Anorexia survivor who hid food and flushed it down the toilet proudly shows off her tummy roll to prove it’s ‘OK to have flaws’
Now, the brave eating disorder survivor hopes to help other women
AFTER battling with two eating disorders, a woman has posted candid photos of her stomach to show that she finally accepts her body.
Since her primary school years, Rachel Worthing, 25, has struggled with anorexia and obsessive healthy eating.
At just eight-years-old, Rachel dealt with her stressful home life in Maine, USA, by restricting her diet.
Four years later, she was diagnosed with anorexia and doctors threatened to hospitalise her if she didn’t gain weight.
Business owner Rachel remembered: "I was purposely restricting my food and had this irrational fear of eating in front of people so I would lie and say I had already eaten.
"I'd hide my food and flush it down the toilet.
"I was trying to lose weight then it got out of control, I became severely depressed and isolated."
After advice from medical professionals, Rachel began forcing herself to start eating more.
She explained: "It was the one thing I had control of, so it was terrifying to let it go.
"I was so malnourished my brain couldn't think straight so as I started to eat a little bit more, things got better."
Sadly, Rachel’s struggle with the eating disorder wasn’t over, as at 19 her symptoms resurfaced.
Rachel believes that she had orthorexia, a condition which made sufferers obsess over eating healthy foods.
She said: "The second time I was dealing with acne and I thought it was certain foods triggering it.
"I started demonising different foods and went through phases where I wouldn't eat anything with more than a few grams of fat."
Adverse reactions to her unusual diet, including insomnia, anxiety and fatigue, led to doctors advising the Rachel to put more weight on.
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Determined to get control of her life, Rachel decided to set up her own body positive Instagram account to track her progress.
The courageous 25-year-old now posts pictures of herself in her natural form, on social media page @LoveMyMiddle.
She explained: "I wanted other people to see that I'm real, just like them and I have flaws just like everyone else and that's completely normal and nothing to be ashamed of.
"I try to be real and showing the pictures of stretch marks and that's normal.
"I was a little bit nervous but really I don't have anything to be scared about.
"I am just learning to love myself."
After re-gaining control of her diet, Rachel hopes to inspire other women to be more confident in their own bodies.
She said: "I hope the photos and the messages I share on Instagram will help people so they can learn more about their eating disorders and see that they can conquer it because I have.
"I want them to see it's possible to have a happy life and love yourself. If I can do it they can do it."