Registered Holistic Nutritionist Nabila Bhimji Shares Her Story

I remember as a young girl being 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. I would spend my free time pouring over magazine articles and books about wellbeing 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 you healthy.

Then, I discovered the world of modeling and acting at a time when I was becoming very aware of how much society valued looks and appearance above inner beauty and accomplishments. TV shows, off-hand comments from family and peers, and magazine articles all around me were screaming out that a person’s worth was dependent on their waist size. It was also a time when 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 had no problem pointing out my faults on a regular basis.

So in order to fit in, feel worthy and escape my family drama, I pursued my new passion for entertaining people and for escaping my real life. Acting and modeling allowed me to focus on the character I was playing and escape the reality of my life. I felt accomplished and was envied by my peers.

Unfortunately, being in that world pushed me to adopt some very bad health habits. I started to ignore 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 the research I used to do on staying healthy and turned to chronic dieting and depriving myself of things that make life worth living. I lost my connection to my inner instincts and let other people tell me how I should look, feel and act.

I was proud of never weighing over 97 pounds. But, then all the chronic dieting caught up with me and I started to gain weight. A lot of weight. So in a panic I turned back to my old habits of calorie depravation and diet pills. But, my health just got worse. I was pre-diabetic, overweight, my adrenals were exhausted, my body image issues were abounding, and I was tired and depressed all the time.

I finally got tired of being unhealthy and feeling so unwell. I knew that I had to reclaim my power and my life. I was so mad that I let so many people tell me who I should be and how I should look. I just wanted to be the positive, caring 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 and I yearned for an approach to wellbeing that didn’t just look at your waist size. I was searching for an approach that would cultivate a person’s ability to be the best versions of themselves — an approach that came from a place of acceptance, rather than judgment or insecurity. And I found it!

Today, as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist with a diploma in Natural Nutrition, 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 discovered my true passion: Helping other people achieve their dreams and optimize their health.

Get back on the path towards YOUR health goals with a complementary 30-minute holistic nutrition consultation today! Call 604-831-6506 to book your session now.

Nabila Bhimji is a registered holistic nutritionist who services Coquitlam, Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Surrey, White Rock, Maple Ridge, and Langley.