Former Runway Model Says 'F*ck This' And Embraces Healthy Weight Gain

After years of struggling to maintain an unhealthy weight this model decided to try something different.

Liza Golden-Bhojwani is a stunning model who recently joined the body positivity movement after literally starving herself on just 500 calories a day. Her struggles with her weight are inspiring others to embrace their natural sizes without extreme diet and exercise plans.

She recently took to Instagram to share her personal story with food, dieting, modeling, and finding the right balance of everything for her life. The post went viral with more than 13,000 likes and thousands of comments from women thanking Golden-Bhojwani for her honesty. It shows two side-by-side images of the model when she was at the peak of her career and then a current photo.

“The left side was me at the start of the peak of my career. My first proper fashion week where I was actually the size I needed to be. I was booking amazing shows that one never thinks they actually could, walking with girls who I once looked up to, it was a serious adrenaline rush,” she wrote. “But after fainting one night in my apt whilst preparing one of my very low cal meals (I think it was 20 pieces of steamed edamame if I remember correctly), I called it quits with the diet and workout regime I was put on and decided I could do it on my own.”

If you’ve ever tried a high-risk, extreme low-calorie diet, then you likely know what followed for Golden-Bhojwani: crashing and binging. “Eating a little more turned into eating nearly a bag full of almonds, which then turned into eating full size meals, which then turned into a full blown binge,” she shared. “I was craving every single food you could imagine and I was giving in to every craving even though I knew this was such an important time in my career.” Who could blame her? It’s not natural to starve ourselves, and it’s beyond ridiculous that models still have to do this in 2017.

Golden-Bhojwani made it through fashion weeks in various cities without anyone noticing her minor weight gains. But eventually the small additions to her waistline were noticed, and Golden-Bhojwani could no longer book a show. “I don’t know why of all people I was just unable to keep up with the diets and the regimes. I thought I was weak minded, I didn’t care enough, or maybe I just didn’t want it enough,” she wrote. “I beat myself up for a long time, playing it over and over again in my head how I completely failed.”

The model left the high fashion scene because she couldn’t bear to starve herself any longer, but it still took a few years before she truly felt healthy and happy. “In 2014 I got a kick, a rev of my engine, I wanted to get in shape again. I wanted in again, but in a much healthier way…. And I did just that, I worked my a** off day in and day out in the gym. I was strict about my diet, but I wasn’t fully starving myself like I had two years ago,” Golden-Bhojwani wrote. “In 2012 I was having about 500 calories a day, whereas here in 2014 I was having about 800–1,200 depending on my mood and hunger patterns. I was the fittest I ever was in my entire career at this point, I had six-pack abs, but still I wasn’t fit enough for the likes of Victoria’s Secret or other brands.”

Despite all of her hard work, Golden-Bhojwani felt let down with the fashion industry. “One day I just thought… why am I fighting against my body? Why don’t I just go in the same direction? Stop forcing my own agenda and just listen to my body,” she explained. “And that’s what I did. The picture on the right is me as of right now, my body as it is. Not perfect, not show ready or VS ready, not the best, but it is mine and my soul is happy.”

Golden-Bhojwani still exercises five times a week but shared that it is for her own health and not for a modeling job. She’s also managed to start eating what she wants without feeling guilt. “Maybe I wasn’t made to be on the covers of magazines and shooting the biggest and best brands, but I was made for a reason,” Golden-Bhojwani shared. “Maybe I was made to share this story and spread the message of body love to all the women out there struggling.”