An anorexia sufferer whose weight plummeted to six stone when bullying drove her to eat just 500 calories a day is sharing her stunning transformation after realising she would ‘end up dead’ if she continued to starve herself.
As her weight plummeted to just 6st 4lbs, Yasmin Wakefield, of Crewe, Cheshire, suffered heart problems, her periods stopped, her hair fell out, and she was so cold all the time that she would get chilblains on her hands.
The 20-year-old has now gained more than 5st in six months after it dawned on her that she should ‘fight for the life she wants’.
College student Yasmin first started restricting her eating at the age of 15 after suffering years of cruel taunts from school bullies, who branded her ‘fat’ and destroyed her self-confidence.
Yasmin Wakefield, of Crewe, Cheshire, is sharing her stunning transformation after realising she would ‘end up dead’ if she continued to starve herself. Pictured left at her lowest weight, just 6st 4lbs, earlier this year and right now at a healthy 11st 9lbs
Despite weighing a healthy 10st 4lbs at the time, 5ft 7in Yasmin became hellbent on getting thinner – and no matter how much weight she lost it never felt like enough.
As well as limiting her calories to just 500 a day, Yasmin became ‘obsessed’ with exercise, doing at least an hour of high-intensity interval training every day and walking everywhere.
Yasmin became so frail she couldn’t go to college or university and ‘missed out on being a teenager’, as she constantly felt too weak and tired to go out with her friends.
Despite three years trying and failing to recover, Yasmin finally found the will to fight her eating disorder (ED) earlier this year after realising it had robbed her of her health and ‘the best years of her life’.
After years of going home from school to cry as she was being bullied for her weight, Yasmin (pictured when she was younger before her eating disorder) decided to shed some pounds ahead of her school prom
Yasmin became so frail she couldn’t go to college or university and ‘missed out on being a teenager’, as she constantly felt too weak and tired to go out with her friends
Determined to get herself back on track and attend university next year, Yasmin asked her GP for a referral to the ED service in June and has since gained 5st 5lbs.
Now weighing a healthy 11st 9lbs, Yasmin is loving life in a ‘bigger body’ and how much more energy and confidence she has since embarking on her recovery journey.
And the vegan food blogger is determined to share her incredible transformation to show others in the grips of an ED that ‘there is light at the end of the tunnel’.
Yasmin said: ‘When I tried to recover in the past, I didn’t really want to get better and I felt forced into a situation, but this time I had a completely different mindset.
Despite spending 10 days in hospital in January 2016 due to having a dangerously low heart rate and blood pressure, Yasmin still wanted to get thinner as body dysmorphia had taken hold of her
‘I never knew I could be this determined. I have done a lot of work and my treatment has gone so much better this time.
‘It’s only been a few months and I feel like a completely different person, it’s crazy. I am so proud of how far I’ve come.
‘I have increased my eating and I don’t feel the compulsion to workout anymore. It’s been the hardest thing I have ever done but also the most amazing.
‘Obviously weight gain is a crucial part of it, but with the weight gain I have also gained so much of my life back.
‘I feel so much better, I have more energy, my hair has stopped falling out and my period is back, which is amazing.
As her weight plummeted to just 6st 4lbs, Yasmin suffered heart problems, her periods stopped and her hair fell out
‘I also feel much more confident and comfortable in my body, which I never thought would happen.’
After years of going home from school to cry as she was being bullied for her weight, Yasmin decided to shed some pounds ahead of her school prom.
While in the grip of her ED, Yasmin was so cold all the time that she would get chilblains on her hands (pictured)
However, what was intended to be a healthy diet quickly turned into a dangerous ED as Yasmin dramatically restricted her eating and felt ‘compelled’ to do intense daily exercise.
Yasmin would eat an omelette made from two egg whites for breakfast, salad leaves and half a tin of tuna for lunch and half a baked sweet potato and salmon fillet for dinner.
While her mum Roisin O’Neill, 45, constantly raised concerns about her daughter’s limited diet, Yasmin refused to accept there was anything wrong.
The schoolgirl’s weight plummeted to just 7st in 10 months, and after visiting her doctor to discuss her irregular menstrual cycle, Yasmin was diagnosed with anorexia in November 2015.
Despite spending 10 days in hospital in January 2016 due to having a dangerously low heart rate and blood pressure, Yasmin still wanted to get thinner as body dysmorphia had taken hold of her.
Pictured recently, the vegan food blogger is determined to share her incredible transformation to show others in the grips of an ED that ‘there is light at the end of the tunnel’
By the time she started therapy with the ED team in March 2016, Yasmin’s weight had reached its lowest point of just 6st 4lbs.
Yasmin said: ‘Throughout school I was always bullied for being fat. It really affected me.
‘Looking back now it’s ridiculous, I was just a normal size. I was a size 10-12 but all the other girls were a size 6-8 so I was compared to them but I wasn’t actually big.
‘At the time it really made me upset. I felt like being fat was the worst thing I could be. I used to go home and cry my eyes out and I got quite low.
‘When I had prom coming up, I decided I was going to lose weight for it. It started out as a healthy diet that got out of control.
Now weighing a healthy 11st 9lbs, Yasmin is loving life in a ‘bigger body’ and how much more energy and confidence she has since embarking on her recovery journey
‘Over a period of six months, I went from eating normal portions to practically nothing and I got obsessed with exercise.
‘My mum picked up on it and told me she was worried, but I didn’t think I had a problem. I thought I was being healthy. I started waiting until she wasn’t there to workout.
‘My periods had stopped and my hair was falling out. I never wanted to wash or brush it because every time I did, so much of it would fall out.
‘I was constantly cold and had problems with my heart. I would get tired really quickly and had no energy. I felt like I couldn’t walk anywhere because I was so weak.
Now at a healthy weight, Yasmin is determined to inspire others battling with EDs and show them that recovery is possible
‘I was told if I lost any more weight, I would be forced to stay in hospital but I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to me was being thin.
‘I had body dysmorphia and in my mind I was still fat. No matter how much weight I lost, I was never satisfied, I couldn’t see it.’
Still consumed by her anorexia, Yasmin admits she didn’t want to recover and discharged herself from ED services after just a few months and only gaining 1st 8lbs.
Over the next three years, Yasmin refused to confront her anorexia and simply stopped weighing herself completely.
But when she finally stepped on the scales earlier this year and realised she was back at her lowest weight, it was the wake-up call Yasmin needed.
The social media influencer, who has 16,8000 Instagram followers, also runs a plant-based recipes and wellness blog named Nourishing Yas to share her recovery journey
Yasmin said: ‘When I hit my lowest weight again earlier this year, I was so miserable and unhappy. I had nothing in my life.
‘I knew I could carry on like this and end up dead, or fight for the life I want. I knew I needed to recover and be in a bigger body.
‘I set myself a list of goals, the main one being to go to university next year. I had to delay college and university because of my ED.
‘One of the things that upsets me the most is that I completely missed out on my teen years. I didn’t go on nights out or have any friends.
‘I really missed out on being a teenager and what can be the best years of people’s lives.
Yasmin has set herself the goal of attending university next year and wants to inspire others battling with EDs
‘This disorder had already taken five years from me, I wasn’t going to let it take anymore. And I’m definitely going to make up for all the lost time.’
Now at a healthy weight, Yasmin is determined to inspire others battling with EDs and show them that recovery is possible.
The social media influencer, who has 16,8000 Instagram followers, also runs a plant-based recipes and wellness blog named Nourishing Yas to share her recovery journey.
Yasmin said: ‘Sharing my story, I just want to show people that you can recover and everyone has it in them to beat this.
Yasmin warned that sometimes people don’t realise the impact their words can have and how badly bullying can affect people
‘I want people to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, you don’t have to live with your eating disorder forever.
‘And I also want to show people that they really need to think about how they treat others because you don’t know what’s going through their head or how it’s going to affect them.
‘Sometimes people don’t realise the impact their words can have and how badly bullying can affect people.’