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Layering your Bowl:
1. 1-2 cups of mixed greens as a base (pair with salad dressing of choice) 2. Add Couscous Dish 3. Add Baked Carrots and Potatoes 4. Add 1/2 of a Small Avocado topped with a pinch of salt and pepper Enjoy! As a child and throughout my adolescence all I ever wanted was to be ‘skinny’. Being skinny was all I thought and dreamt about day in and day out. I wasn’t the only one convincing myself that I needed to lose weight, there was also an army of external factors. My family doctor warned me about my increasing weight and recommended cutting out certain foods; my parents reinforced healthy eating choices; the media showed imagery of Barbie-like individuals to idolize; my peers, who were all very thin, reminded me that I don’t look like them through exclusionary gestures, and subtle bullying. These reminders that I was never “normally” sized lead me to feel ever so uncomfortable in my skin. Every year, as I aged, I lost confidence in myself leading to a significant decrease in my self-esteem. Halfway through 11th grade, I decided I couldn't tolerate my weight battles anymore. I wanted to make a permanent lifestyle change that would lead to weight loss. I no longer wanted to be ‘the fat, unattractive girl’, I wanted to be Jasmine, an individual whose identity was not tied to her physical appearance. I initially went about this lifestyle change in the worst possible way. I switched to a vegetarian diet, and engaged in a caloric deficit, meaning I burned more calories than I consumed. I did this with an anorexic mentality. I trained myself to only consume 8 bites of food after drinking a bottle of water to trick my body into thinking that I was full. I would do this for dinner, lunch, and breakfast. To burn the calories I went to dance classes for several hours every week day, and ran, and swam every other day. This routine lasted for about 8 months until I realized that there was no progress especially when I began to engage in binge eating behaviour. When I entered University, I continued to engage in a caloric deficit with a vegetarian diet, except, I no longer had the time or will to engage in much physical activity. This meant that I ate much less, and binge ate high calorie foods more often leading to weight gain instead of weight loss. In my second year of university, I realized I was doing my body more harm than good. Drastic changes in my mental health and physical capabilities heightened this epiphany. Over time I experienced fatigue, sluggishness, unstable mood, poor mental health, and physical health conditions. It took me a while to change my diet and overall routine. I started to make more conscious food choices, tried to reduce my binge episodes, and engaged in regular exercise. It’s been a few years since changing my routine. I now feel unstable if I miss a gym day or eat unhealthy foods. I still sometimes binge, but it’s much less than before. I ignore all external factors that tell me I’m not an ideal size. I can officially say I am more confident in my skin now that I’ve gone through a healthier approach to losing weight.
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