Hey ladies! Here is a new ‘Interview with a FitTeen’ article.
Abby is a strong and capable 15 year old. She suffered an eating disorder for a year and was admitted to a treatment center in Florida. After getting the help she needed, Abby can now say she is a restored, strengthened and happy individual!
She loves athletics, art, school, her family and friends. She’s now homeschooled and attends a local co-op.
Q: What is your favorite way to stay healthy and active?
A: “I love running, doing yoga, dancing and eating balanced.”
Q: What is your favorite healthy food and splurge treat?
A: “My favorite healthy foods are Amy’s meals and my favorite splurge treats are ice-cream and frozen yogurt.”
Q: How did you develop your eating disorder?
A: “One 1/2 years ago, I started comparing my body and my food to other girls at my previous school. People started commenting on my food choices and my shape. I decided to start losing weight when I saw my sister starting to change her eating habits and go through a growth spurt. This all started in September 2016. I started to binge, because I thought I couldn’t successfully lose weight, but even though I binged, I still managed to lose some weight.”
Q: When did you start to notice that this was becoming an unhealthy problem?
A: “In January 2017, I started eating under 1500 calories a day and exercising for at least an hour. I lost about 10 pounds and was officially underweight. Then, I gained enough weight to be considered healthy in July 2017. Then, cross country started. I did really well, but I lost 15 pounds in the process because I ran outside of practice too. My mileage for all of October was 24-26 miles a day.”
Q: Who or what did you rely on when all this difficulty was going on in your life?
A: “I could only rely on my parents at this time and I had forgotten about God in my life. So, on October 25th, my parents admitted me to Canopy Cove treatment center.”
Q: How did the center in Florida help you overcome a lot of your past mistakes?
A: “Even though I struggled with over exercising the first four weeks, I came out of that struggle and found myself on the road to recovery.”
Q: What would you tell other girls who are struggling with something similar to this?
A: “Don’t lose hope! You are beautiful the way God made you! If you need a treatment team, go to a counselor/therapist, registered dietician, doctor or physiatrist.”
Q: How do you feel today since fully recovering?
A: “I am in a very happy place! I feel so free from the bondage of anorexia.”
Q: What is your favorite way to inspire yourself when everything gets rough or you start to have negative thoughts again?
A: Whenever I have negative thoughts, I use a comping skill to help calm me down.”
Thank you for sharing with us Abby! You are such a light in this world!
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