Student developed anorexia after starving herself to fit into bridesmaid's dress

June 22, 2018  16:58

An anorexia survivor developed an eating disorder after starving herself to fit into a bridesmaid's dress for her sister's wedding.

Katie Smith, 18, from Oldham, Manchester, dropped to just 6st 7lbs after losing a shocking 4st 7lbs, and was so skinny that she wore children's size 10-11 clothes.

Then aged 15, Katie restricted her food to just 100 calories a day, consumed 40 laxatives and jogged on the spot for hours.

But, in November 2017, after being admitted for inpatient treatment, she recovered and now weighs 10st 2lbs and is a size 10.

Katie, a student at North Chadderton Sixth Form College, says: "I realised that if I carried on, I would die. It really made me want to get better.

"Having an eating disorder was awful, I never thought I'd make my 18th birthday."

Growing up, Katie was a competitive swimmer and was always a healthy weight.

"I was never bigger than a size 10 but my frame was muscly and I weighed around 11st," she said.

"It was never anything that I worried about though."

But in February 2014, then aged 14, Katie developed bulimia.

"I would binge eat up to 5,000 calories before purging it up," she said.

"It became a cycle but, all the extra calories made me gain weight."

In December 2015, Katie was trying on a size 12 bridesmaid's dress for the wedding of her sister, Joanne, 34, a teacher, when her eating patterns spiralled out of control.

At her sister's wedding, Katie said she barely touched her food and felt awful (Image: HotSpot Media)

"The fabric clung to my figure and I hated how I looked," she said.

"After that, I developed anorexia. I exercised excessively every day, jogging on the spot for hours and performing 500 sit-ups.

"I only allowed myself to eat 100 calories of vegetables daily and I took 40 laxatives.

"Some days I'd eat nothing and I weighed myself constantly.

"I was determined to fit into the dress and look skinny at the wedding. I wanted to look good for the pictures."

Unsurprisingly, Katie's weight plummeted and within six months, her 5ft 5in frame weighed just 6st 7lbs.

She added: "I could fit into size 10-11 children's clothes, but I purposefully wore baggy clothes to hide how bony my frame was.

"I even stopped swimming when I was 14 so mum would never realise how skinny I'd gotten.

"My muscles ached constantly and I always felt cold. I had to wear multiple layers of clothes and my periods completely stopped.

"Handfuls of hair would fall out while I was in the shower and I'd be left with clumps of hair on my pillow. It was terrifying."

In February 2016, Katie attended her sister's wedding in Ireland and by this point she'd already lost 2st 7lbs leaving her a size 6 and 8st 7lbs.

"I was really looking forward to the wedding but on the day, I felt awful," she said.

"I didn't manage any of the wedding food. I felt huge even though now I realise I wasn't.

"My dress was a size 8 and hung off me.

"I pretended to family members that I'd eaten and played with the food on my plate."

In March 2016 Katie was diagnosed with anorexia by her psychiatrist and she was admitted as an inpatient at the Hope Unit, Bury, Greater Manchester, where she underwent therapy for three months.

A month later, she reached her lowest weight of 6st 7lbs.

In June 2016, she was discharged as an outpatient but she relapsed over the summer.

Katie said: "I felt self-conscious about my weight and how I looked, especially when my friends were wearing bikinis. I started restricting food again.

"It got completely out of control."

For the next 17 months until November 2017, Katie was in and out of hospital battling her eating disorder.

"It was tough I missed a year of college to concentrate on getting better," she said.

"Then one day, I realised that I didn't want to die I knew that if I carried on, I wouldn't make it.

"I upped my calorie intake and stopped exercising. I realised my health was more important."

Now Katie is a healthy weight.

She says: "I'm really happy now everything is going well. I'm still studying for my A levels.

"Music really helped me to recover, I'd put headphones in while I ate and listen to my favourite band: 30 Seconds to Mars.

"There was a time in my life when I thought I'd die but I'm glad that I wanted to recover.

 

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