PICS: Student Proudly Displays Her Weight Gain After Fighting Back From Anorexia

Anorexia is a debilitating, clutching illness and for some people, it’s a fatal fall into ongoing mental health issues. Thankfully, not everyone’s story is as heartbreaking, and for one student in England, she’s using the power of social media to motivate others to start feeling a new sense of power in their appearance. Amalie Lee, a student at Roehampton University in London, England was diagnosed with anorexia in 2012.

"And then, at that very moment, I made peace with my body. I put up the white flag, I stroke it gently and apologized to it. I pinched some stomach fat and smiled, because for me this stomach fat reflects life." #writing #extract #anorexiarecovery #realcovery

A photo posted by REDEFINING HEALTHY? (@amalielee) on Oct 10, 2015 at 7:48pm PDT

She became so malnourished that she was hospitalised before she got the help she needed to start treating her illness. As she started her recovery process, the 20-year old documented her weight gain on Instagram – hoping to inspire others with pictures of selfies, uplifting messages and food from her daily munching.

A photo posted by REDEFINING HEALTHY? (@amalielee) on Aug 31, 2015 at 3:42am PDT

Speaking to Caters News and Cosmopolitan, Amalie said: "I have been documenting it from the start, and it's weird to look back. People follow me because I am real and honest. "The thought of spending the rest of my life alone, utterly consumed by an illness, eventually became more frightening than the thought of recovery. “I educated myself … I sat with all this knowledge, and I could not just keep it to myself when I knew I had many followers on social media who struggled with what I had been through." While the internet is plagued with sites promoting eating disorders, and enabling people battling with conditions to maintain their illness, Amalie hopes her Instagram and Tumbler can become a resource for people with eating disorders who are looking for help: "I am damn proud of my physical change as you can see, and I enjoy showing you my progress.”

A photo posted by REDEFINING HEALTHY? (@amalielee) on Feb 25, 2015 at 8:20am PST

If you need help, support or information on how to tackle an eating disorder, you can get in contact with BodyWhys by emailing [email protected] or visiting their website here.