Woman, 36, who started stealing her mother’s diet pills at age 15 after being ‘shamed’ for her curves reveals she went from a size 11 to a SIZE 2 in just three months – as she details how pills sparked 15-YEAR eating disorder battle
- PollyAnna Brown, now 36, a writer based in the U.S., recalled ‘developing early’ and not fitting in with her ‘skinny friends’ when she was younger
- She explained that she became so insecure about her weight, she started sneaking her mother’s diet pills
- Although they helped her lose weight, she is now reflecting on how unhealthy it was for her to take them at such a young age, and the long-lasting effect it had
- PollyAnna remembered becoming obsessed with slimming down – restricting herself to eating only 18 grams of fat a day and working out ‘constantly’
- In just three months, the then-teen shed nine sizes and dropped to 118 pounds. But ‘no one knew’ the extreme measures she was taking to ‘make that happen’
- The writer said she developed an eating disorder – and it took her 15 years to recover, but now, she has made ‘incredible strides’ towards accepting herself
A woman has revealed how secretly taking diet pills as a teen caused her to drop from a size 11 to a size two in just three months – and ultimately left her with a severe eating disorder that plagued her for 15 years.
PollyAnna Brown, now 36, a ghostwriter and publicity specialist based in the U.S., recalled ‘developing early’ and not fitting in with her ‘skinny friends’ when she was younger during a recent essay for Insider.
She explained that she became so insecure about her weight, that she decided she would do everything in her power ‘to look like the other girls her age.’
PollyAnna started sneaking her mother’s diet pills, and although they helped her lose a ton of weight quickly, she is now reflecting on how unhealthy it was for her to take them at such a young age, and the long-lasting effect it has had on her.
A woman has revealed how secretly taking diet pills as a teen made her drop nine sizes in just three months – but left her with a severe eating disorder which plagued her for 15 years
PollyAnna Brown, now 36, recalled ‘developing early’ and not fitting in with her ‘skinny friends’ when she was younger during a recent essay for Insider. She is seen at age 16
She explained that she became so insecure about her weight, that she decided she would do everything in her power ‘to look like the other girls her age’
‘Growing up in the days of Slim-Fast and “there’s no such thing as too thin,” my curvy body in the pre-Kardashian era was desired by men and shamed by women. I simply didn’t fit in,’ she wrote.
‘No more, I decided. Soon, I was jumping on top of the counter, opening the medicine cabinet, and fishing out my mom’s diet pills.’
PollyAnna remembered becoming obsessed with losing weight – restricting herself to eating only 18 grams of fat a day and working out ‘constantly.’
‘[I ran] about five to 15 miles a day. I ran as often as I could, and I ate as little as possible while taking diet pills to help me shed weight faster,’ she recalled.
In just three months, the then-teen shed nine sizes and dropped to 118 pounds. And while she was often ‘praised for losing weight’ by the people around her, she explained that ‘no one knew’ the extreme measures she was taking to ‘make that happen.’
‘All they saw was me shrinking from what was considered overweight - at the time - to thin,’ she added.
The writer said she developed an eating disorder – and it took her 15 years to recover from her ‘unhealthy dieting.’
And even after she got better, she still noticed ‘diet culture’ around her – long into her adult life.
In three months, the then-teen shed nine sizes and dropped to 118 pounds. But she said she developed an eating disorder – and it took her 15 years to recover from her ‘unhealthy dieting’
‘Diet culture taught me that my worth was tied to being thin, and it affected everything: how I showed up for friends; what roles I took in my relationships; and how I was willing to be seen in my business,’ she said.
‘If I wanted to be truly free of diet culture, I was going to have to value myself differently.’
Last Christmas, PollyAnna said she ‘put some weight on’ and it ‘seriously hurt her confidence.’
She considered using a doctor-prescribed injectable to help her lose it from the recommendation of a friend.
However, after researching the health risks and discovering that it could cause thyroid tumors, it opened her eyes to how dangerous some of the weight-loss methods could be.
While she was often ‘praised for losing weight’ by the people around her, she explained that ‘no one knew’ the extreme measures she was taking to ‘make that happen’
Now, she averages about 145 pounds, but she often fluctuates – and she is OK with that, explaining that she has made ‘incredible strides’ towards accepting herself
‘I’m able to actually look in the mirror without tearing myself apart,’ she said. ‘I’m happy to exercise and eat well because it feels good, not because I have to in order to be perfect’
She explained: ‘I asked myself this question, “Do I want to be on the never-ending quest for the perfect body with the lowest percentage of body fat, perfect boobs, a big round butt, and a snatched waist, constantly reaching for the next shake, diet, medicine, or surgery in order to be seen as valuable and worthy to the world? Or do I want to choose a different path?”‘
The journalist said she spent a while reflecting on her own journey, calling her self-doubt ‘disturbing.’
‘The number of times “I’m not thin enough to…” or “I’m not pretty enough to…” came up was disturbing,’ she said.
Now, she averages about 145 pounds, which she said is ‘healthy for her,’ but she often fluctuates – and she is OK with that.
While she doesn’t have it ‘perfectly down yet,’ she said she has made ‘incredible strides’ towards accepting herself.
‘I’m not beating myself up for not being a size 2 – I fluctuate between a size six and a size eight. I’m able to actually look in the mirror without tearing myself apart,’ she concluded.
‘I’m happy to exercise and eat well because it feels good, not because I have to in order to be perfect. Feeling free from constantly body-shaming myself is a whole new world.’
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