"I started restricting my food intake at 15 and wouldn't eat for days because when I looked in the mirror I thought I was way bigger than I was," Claire said. This was an on and off thing until she completed her first year of high school. Then her binge eating disorder (BED) kicked in, and by 2013, she was at almost 300 pounds (136 kilograms).
By 2014, Claire started once again on another diet, which spiraled into major restricting and bulimia. She said if she binge ate, she would end up purging.
"No one around me knew this was happening. I began to lie to everyone. Not only was I starving, but I was over-exercising, which led me to get very sick," Claire said. "Everyone was complimenting me on my weight loss, saying how amazing I looked, which made me sink deeper into bulimia. I had a distorted image of myself and had to body check every 20 minutes to remind myself I had lost weight. I look back at photos and think 'OMG, I was tiny, but at that time I didn't think I was," she said.
Image Source: Claireabelle Burt