My name is Chandler. I’m fifteen. I struggled (past tense) with anorexia for a while, but beat it and am now dieting the healthy way. A tip for anyone who has anorexia right now or is considering starving themselves: I gained all the weight I lost back. EVERY. LAST. POUND. Plus extra. Don’t do it, ladies, it’s just not worth it. Working out and eating healthy doesn’t have as instant results, but with dieting the healthy way you actually lose the fat. If you starve yourself, you’re telling your body that it needs to keep every calorie it can get from then on out so that you don’t die. So when you get to your goal weight and start eating again? You gain more weight than you began with because your body wants to store up more in case you starve again. 

And that’s only the things it does to your physical body. The mental part is much, much worse. Anorexia messes with your mind a ridiculous amount. It got to the point there I was convinced that even eating fruits and vegetables would make me gain weight- much less any regular foods. I was, quite literally, surviving off of 1/4 a cup of oatmeal and two rice cakes a day. My total calorie count was 145 out of the minimum 1,300 I needed daily. Plus I thought I was overeating. Needless to say, it tore my body apart and mentally damaged me beyond full repair so that now I can hardly eat anything sweet without cringing about the calorie amount.

Like I said, it’s not worth it.

ANYWAYS. While dieting is half of my life, there is another side. Running.

I’m currently in cross country at my high school, and I LOVE it. I enjoy running in general, but it’s especially fun when I can run with my friends.

Random Fact: Did you know that running releases the same endorphins that cutting yourself does? That’s mainly why I started running regularly. I considered cutting myself to relieve pain, but I didn’t want to have to cover up the scars and-truthfully, yet selfishly-I didn’t want to mess up the flawless skin on my wrists. So I ran. And I realized that the fact above was true because I felt really happy after running.

Also keep in mind that when I started running, I was really bent on losing weight (the unhealthy way). So when I read online that running gives the same result as cutting, I was even more excited about it because it gave me the chance to burn those extra calories while feeling better.

All in all, running is definitely a hobby to consider.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I think my life is very close to perfect, because I honestly do (it wasn’t always, but it is now). I love my friends, and my parents never fight (literally. I have never once in my lifetime heard them argue). I get along reasonably well with my siblings, and I have a fairly bright future ahead of me. The only thing I find disappointing is the fact that I would like to lose weight, but that I have the power to change. So I am. The healthy way.

Join me?