Miss Universe Contestant Shut Down Weight Comments

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Siera Bearchell is supposed to be gearing up for the Miss Universe pageant on Sunday as Miss Canada, but instead she's dealing with trolls. Specifically, body shamers. After people began criticizing her for gaining weight, People reports, she took to Instagram to set them straight. A week ago, the 23-year-old addressed her critics directly, writing, "While I am first to say I am not as lean as I was when I was 16, 20, or even last year, but I am more confident, capable, wise, humble and passionate than ever before." She followed this up with another post, going deeper into her journey towards self-acceptance.

"It takes discipline to have the body of a Miss Universe." It also takes discipline to be accepted into Law School. It takes discipline to run a marathon. It takes discipline to be true to ourselves in a world that is constantly trying to shape us into something we are not. People have asked me if I changed my body to prove a point. No. Our lives are fluid, dynamic and ever-changing. So are our bodies. To be truthful, I restricted my food intake intensely at previous pageants and was miserable, self-conscious and I never felt good enough. No matter how little I ate and how much weight I lost, I constantly compared myself to others and felt like I could still lose more. My mental perception did not match the physical body I saw in the mirror. There were days I would eat a protein bar, workout for hours and struggle to fall asleep because I as so hungry. My body is not naturally lean and that's okay. I am healthy. I am fit. I am confident. I am me. This is who I am right now and I'm okay with it, so you should be too. My fellow ladies, remember that true beauty, and validation start from within. ? #confidentlybeautiful #missuniverse

A photo posted by Siera Bearchell (@sierabearchell) on Jan 21, 2017 at 6:03am PST

In the post, Bearchell opens up about her past relationship with her body. "To be truthful, I restricted my food intake intensely at previous pageants and was miserable, self-conscious and I never felt good enough," she writes, going on to explain that there was no "perfect" weight that stopped her from comparing herself to others. No matter how much she lost or didn't eat, she never felt good enough. It took some time before Bearchell realized that she wasn't battling her body, she was battling herself. "My body is not naturally lean and that's okay," she continues. "I am healthy. I am fit. I am confident. I am me."

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