At the age of 20, Sarah Rav went through the hell of anorexia: she tells today about her fight on Instagram. “A few years ago, I developed a eating disorder which almost cost me my life: at its lowest, I weighed 30 kilos with a BMI of 10 ”.
The testimony of the young woman is edifying: “I believe that it all started with my tendency to perfectionism: I was always involved 100% in what I was doing and I did not stop until the result was in line with my expectations. I was known as an excellent student. “
“I didn’t want to ‘lose weight’ or ‘look slimmer’: I was just thinking ‘if I only managed to eat 400 calories yesterday, why not go down to 350 calories today? ”Or“ if I managed to run 15 kilometers yesterday, I must manage to do 16 kilometers today ”. And if I didn’t achieve those goals, I hated myself. “
On the diet side, Sarah limited herself to 300 – 400 calories per day: plain, sugar-free yogurt for breakfast, a protein bar and light soda for lunch, steamed vegetables for dinner. Every day, the young woman forced herself to 3 hours of physical activity: she got up at 2:30 in the morning to run for 1:30 and ended her day with a weight training session of 1:30 also.
“I was hungry all the time. I was so skinny that even sitting or lying in my bed hurt. And then the physical symptoms of anorexia appeared: I lost my hair, I was bleeding from the nose, I had bruises all over, my lips were completely chapped, I was always cold, I was irritable, often too much weak to lift my purse or open the car door. “
“I was not looking to lose weight or to look thinner”
“Anorexia led me to isolate myself from my family and friends: I lied to them, I pretended I was fine, I wore loose clothes to hide my thinness. “
The click came at the university for this Australian medical student: “They told me to take a few days off and to be followed by my doctor and a psychologist. I realized that something was wrong. “
After this awareness, Sarah decides to stop exercising completely for 2 months: “I forced myself to taste all these foods that I forbade myself: pancakes, hamburgers, fast food. I was terrified with every bite that I was getting fat. And then I realized that this was not happening. “
Today Sarah has achieved a BMI of 19, which is “healthy”. She recounts her experience on Instagram (@sarahrav) where it is followed by 1.7 million people.
“Overcoming anorexia is not easy and I believe it is the most difficult challenge I have faced in my life: I am constantly battling this disease, but each new day is a new step towards recovery. An inspiring testimony.
To read :
A sweatshirt on anorexia that shocks on Amazon
At 19, she wrote letters of support for anorexics
The brains of people with anorexia ignore hunger
