19.03.2024

Anorexia sufferer whose weight plummeted to six stone

Charlotte Stuart, from Brighton, struggled with the eating disorder from the age of 12, exercising for up to six hours a day, surviving on a diet of chick peas and drinking little water – leaving her severely dehydrated.

An anorexia sufferer whose weight plummeted to just six stone has revealed her remarkable transformation after taking up fitness.

At the height of her illness, Charlotte refused to even sit down to eat a small meal despite her family’s desperate pleas.

The 22-year-old’s turning point came when, weighing 6 stone 6 lbs, she was instructed to defer university for a year as she was too unwell to go.

After taking up HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and weightlifting, Charlotte managed to embark on a healthy diet and get her weight up to a healthy 10 stone 7 lbs.

Charlotte Stuart, from Brighton, saw her weight plummet to 6 stone 6 lbs (left) but she is now a much healthier 10 stone 7 lbs after taking up exercise and health eating (right)

Charlotte struggled with the eating disorder from the age of 12, exercising for up to six hours a day, surviving on a diet of chick peas and drinking little water (pictured here weighing 6 stone)

Today she is enjoying life working as a personal trainer in Australia – and credits her supportive family and friends with her incredible transformation.

Speaking about her illness, Charlotte said: ‘I suffered from anorexia since the age of 12 from the psychological and physical aspect. It’s quite difficult to pinpoint what really caused it to start.

‘Putting pressure on myself to do good could most definitely be linked but I find that it’s not necessarily a bad thing not knowing how it started, rather it becomes about how to make things better.

‘Sometimes things unravel over time and you think about whether that may have started it.

‘Looking back, I can truthfully say I was exhausted. Your brain is in constant overdrive without you even realising it. Everyday seemed to be the same structured routine and if anything fell out of that it was be chaos.’

Unwell: At the height of her illness, Charlotte refused to even sit down to eat a small meal despite her family’s desperate pleas, and drank so little water she became dehydrated

Speaking about her illness, Charlotte said: ‘I suffered from anorexia since the age of 12 from the psychological and physical aspect. It’s quite difficult to pinpoint what really caused it’

Reflecting on her eating disorder, Charlotte said: ‘Putting pressure on myself to do good could most definitely be linked but I find that it’s not necessarily a bad thing not knowing how it started, rather it becomes about how to make things better’

Speaking about her illness, Charlotte said: ‘Looking back, I can truthfully say I was exhausted. Your brain is in constant overdrive without you even realising it. Everyday seemed to be the same structured routine and if anything fell out of that it was be chaos’

Time to change: The 22-year-old’s turning point came when, weighing 6 stone 6 lbs, she was instructed to defer university for a year as she was too unwell to go

Describing her emotional turmoil, Charlotte added: ‘You feel like you want to be left alone all the time. Honestly, I had no real emotion to anything.

‘I find that choosing recovery is one of those things where you kind of have to catch yourself on a wave. Mine I’d say was when I had to defer my place at university for a year because I was too unwell to go.

‘I also had to get flown back home from holiday because I couldn’t cope out there. The fact that it was getting in the way of my education and me furthering myself in life I thought, right I need to get it together.

Fresh start: Today, Charlotte is enjoying life working as a personal trainer in Australia – and credits her supportive family and friends with her incredible transformation

Healthier than ever: After taking up HIIT and weightlifting, Charlotte managed to embark on a healthy diet and get her weight up to a healthy 10 stone 7 lbs

Charlotte shows off her curves after getting up to 10 stone 7 lbs. She said of her recovery: ‘My family and friends have been nothing but supportive throughout this whole journey’

Speaking about her transformation, Charlotte said: ‘I find that choosing recovery is one of those things where you kind of have to catch yourself on a wave’

‘My family and friends have been nothing but supportive throughout this whole journey. It’s hard to say without them commenting but they are so proud of me and I know they are. They are just thankful I’m still alive and breathing and have a smile on my face.

‘Recovery has allowed me to laugh. It’s allowed me to achieve things I never thought possible and beyond that. I mean right now as I speak I’m sitting on a deck drinking coffee in Australia, my home for the next year.

‘There is no way I would have been able to do this. I can now make memories that are happy and unforgettable.’

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