AS everyone knows, Jessy Mendiola’s journey to self-love was quite tumultuous, as criticism about her body weight led to her once adopting dangerous habits.
In an Instagram post Tuesday, she confessed that she would “kill” herself at the gym and “starve” herself after reading the vitriol that greeted her online at the onset of her career.
“I was depressed and heartbroken at that time,” she said, saying that this was around 2013, a couple of years before she was named the country’s “sexiest woman” by a men’s magazine.
She revealed that before she won the title, she suffered from an eating disorder due to her desperation to lose weight.
She said she wanted to look “perfect,” even if this meant that she was unhappy with her lifestyle.
It was only last year when Mendiola overhauled her health and fitness regimens to positive effects. She credits the change to her coach and trainer, boyfriend Luis Manzano.
“He made me feel better every time I felt so insecure about myself and he helped me recover from my depression and made me feel loved every single day,” she wrote.
Mendiola is sharing her fitness journey to reiterate her message of loving one’s body.
“I guess all I’m trying to say is, it doesn’t matter how long it takes for you to find inner peace and whatever works for you, just stick to that,” she advised. “I am far from perfect but this is who I am and this is how I love myself.”
“I love myself enough to eat what I want to make myself feel good. I love myself enough to move everyday because I want to live my life as best as possible. I know it’s hard sometimes but you just gotta stand back up and try again.
“To whoever is reading this, accept yourself and work hard to be the best version of yourself. You do YOU.” (ABS-CBN News)
