An anorexia survivor whose weight plummeted to just five stone after she was taunted for being 'chunky' has revealed how she turned her life around - and is training to become a bodybuilder.
Ceri Thompson, from Southport, Merseyside, revealed that after being bullied at school she turned to laxatives to keep her weight down, and eventually limited herself to just 100 calories a day.
Ceri was just 14 when she became obsessed with restrictive diets, and said she would exercise for up to four hours a day - fuelled by little more than half a tin of tuna and some lettuce.
But the 24-year-old barista - who at her lowest weight was forced to dress in children's clothing - said the birth of her nephew in September 2013 'saved her life', inspiring her to start eating healthily and focus on building strength, not losing weight, in the gym.
Now 8st 3lbs, Ceri is hoping to compete in bodybuilding competitions.
Pictured, at her lowest weight of approximately five stone. Ceri had become obsessed with restrictive diets when she was just 14, and would exercise four hours a day surviving on half a tin of tuna and some lettuce
Ceri Thompson, from Southport, Merseyside, revealed that after being bullied at school for being 'chunky' she turned to laxatives to keep her weight down, eating just 100 calories a day
The 24-year-old's five year battle came to an end when her nephew was born, turning to boxing training and hopes to become a body builder in the future and compete
Ceri was haunted by the cruel taunts of school bullies who nicknamed her 'little fat Ceri'.
Vowing to get back to the gym, but this time fuelled by a balanced diet, has seen Ceri get her weight up to 8st 3lbs - and she is now a size 8.
Ceri recalled: 'At school I was quite chunky. I found out that they used to call me "little fat Ceri".
'I wouldn't say I was overweight but I did have some puppy fat. When I was 14 I started to go the gym and became interested in health and fitness.'
After leaving school Ceri decided she wanted to join the army and believed becoming slimmer would help her get better results at the tough tests.
'I was eating 1,000 calories a day and started to get up early in the morning to do the Insanity Fitness workout. I would go running after college and do boxing.
'I was doing about four hours of exercise a day and restricting my calories. I stopped socialising because I realised that alcohol had calories in it.'
Ceri used to spend four to five hours in the gym training to keep her weight down, going running and doing intense 'insanity fitness' workouts. Now she goes to the gym five to six times a week to box and weigh lift to bulk out her frame
But then her obsession spiralled as her weigh began to drop considerably: 'I was 17 and people started to notice. I was excited because people would comment and say my legs looked good.
'I met this guy who was into fitness and it helped me hide my obsession with exercise by training with him.'
However, their relationship turned sour and it affected Ceri's mental state: 'When things went bad, I think anorexia gave me a way of me having control over something and I started restricting my calories even more.
She began to increase the hours she spent at the gym doing intense workouts as well as going running and weight training.
But her family became concerned whenever she would visit: 'I would go home every three weeks and my family would notice I was getting thinner. I remember trying on a dress and my aunt just started crying.
'I liked being away from them because they couldn't tell me off.
'I just carried on eating half a can of tuna and lettuce then sometimes I wouldn't even bother with the tuna.'
Ceri said that she exercises with a better mindset, lifting weights in the gym and supplementing her lifestyle with a balanced diet instead of not eating
Ceri's weight dropped so low that when she visited her family they would cry at her shrinking frame and her grandfather thought she was on drugs because of her appearance
Ceri explained that she kept a food journal and wrote everything down to stay focused.
After her weight plummeted to just 5st in 2013, Ceri looked so unwell that when she visited her granddad he accused her of using drugs.
When her sister gave birth in August 2013, Ceri was so inspired by her love for her nephew Alfie that she became determined to fight back against her eating disorder.
But the journey was harder than she anticipated and after suddenly gaining a stone Ceri developed bulimia and turned to laxative abuse.
Ceri spoke of the difficulties she encountered: 'The worst moment was going to see my granddad and he told me I looked like a smackhead. He was asking "what's wrong with you?"
'He said he wouldn't talk to me again and was asking what drugs I was on. He got cancer and passed away and we never really had the chance to talk about it.'
However, Ceri explained that she couldn't exercise as much at the gym because people would stare at her shrinking frame.
'Fitness was my interest before I got ill but I'd stopped going to the gym because I was conscious of people looking at me and talking about me.
'I'd also stopped running after somebody shouted at me "look at the state of her".
It was Ceri's nephew Alfie that helped inspire her to turn her life around. She said he effectively 'saved her life' and she began trying to eat more healthily
When Ceri began to eat again without seeking advice she turned to junk food. She gained a stone in weight but it caused her to turn to bulimia and she began stealing laxatives
'I would go out to eat to pretend everything was normal but I'd just push the food around my plate or I'd tell people it didn't taste nice.'
It was her love for her nephew that forced her to make a change in her lifestyle: 'But then I fell in love with baby Alfie. I'd look after him all the time and threw all my energy into looking after him.
'My sister said to me "if Alfie ate in a day what you eat in a day what would you think?"
'I said "that would be awful, he would die". That felt like a turning point for me.
'It felt like he saved me. I didn't want to put my family through it anymore and didn't want to leave Alfie.'
The 24-year-old still had a tough relationship with food and as she began to start eating, instead of a healthy diet she turned to junk food to try and gain weight - but it had a shocking side effect.
'I went from eating nothing at all to stuffing my face with cookies, crisps and chocolate,' she explained.
'I did that for a few weeks then weighed myself and I'd put on a stone which felt like a lot so I started to make myself sick.
'I would go for walks so that people wouldn't know I was doing it. I would take laxatives from family members, they didn't know what I was doing.
'I would put food in my mouth to taste it and take it out again.'
Despite her battle Ceri managed to build up her strength again - turning to boxing to help focus on gaining weight. Pictured, Ceri with her current boyfriend Alan who is encouraging her to have a better relationship with food
Ceri was then bedridden for five days which she put down to re-feeding syndrome - a condition that occurs when those who are undernourished start eating again.
Her family was terrified that she was going to die but Ceri fought back and joined a boxing gym to try and build up her strength.
'I went to the boxing gym and I just started training on my own, I didn't involve myself with anyone else. I just trained on my own in the corner.
'I started to get more confident and would join in a bit more then this guy started talking to me.'
He encouraged her to train in a boxing gym and slowly became more comfortable with her new passion - even taking part in a boxing match in London.
'I was eating better and decided I wanted to start weight training. I started training for a bikini fitness competition.
'I was eight weeks into a 12-week programme but stopped because I felt scared and could see I was starting to look skinny again and realised it wasn't healthy for someone like me.'
Now Ceri is continuing to train but is taking it slow and hopes to compete in bodybuilding competitions next year.
And after battling her eating disorders, Ceri is determined to let others fighting anorexia or bulimia know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Ceri's family were terrified that she was going to die after she was diagnosed with re-feeding syndrome but Ceri fought back and joined a boxing gym to try and build up her strength
Ceri takes her weight training seriously and hopes to become a bodybuilder. She even took part in a boxing match in London
Ceri said: 'I'm taking weight training seriously and it's really helped me with my recovery. I'm going to the gym five or six times a week and working out for about an hour to two hours.
'I started to feel strong, I could see that my body was changing.
'I started taking pictures to show how it's changed and for the first time I looked at a picture of myself and thought I liked the way I look.
'When I compare them to what I looked like before I can't believe it. I didn't realise I looked like that.
'Weight training has saved my life and I'm taking every day as it comes.
'I'm in healthy relationship and my boyfriend has helped me a lot. I moved to Southport to be near him and now people know me as gym Ceri rather than anorexic Ceri.'
Her relationship with food is much healthier and she said she can eat meals off plates and nor get worried about how much she is eating.
'I'm trying all kinds of new foods now too. I'd never been to a fast food restaurant. I was scared of that kind of food but I've started to relax and eat without realising.
'I have my on and off days. Sometimes I feel like I've got no control and the next day I'll feel totally relaxed.
'I know it's a journey but I know I can't put myself through that again and I don't want to put my family through it again.
'I did it without help from doctors which is not something I'd recommend. For anyone else going through it I'd tell them to get help and try not to stress yourself out.
'Just know that life does get better.'
If you need help or support for an eating disorder or body image issue, please call b-eat or visit their website b-eat.co.uk. Adult helpline: 0808 801 0677 Youthline: 0808 801 0711
Link article
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/12/anorexia-survivor-bullied-for-being-chunky-ate-just-100-calories-a-day/
Main photo article An anorexia survivor whose weight plummeted to just five stone after she was taunted for being ‘chunky’ has revealed how she turned her life around – and is training to become a bodybuilder.
Ceri Thompson, from Southport, Merseyside, revealed that after being bullied at school...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
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