out at me that a person’s worth was dependent on their waist size.
At the same time, my family was going through a very difficult period. I grew up in a home where nothing you did was ever good enough and my parents regularly pointed out my faults. I became more and more self-conscious of my looks and my worth.
To fit-in, feel worthy, and escape my family drama, I started an acting and modeling career. Through this new life path, I could focus on the character I was playing and escape the reality of my life. I felt accomplished and was envied by my peers.
To succeed in this new world, I adopted unhealthy habits. I ignored my better judgment about my wellbeing because the pressure to stay skinny and look perfect, as defined by media, was overwhelming. I forgot about all I’d learned about health and wellbeing as a young adult and turned to chronic dieting and deprivation. I lost my connection to my inner instincts and let other people tell me how I should look, feel and act.
My chronic dieting caught up with me and I started to gain weight. A lot of weight! In a panic, I turned back to my old habits of calorie deprivation and diet pills. My health got worse. I was pre-diabetic, overweight, my adrenals were exhausted, my body image issues were worse than ever, and I was tired and depressed all the time.
The catalyst for my transformation came one night on my way to an acting class. I had barely eaten anything that day (which was something I did often), but for some reason, I was feeling really ill. Much sicker than I’d ever felt before! I was nauseous and my stomach felt like someone was squeezing it from the inside. I was dizzy and weak.
This pain was too intense to drive, but I managed to pull my car over on a side street and sat there waiting for the feeling to pass. When I had enough strength, I pulled into the nearest fast-food restaurant and ate! I skipped my class that day and chose to eat instead. It was a much-needed wake-up call! The weakness and pain from not eating could have got me in an accident! I didn’t want to change that ever again!
I finally got tired of feeling unwell and powerless. I became increasingly mad that I had let others tell me who I should be and how I should look. I missed the positive, caring, healthy person I used to be. I knew that it would take more than a decision to change, I had to take action and make some real changes and fast! I knew there had to be a better way to live. I yearned for an approach to well-being that didn’t correlate to your waist size. I was searching for an approach that would cultivate my ability to be the best versions of myself — an approach that came from a place of acceptance, rather than judgment or insecurity.
And I found it!
Today, I love my life again. As a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, a certified Food Psychology Coach, Mind-Body/Coach, Food Relationship Coach, and Life Coach, I love my life!
My energy is back and my depression is a thing of the past! My weight is coming off in a healthier and more permanent way and I have discovered my true passion: Empowering and guiding people to achieve their dreams, goals, life passions and to achieve a vibrant, healthy, and energetic life true to themselves!
We all fall off the path once and a while.
But you can get back on a healthy path again with a complimentary 30-minute holistic nutrition consultation today.
