‘People said I looked like I was dying’: Teen girl ditches the crash diet that took her down to six stone to post curvy selfies that have won her 100k fans
Courtney Black became obsessed with her body after feeling she was 'chubby'
A TEENAGE girl who ditched the extreme diet which saw her drop to a worrying 6st 9lb is now so happy with her curvy figure she regularly shows it off by modelling bikinis.
Courtney Black, 19, used to be obsessed with cutting calories and punishing gym workouts.
Things got so bad she was cruelly targeted by trolls over her bony frame, but she eventually realised enough was enough.
"When I was younger, I just wanted to be as skinny as I could," she explained.
"I loved long skinny legs and tiny little waists.
“I lost so much weight that people would comment on my Instagram saying that I looked like I was dying.
“I love my curves now and I’m truly ashamed of how I used to eat and exercise.
“I want to show other people how unnecessary it is to starve yourself or cut out certain food groups from your diet.
"Put your health first and worry about your image second.”
Courtney is 5ft 3in and now weighs a much healthier 8st 5lb.
She's a slim size 8 and loves nothing better than showing off her fuller frame in sexy pictures on Instagram.
Courtney's diet before
Breakfast: A small pot of Greek yoghurt and berries with green tea
Lunch: Chicken breast and vegetables
Dinner: None
Snacks: Yoghurt, Apple or a small piece of chicken
When she was little, Courtney was into ballet and tap dancing.
But by 17 she'd given them up and started to worry about her figure.
"I felt a bit chubbier," she said.
"I just didn’t feel confident in my shape anymore and wanted to lose a few pounds.
“It was harmless initially but soon dieting became an obsession.
"As I continued, I began to think the super skinny look was gorgeous and I strived to be stick thin.
"On a typical day, I would wake up at about 5am and go to the gym before work for an hour session.
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"I would run at least eight miles and then do an excessive amount of sit-ups and crunches.
“I would eat a small pot of Greek yoghurt and berries for breakfast and then go to the gym again at lunch for another hour cardio workout.
“Lunch would consist of a chicken breast with vegetables.
"I wouldn’t have dinner but I would snack on an apple or low-fat yoghurt if I was really hungry.
“Honestly I don’t know how I had the energy to exercise on such a poor diet.
"I honestly believed I wasn’t skinny enough.”
Soon her obsession started impacting all areas of her life.
As well as being targeted by social media trolls, Courtney's boyfriend at the time struggled to understand why she was so concerned with the gym and her diet.
She would be ";snappy and moody" with him, and going out to dinner was a minefield because she was so worried about eating anything unhealthy.
"On social media, people would comment that I looked like I was starving and I received abusive messages about my body shape," she said.
“My friends and family also started to worry about me and comment on my appearance.
"I realised that I had to put a stop to what I was doing and make a change.”
By summer 2015 Courtney decided it was time for a change.
She started reading up on healthy lifestyles and gradually introduced more food to her diet.
"At first, it was a slow process as I was scared of certain foods and it was terrifying to see how I was putting on weight," she said.
Courtney's diet after
Breakfast: 60g oats, 8g chia seeds, 25g Protein Dynamix protein powder and berries
Mid-morning meal: protein pancakes with peanut butter
Lunch: one chicken breast, mixed vegetables and chickpeas
Mid-afternoon meal: one chicken breast, sweet potato and broccoli
Dinner: salmon fillet with seasoned Mediterranean vegetables and cauli rice
Snack: protein shake with peanut butter and half a banana
"But as I got over my fears, I slowly reduced the excessive amount of cardio exercise that I was doing, began to introduce carbs into my diet and upped my calories."
Now she has five meals a day, including things like oats and berries, chicken, sweet potato and salmon.
She still trains five to six times a week and is a personal trainer, but feels more content with her curvier frame.
Instagram agrees too, and Courtney has 100,000 followers to prove it.