Model Shares Her Journey from Starving Herself to Stay Thin to Loving Her Natural Body

Gabrielle Olya
Updated
Liza Golden-Bhojwani Shares Body Positive Flashback Friday Post

Liza Golden-Bhojwani is much happier now than she was at her thinnest.

The model and body positive advocate, 27, shared a “Flashback Friday” post on Instagram showing how her body transformed over the years once she stopped restricting herself to eating 500 calories day and began loving her body at its natural size.

“Recently I was looking for some documents, and I ended up stumbling upon my older modeling photos. I forgot how thin I actually was, and I was totally astonished by the comparison from then to now,” Golden-Bhojwani tells PEOPLE. “I felt really inspired to make a body positive post. I wanted to share my example of the fact that you don’t always have to lose weight to become healthy and happy, sometimes it is the other way around.”

A little flashback Friday action for you. This caption will be long and won39;t fit, so if you39;d like to read please find the rest in the comment section....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...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. I thought to myself, I can still be this thin, but I39;ll just eat a little more so I don39;t feel so horrible. Well, 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. 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. I made it through NYFW okay, no one had noticed any weight gain, but by the time I had gotten the LFW I could see the pounds starting to show both in the mirror and on the measuring tape, but I kept quiet obviously not wanting to sabotage myself. I found myself going to the grocery store and picking up raw vegetables to try and make up for the near two week binge I had in NY, but I didn39;t see any weight coming off no matter how 34;healthy34; I was eating and no matter how many workouts I fit in. MFW came and I knew I was bigger and by bigger I mean a 35.5in hip rather than the 34.5in hip I started with in NY, I played it cool and just pretended everything was normal. I did end up booking shows, Dolce & Gabbana being one of them. Which I afterwards received online criticism about my thighs looking fat...Anyways PFW came about, and I found it impossible to resist those chocolate croissants I went on many a casting with one exclusive option being on my schedule, but after meeting the client I knew the reason for me not nailing the gig, my size...

A post shared by Liza Golden-Bhojwani (@lizagoldenreal) on Mar 2, 2017 at 9:57pm PST

In her post, Golden-Bhojwani shared that when she was in the peak of her modeling career in 2012, she fainted from consuming too few calories. She decided to begin eating more - though she still was only consuming 800 to 1,200 calories a day - but that led her to gain weight, and she stopped booking jobs because of it.

“I was constantly blaming and beating myself up for failing, and I would always be devising the next intense regime plan to get back down to working size,” she says.”It was really an obsessive vicious cycle that always lead me back to square one.”

Unable to get her weight back down to where she wanted it to be despite being strict about her diet and working out constantly, Golden-Bhojwani wrote that she was “in a bad state of mind, negative, depressed, overly emotional. I was miserable.”

38-31-43 ... these numbers would have given me a heart attack a couple of years ago. But now, I39;m nothing but happy with them Love your body & treat it with respect. #lovetheskinyourein #bodypositive #effyourbeautystandards #shineon #unretouched #naturallight Updated digitals by @thirdeyejedi

A post shared by Liza Golden-Bhojwani (@lizagoldenreal) on Mar 26, 2017 at 5:25am PDT

34;Women who love themselves are threatening; but men who love real women, more so.34; -Naomi Wolf... I am wearing @andi_bagus bikini Captured by @thirdeyejedi #loveyourself #lovetheskinyourein #beautybeyondsize #bodylove #bodypositive #thisisme #unretouched #goldenjediadventures

A post shared by Liza Golden-Bhojwani (@lizagoldenreal) on Mar 13, 2017 at 2:30am PDT

Golden-Bhojwani decided to take a soul-searching trip to India, where she met her now-husband and decided to move there permanently. She also decided to stop fighting her body’s natural shape and began embracing it instead.

“I love that the curves that once haunted me and left me feeling ashamed and embarrassed of myself are now the reason I am filled with self-love, body positivity and pride,” she says.

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Golden-Bhojwani wanted to share her story for anyone who is struggling with loving their own body.

“Please do not conform to be something that someone else tells you should be in order to be perfect,’ ” she says. “No one is perfect. Life is not about being perfect, it is about being the best and happiest version of yourself. There will always be some bad days, but stay focused on happiness that comes from within and you will find that you will also be radiant from the outside. We are all perfectly imperfect, and that’s a beautiful thing.”

This article was originally published on PEOPLE.com