FOTOS | Amelie: la joven que muestra en Instagram como superó la anorexia

Amelie es una joven noruega de 20 años que utiliza su cuenta de Instagram para mostrarse con poca ropa, además de dar cuenta, como muchos otros jóvenes, de la comida que habitualmente consume, como cereales, helados y donas, entre otras cosas.

Sin embargo, la intención de Amelie no es darse a conocer como una usuaria hot de redes sociales, sino mostrar como ha sido su proceso de recuperación para dejar atrás la anorexia.

Y es su lucha contra este mal se inició en 2012 y recién un año después logró conseguir ayuda en la unidad ambulatoria de un hospital. “Pasé por una fase depresiva a mitad de mi adolescencia y mi percepción de mí misma llegó a su nivel más bajo”, señaló.

“Yo sólo quería desaparecer. Mi trastorno alimenticio no tenía que ver con parecerse a una modelo. Sino que hice reglas extrañas para mí misma acerca de lo que me permitía comer, cuándo, dónde; incluso qué cuchara usar. Estas reglas me hacían pensar que yo tenía el control. Pero lo perdí y esa necesidad obsesiva llegó a controlarme en todos los sentidos”, explicó.

In recovery from eating disorders, there is a lot of focus on the physical part. Being ill means looking physically ill; dry skin, hair falling out and a thin and fragile frame. But guess what? Most ED sufferers are actually normal- or overweight. For me, recovery meant going from a body seen as abnormal and unappealing by others and society in general. But for some, recovery may mean letting go of a body seen as "fit" and ideal by society, and instead embrace a higher body fat percentage. A woman might get praised for her six pack, when she is in fact eating 1000 calories a day to maintain a body fat percentage so low that she does not even have her period. Social media rationalize eating disorders at times. It is not healthy to be ripped for fat. It is not healthy to eat restrictive. It is not healthy to obsess over weight and food. But fuck, it is a money maker. Zero calorie noodles, magazines lurking us with headlines that suggests we need to change. And the approval. The likes. But in the end, does it really matter? Back to recovery. Not everybody who recovers will end up on a perfect bmi of X. Mind-blowing fact: you can be healthy without looking like a fitness model, and people who looks like fitness models are not always healthy. I am damn proud of my physical change as you can see, and I enjoy showing you my progress. But always remember that healthy is not a look, and neither is recovery. #realcovery is for everyBODY

Una foto publicada por REDEFINING HEALTHY (@amalielee) el 29 de Jun de 2015 a la(s) 5:06 PDT

2013 vs 2015. Anorexia did not just randomly "let me go", and vanished by itself. I let go of anorexia, and it was not easy. Stop waiting for a perfect future moment when you are ready to recover, because life is what passes by whilst you waste your time waiting. Start NOW. There is no perfect recovery, perfect meal plan, perfect weight gain. You have to eat, sometimes you feel like you are exploding, expanding into infinity and loosing control, but you are not. By allowing yourself to heal you are IN control. Eating a whole chocolate cake by yourself because your body is so goddamn desperate after all the restriction, is actually GOOD, both for body and mind. We live in a society that labels calories as something negative, but that is not right! Calories allow your heart to beat and your hair to grow. Without calories, there is no recovery or life. Calorie is a term for energy, everything around you is energy, calories are your bodies energy, just like electricity for a light bulb and battery for your phone Sometimes, when it hurts, it means you are doing something right. I sincerely believe there is hope for every eating disorder sufferer. The brain ghosts (as @fightthepoop nicely names it) will haunt you at times after the recovery process is gone, but those thoughts are not dangerous unless you turn them into actions. The screaming ED voice will gradually give up when it sees that you don't obey, and it will eventually turn into occasional whispering. IT GETS BETTER #realcovery

Una foto publicada por REDEFINING HEALTHY (@amalielee) el 10 de May de 2015 a la(s) 12:33 PDT

My weight gain process. Half a year between top left and down right. Reposting this to remind those of you that are in recovery that YES, the uneven weight gain WILL even out. The bloating WILL calm down. The recipe? Eat 2500-3500 calories (+/-) and don't exercise. When you are recovered and feel ready, eat after hunger cues – they will gradually return and you will eventually learn to recognize them. This will get you out of starvation mode where your body saves as much fat as it can. In starvation mode you may gain on less than 2000 calories and exercise! By eating enough and relaxing you are doing the right thing. You will not keep on gaining into infinity. If you experience bingeing in recovery, don't panic. Allow yourself to eat, and don't restrict. If you restrict, purge or overexercise, you risk ending up in a binge-restrict cycle where you gain and gain because you are in starvation mode. Bingeing happens because you are undernourished and/or underweight for YOUR body's set point. Your metabolism is not damaged, it is surpressed. The only way to speed it up is to have a higher energy input. Take an exercise break, and eat and relax! It is your medicine. What an awesome medicine! Eat, relax, eat, relax and let your body do the job @recovery_guide letsrecover.tumblr.com #edsoldiers #realcovery

Una foto publicada por REDEFINING HEALTHY (@amalielee) el 15 de Abr de 2015 a la(s) 4:28 PDT

Me during anorexia, and me now, recovered. The girl on the left was an empty shell, and had been so for too long. I pulled away from everybody, even myself. I was an actor, there was no life or sparkle in me, I acted like everything was fine when I was in fact slowly dying, mentally and physically. I was not in touch with reality, I was a paranoid, orthorexic, obsessive-compulsive sceleton that spent my days alone, in my own hole of misery, measuring my self-worth in numbers. I was 18, but I had the health of a 100-year old and body of a 10-year old. That was then. The girl on a right enjoyed a day in the african sun, and later had a large cheesy pizza for dinner, without a worry in the world. My body is happy now, I don't starve it and I don't restrict myself from so-called "unhealthy" foods, because for me, a diet that includes "unhealthy" foods is the healthiest. I am 19 now, soon 20. I've finished school and in a few months I'll move to a new country, all by myself, to study, to live, to develop. How did I do it? By realizing that I am the boss in my own life. It might sound harsh, but if I'd spent the rest of my life in the depths of anorexia that would be because of ME. Getting an eating disorder is not a choice, but recovery is. Yes, it is hard as hell, I felt like giving up so many times, but those feelings are not a reason to quit. Never tell yourself you can't, never start seeing yourself as a fragile victim that is ment to be miserable. Is your current situation making you happy? No? Then change it. Don't waste your life. Your future is in your hands. There is no magic moment where things change themselves, you have to fight for change, every day, no matter what #realcovery

Una foto publicada por REDEFINING HEALTHY (@amalielee) el 25 de Feb de 2015 a la(s) 8:20 PST

An eating disorder is NOT about weight! What do I have in common in these 3 photos? An eating disorder. Luckily, I can say that I was close to fully recovered on the 2014-photo, though some may disagree that you can become 100% recovered, especially after such a short time. Weight loss and/or weight gain is a side effect for some sufferers. Most people with eating disorders are normal- to overweight. Most people with eating disorders don't have clinical anorexia nervosa. There is NO such thing as being "too big" for an eating disorder. Not all underweight people have eating disorders or are unhealthy. Being overweight does not automatically mean you are lazy or unhealthy. I've seen SO many people with a bmi above 25 who looks perfectly normal and are healthy. I was close to overweight on the 2012-picture! We need to stop labelling and judging, and start accepting that people come in different sizes, and that is ok #bodypositivity #realcovery

Una foto publicada por REDEFINING HEALTHY (@amalielee) el 4 de Ene de 2015 a la(s) 7:42 PST

2013 VS 2014 2014 is soon over. For me, 2014 has been the year of change. 2013 was spent in a sick body with a sick mind. I was so utterly consumed by my eating disorder that I saw no other way. But do you know what? You have to create your own way. No matter what you are stuck in; there is no distant perfect moment to make a change. You will not just wake up one day with "enough motivation", and skyrocket into infinite happiness. The motivation will be found on the way, and be prepared to loose it and find it again and again. You will not change unless you make an effort to change. Rely on determination and strenght. Don't wait for anybody to save you – save yourself, before it is too late. Remember, if it hurts you are doing something right. Let 2015 be your year – but start today #realcovery

Una foto publicada por REDEFINING HEALTHY (@amalielee) el 7 de Dic de 2014 a la(s) 2:17 PST

I have gained so much over the last 12 months. I have gained hope and dreams for the future. I have gained confidence and femininity. I have gained back the ability to feel; both sadness and happiness. I have gained body fat, muscles, bone mass and organs. I have gained knowledge and experience. I have gained back my personality. I have gained life. No wonder there had to be more of me to house all of this! #realcovery #anorexiarecovery

Una foto publicada por REDEFINING HEALTHY (@amalielee) el 5 de Oct de 2014 a la(s) 1:49 PDT