Health and diet are most definitely on the top of everyone’s New Year’s resolutions lists, but as we creep further away from January, it’s needless to say we seem to lose some of that “New Year, new me” inspiration and head back to our bad eating habits. On the other hand, there are people who truly do understand the consequences of these bad eating habits and the great effects they have on our health. I had the pleasure of speaking with Magalie Bastrash, or Mags, who was generously wiling to share her personal story and thoughts on the detrimental effects our bad eating habits and lifestyle choices can have on our health. Switching from her dream job as a fashion designer to become a health coach, Mags was able to take back her life and overcome her health issues all on her own. While living in Montreal, Mags has taken full control of her life and shares how we can use her story, advice and tips to lead healthy, active lifestyles that suit our personal needs. So it’s time to drop that crazy diet regime or get rid of those overprocessed foods we constantly snack on and listen to the advice given by Mags, a truly inspiring woman with nothing but determination to live the healthiest life she can.
Ana Zdravkovic for Her Campus (HC): What inspired you to change your career path from fashion designer to health coach?
Magalie Bastrash (MB): Designing and creating has always been first nature to me since I was a little girl. I was one of those girls who remodelled her Barbies every day, giving them new outfits made of any rubbish I could find in the house and making eccentric haircuts with color highlights with Crayola markers. I just loved creating new looks for them all the time, they were dull and boring if I did not transform them, in fact. So I know that from a young age, fashion and design is something I naturally love doing and I did make a career out of it. I worked in the fashion industry for 10 years right after college, designing for private labels across America and travelling overseas to source my fabrics and trims. It really does look like the perfect dream job and I did enjoy every single bit of it, so much that I lost myself in it. It soon became overpowering and the sad thing is I only noticed late in my career that I had denied my own needs over this “job”. Which today is sadly what I see a lot of workers do for many years. However if your needs are not met, the consequences are that it may be painful later.
I was living with chronic pains throughout my entire twenties and felt it was normal, just a bad phase that I could handle with a few meds. However today I realize that I was enduring pains that no one should be living with, especially at that young age. Starting with headaches every other day, to little stomachaches and acid reflux after every meal, bloating and stomach cramping in the evening and even in my sleep, and cold numbness in my toes and fingers while I was working. I also had high seasonal allergies that were severely increasing year after year and lasted for the entire summer from May to September. I looked sicker in the summer then the winter season, popping allergy pills every day to get through the day. It sadly came to a point where my immune system crashed, giving the chances for more allergies and intolerance to increase and I soon began to develop something new – food nut allergies. Fast forward in my mid-twenties, I was still working my heart off, trying to eat right, staying off nuts and enduring all the pains and discomforts every day. It became a part of me and I had settled for it. My next fall happened quickly after that, with an episode of kidney stones that felt like hot burning rocks in my stomach. The most pain I had ever experienced, I was crawling on the floor in the middle aisle of the office, that is how crucially painful it was. I took precautions again, but two years later I had another similar episode. The doctors diagnosed it as a bursting appendicitis and they are sure fast to operate on this because it is deadly and poisonous to the body. Thankfully, my results came in negative, although I still had no diagnosis.
I did not know how to operate with no diagnosis except that I did not want to continue living like this any longer. It became clear to me then, that I had to take my health seriously and learn about my own body. Something that we are not taught to do because society puts us solely into a male or female box. But what about the needs of my own female body; is it the same as Suzy’s body? There had to be legitimized facts proving different body functions, starting with the origin of various blood types, genes and cultures. I researched a program that could help me understand this better and found it at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York, the world’s biggest nutrition school with a holistic approach based on bio-individuality. All I can say is my life changed. Within a few months, I saw my body physically changing and all of my every day pains disappearing. I also became so connected with my unique purpose and made realizations concerning my life path, starting with a hard but rewarding decision to leave my full-time fashion design job. I felt that my last 10 years of experiences living with my own health issues, and coming out of it by myself with no scars or burns, medication or special diet plan, was far more enriching to bring into someone else’s life because it could potentially save their life. When you come close to losing your life, your perspective changes rapidly. I decided to open a health coaching private practice under the name of Mags Living – Health & Image Coaching, where I coach individuals and groups of people who want to learn more about their unique body needs, by creating a personalized “road map to greater health” that will suit their unique body, lifestyle, preferences and goals. And once my clients start feeling better and have gained more understanding about their unique needs, I can then have them work on their personal image in their dress wear to reflect who they are as individuals. This is where I am at today, merging two fields I feel so compelled to help individuals with, their “unique health understanding” and “dressing the real you“.
HC: Do you stick to a strict routine, workout schedule or specific diet?
MB: Far from that actually. I experience so much more freedom in my life, other than owning my own private practice. I also feel like my work reflects my own lifestyle. I am serious: once you understand your unique needs and you design the life your want to live, nothing seems strict or repeatedly boring. You are just living your life purpose and its your job to make it fun.
HC: Can you recommend any local health stores in Montreal?
MB: In terms of health foods, Montreal has a lot of small local “natural” food stores I like to call them, and those are the ones you want to go to because they do not carry large lines of food supplies, which means their stock usually does not stay on the shelves very long. I live on the southwest side of the island and tend to vary from week to week depending on what I need to fill-up my fridge with, but I am in a food store two to three times a week… I just love food and I enjoy cooking. Atwater and Jean-Talon markets are delicious marketplaces to be during the summer months for their fruits and veggies and during the winter I tend to look more for small fruiteries. Some of my favourite stores are fleur sauvage on Monkland and à votre santé on Sherbrook West. If these are out of your way, other health food chain stores, such as Rachelle-Béry, are a great option, and if your budget is smaller, the healthy section at Loblaws still offers some more “healthier” options.
HC: Do you have any advice for young women looking to pursue a similar career path?
MB: Definitely. I think that if you are seeking a path that allows you to walk someone towards their own health journey and help transform their lives, it is a very rewarding career path to take. I feel so energized after each of my sessions with a client, because I see the change in them week after week and that is so gratifying. As a coach, you are required to offer ongoing support for the amount of months that they sign up with you. So lots of amazing listening skills are needed because the healing path they are on is not for you to find but for them to discover.
HC: What is your favourite place in Montreal to grab a bite to eat?
MB: That’s a hard one… ha! Again I tend to vary a lot. I don’t like to eat the same foods all the time and Montreal is always booming with new cafés and restaurants, so you almost want to try them all and see for yourself. Although some of my favourite spots in my area are Liver Pool, Au P’tit Cochon Santé, Campanelli and Sesame, because of their gluten free noodles.
HC: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment with your career choice?
MB: Honestly, my biggest accomplishment was first and foremost learning and discovering my very own journey to a healthier lifestyle. That is how I can relate to my clients and speak from honest experiences. After this, any client that comes to me with their health goals and achieves at least one of them is such a big accomplishment because that is something they did not have a week ago.
HC: Are there any fitness or yoga centres that you can recommend for students who are excited to get active but are on a budget?
MB: Absolutely. There are lots of yoga and wellness centres out there that just want to see you win and won’t charge you an arm for it. I love Enso Yoga downtown, it offers hot yoga, Pilates and Yang & Yin classes starting, I believe, as low as $3 per class with a membership. Their studios are very polished and clean, with huge changing rooms. You also have community yoga programs that offer free classes in different locations throughout the week. You can get the info at www.radicalmontreal.com – perfect for students who can volunteer their time in exchange for the freebies. The YMCA also offers this.
HC: What is one easy tip or way students can positively change their eating habits?
MB: Yes, eat and sleep. I know it sounds very cliché, but I see a lot of students skipping meals and subconsciously gravitating toward feeding themselves with coffee and muffins all day, staying up late at night to finish their papers and ending their days with a bowl of cereal at 1 am. I was one of those students and it was a big contribution to my health problems at a very young age. So definitely a first good habit to take is to to start eating real, nutritional meals every day and getting at least seven hours of sleep to regenerate your body and your brain. A good performance starts with what we put in our bodies everyday.
HC: Is there anything else you would like to add?
MB: Yes, if you would like support or ideas on how to start implementing positive health choices in your life, I do offer free consultations to students to get them started in a good path, before they reach the busy working world.
HC: I would like to thank Mags again for taking time out of her busy schedule to give us this amazing advice and these tips that are so simple and student friendly. Do not hesitate to visit Magalie’s webpage as well as her Facebook, and Instagram accounts.
Website: http://magsliving.healthcoach.integrativenutrition.com/
Social feed links to follow:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/magslivingcoach
Instagram: http://instagram.com/magsliving
Photos Provided by Interviewee