I found Sara on Instagram and was blown away by her. After battling anorexia for 2 and a half years, she not only found the Paleo Diet, but she found hope for recovery. Sara is incredibly brave, and I am so happy she is sharing her powerful story with my readers today. Be sure to watch her video interview, where she shares all of the details of recovery and her life today.
At eighteen years old I was 5 foot 6, 89 pounds and diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. My life and future was decaying before me just as rapidly as my health. That was two and a half years ago.
left- at 89 lbs, right- today, healthy & strong
From a young age I was very active playing hockey, soccer, volleyball, track, dance, you name it. I used to pride myself on my big strong legs and my bulking muscles because I was strong, physically and mentally. The summer before grade twelve I decided that I was going to start making smarter and healthier choices in the kitchen so that I could feel even better. But unfortunately as you will learn, as a “type A” personality, I have to do everything 100%. Throughout the summer I lost a little weight, nothing significant, but attributed it mostly to losing my “hockey bulk”. During the school year I stopped playing hockey and danced, racking up more than twenty hours a week in the dance studio. By mid-year I weighed 105 pounds and I thought I looked great, however since I was losing weight quickly, my parents thought it be beneficial to start working with a nutritionist to ensure that my caloric input matched my energy output. At the end of the school year I was sitting at 100 pounds and had many teachers, friends and family expressing their concern to me – my thoughts? They’re crazy, I’m totally fine – who cares if I don’t have as much energy, it’s just because I’m dancing so much.
The summer after graduation, my health took a turn for the worst. I became obsessed with my “health”. It was like a game: how could I make the lowest calorie meal possible while still feeling full. I used to leave my friends to go home and cook my meals because God forbid anyone else have control. As a result of this, nearing the end of summer I was wasting away at a tiny 89 pounds eating less than 700 calories a day.
I will never forget the day I call “The Ultimate Collapse”; a spontaneous plan to go out for dinner with my boyfriend and a friend of ours left me in a full blown panic attack, shaking uncontrollably seeing such fear in my boyfriend’s eyes. How was I supposed to control anything at the restaurant? After I settled down a little, I remember thinking to myself “Why am I like this? Why can’t I just do normal things like everyone else?” I knew I needed help.
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