Anonymous Survivor Story

Ever since I was a kid, I compared myself to my sister. She was skinnier than me, taller, prettier, and of course more popular. She was 3 years older than me, so my comparisons were obviously not going to be accurate because I was just a child and she was a teenager. I had my baby fat, and was a short stubby little girl. As time went on, I would try these fad diets to loose weight but eventually binge after feeling restricted. From the military diet to water fasts, they all ended in one thing: binging. Sometimes I would purge it up, but not all the time. This went on for years. Flash forward to be in high school this year, I was a sophomore. My friend showed me a calorie counting app and I got HOOKED. I tracked everything exactly and never went over or under. After weeks, I noticed improvement! I got a high off of knowing I was loosing weight. After loosing 10 pounds, it just wasn’t enough. I wanted to eat as little as possible. I went from 1400 (1/2)

Calories to 700. I lost 30 more pounds, but more importantly I lost my period. What started my recovery was realizing this isn’t healthy. Normal people don’t have half of the banana, or measure their special k. Normal people don’t think twice about Friday night pizza. I wasn’t living, I was surviving. So, ever since then I’ve dedicated myself to recovering so I might live rather than simply exist everyday. I want to feel free, I want to have Friday night pizza or Tuesday morning donuts. I’m no where near recovered, but I’m trying harder everyday. Trying to eat more like a normal teenager. Thank you💜