A 17-year old who was just ‘hours away from death’ due to her crippling anorexia, has dramatically turned her life around after being hospitalised.
Elle Lietzow suffered a seizure and collapsed after she spent a week refusing to eat or drink water. Her fear of gaining weight, and being bullied about her appearance in school, fuelled her obsession to stay extremely skinny.
According to The Mirror, the Melbourne student found that she only started receiving compliments when she lost weight, explaining:
“I wanted to stay skinny just to be accepted by everyone. I had gained so many friends when I lost weight accidentally during my swimming and everyone would complement me.
“I thought, if I quit swimming I am going to have to keep that low weight so that people would still want to be my friends, because if I gain weight no one would want to be my friend anymore.”
The obsession led to Elle being hospitalised for the first time – with her family demanding she gained weight. Under scrutiny, Elle weighed in at 12 stone 4lbs, but soon started limiting her food again to regain control:
“I was punishing my body, I didn’t want to put on weight but my family and friends were so angry and frustrated. I hated how I felt. I felt disgusting, gluttonous. It was just gross. I hated the way I looked and I wouldn’t leave the house. I ballooned to 174lbs and felt so sick with myself I decided last year to lose it all again. Healthy eating turned into only eating a salad or steamed cabbage at dinner, loaded in salt. Then I cut out food completely.”
The teen revealed she now subsisted on a diet of steamed cabbage and apple skins. The starvation eventually led to her having seizures.
The scary reality was, Elle knew she was dying:
“My body was giving me warning signs that what I was doing was killing me. I need to stop. I constantly lied to my family and friends with what I ate and when I exercised. I just had no energy anymore. I knew I was dying.”
The second time she was hospitalized, Elle weighed just under five and a half stone. Her kidneys and lungs had gone into failure. Her hair was falling out in clumps and her periods had stopped.
The now 19-year old embraced a vegan lifestyle, claiming the new dietary changes has helped her overcome her battle with food.
In an interview with Barcroft TV, the teen added:
“My life has changed since my recovery. I’m now social, I go out with friends and I don’t isolate myself. I try inspire others through my Instagram and YouTube with my vegan lifestyle. A message I have for those suffering with anorexia at the moment is that only you can save yourself. You have to make the change to choose life.”
