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Emelle Lewis’ journey from being anorexic to stupid fit is inspiring
Some happy news today. Emelle Lewis, 22, was formally anorexic, but thanks to social media, she was able to beat her disease.
When she was 15, Lewis felt unattractive and, like most struggling with anorexia, blamed her issues on her weight.
Weighing somewhere in the 70 pound range, Emelle was considered unhealthily skinny.
“It started in high school when I wanted to lose weight because I always felt fat growing up. I always found it hard to fit in, and when all my friends were getting boyfriends at that time but I didn’t, I began to think it was because I was fat and ugly.”
Emelle would excessively exercise, focusing on her abdominal area and restricting her diet to mere salad and rice cakes.
“When I was ill, I didn’t believe there was anything really wrong with me,” she shares with the Daily Mail, “I genuinely believed I could maintain at that weight and still live a fairly normal life. I didn’t want to get rid of my eating disorder.”
She continued,
“I refused to comply with treatment and was convinced that everyone was against me, lying to me and trying to ruin my life. I didn’t really feel that weak because my body had adapted to my low weight, however the thing that got me the most was the cold. I was so cold it was painful.”
After her story went viral on the web, Emelle has been happy to talk about her struggle and the motivation needed to get to where she is today. She said,
“Nothing is more powerful than a changed mind… change your mindset and you can change your whole world.”
In an empowering post, Emelle shares herself eating a donut for the first time and celebrating the extra calories.
“The most difficult part of recovery was going against everything I had believed for the past six years. Physically stopping myself from doing things that had become second nature to me through years of suffering with anorexia. I literally had to ignore my own mind.”
Now, she is a professional weight trainer, with a killer body. The differences between her before and after pictures are insane.
Anorexia affects nearly eight million people yearly, with one in five anorexia deaths relating to suicide. Emelle’s story is certainly a special one, overcoming mental illness takes serious effort and mental strength.
We’re glad to see she’s happier and healthier than ever! Keep it going, Emelle!