Rachel C’s story: from Purging to POPstar!
Rachel C’s story: from Purging to POPstar!
Here’s an email I got from a fan that truly demonstrated resilience. Rachel, I’m so proud of you for taking control of your life and making healthy decisions.
Please read her story.
“I want to say thank you more than anything, but here’s my story to explain why. I’m hoping to make it to the inspirational stories page, but in all honesty it would mean the world to me if all you do is read it 🙂
I’m Rachel, 20 and a sociology major. I’d say my story starts around the age of 8 when I began voicing some dissatisfaction with my body. I was an active kid, in gymnastics and the local soccer league, but always chubbier than most girls, which gave me a lot of anxiety. It was around that time that I started snacking too much, but my mom made a few negative comments, so I stopped for a while. When I hit puberty, however, things really took a turn for the worse. Bipolar II disorder and OCD run in my family, and by 13 I was starting to restrict my calories. When mood swings hit, I would panic and grasp for something I could make my own, make orderly and safe. It’s cliche of course, but not eating gave me that control, or what I know now to be a false sense of it. Then when I was 14 I purged for the first time. From that day on it was a downward spiral. There were happy times, sure, but it was overall the most painful time of my life. I was so withdrawn from my family, my field hockey team and other friends, so underweight and even after a couple hospitalizations, I purged for 2 more years. To this day I’m not sure what made me stop, but I switched from one unhealthy lifestyle to another, and went from 95 lbs to a 185 in 3 years. I just didn’t want to try anymore.
This past January, at 19, I relapsed with bulimia. And…then came March. I started researching types of exercises I hadn’t given a shot yet, and when I found some POP Pilates videos, I don’t know, something about Cassey’s positive attitude, smile and determination was contagious. I felt this need to start immediately, and I did! After two weeks, I was working out for 40 minutes per day, doing a couple videos and running on the treadmill. From March to now in October, I’ve gone from 185 lbs to 140. The best, most life changing part though was my improved mood and energy. I had the natural endorphin boost as well as a lasting sense of accomplishment… I cannot even convey to anyone how much that has done for me, because without it I know I would have kept purging. I came clean to my therapist in April, who has been astonished at my progress. I eat so much healthier now and between 1200 and 1600 calories a day. Sometimes things still get very difficult. I have intense mood swings from time to time, and thoughts about purging, but I am now confident enough in my strength to keep going. I’m learning to take good care of my body and one day I know I will love it. Thank you Cassey for showing me how to believe in myself. “
Love ya Rachel and welcome to the Blogilates community <3
For more inspirational stories, come here.
11 thoughts on “Rachel C’s story: from Purging to POPstar!”
There are 11 comments posted by our users.
Rachel, thank you for sharing your story! It’s powerful and you are an inspiration 🙂
Thank you for sharing with us Rachel!
I can totally relate, my ED started at the age of 13, and at 21 I still struggle with my triggers today. The road to recovery is a *long* one, but we can do it!
I thank Cassey for her awesome blog and POP Pilates – you are an inspiration to all of us. Thank you for giving us the tools to get fit the healthy way, and for making it FUN!
Much love! xoxox
:’) Thank you soooso much everyone. Recovery is a continuous path, I’m not perfect but learning to forgive myself and keep going helps tremendously. Plus just knowing there are people out there who are so supportive and wonderful like yourselves reminds me that I’m not alone. Thanks again! <3
GOOD FOR YOU RACHEL! :O You can do it, and you CAN be happy with yourself, ’cause that’s the most important thing in life. To LOVE yourself for who you are. Faults and everything. I can relate too, ’cause I had my own eating problems when I was a teenager too, I remember one time when I didn’t eat anything for about five days. Now whenever I feel that I’m feeling down again, I push those stupid “do not eat anything, you are fat!”-thoughts away, AND talk with people. Why I feel bad, What I think about it, What might help me…. I know I’m not fat, my BMI is about 19, so I just need to work on the bad thoughts whenever they come at me. You can never talk too much about things that make you feel bad. Keep up the good work, it’s a long process to get over from eating disorders, but WE ALL support you, right?
I can relate pretty well with this. I’ve had periods of ‘I just don’t care anymore” in which I gained a lot, which alternated with bulimia periods and not eating. I still struggle from time to time, especially when I’m stressed and feel like everything is out of control and not happening the way I want to, I feel that if I stop eating or go through extreme exercising (like 4 hours a day every day of the week) I have control over something in my life. I manage it a lot more now though, I work out about 40-50 minutes a day with one day of break each week to just relax and I eat around 1200-1400 calories. And yes I owe a lot of this to POP Pilates 🙂
wow!! you’re amazing Rachel! congratulations for your great job!
So genuinely happy for you, Rachel! You are an inspiration to anyone.
Way to overcome tons of other girls are stuck in still <3 You're not only an inspiration to me, but to tons of other young girls in recovery. Keep it up and stay strong!
wow. so inspiring. stay postive, rachel! i, too, have struggled with unhealthy patterns. the only way that i have found to stay whole and healthy is the type of lifestyle you describe finding with pop pilates.
you are beautiful!
I relate to this so much. I’m a newly 20 year old college student who has suffered through anorexia my whole life. My mother and grandmother are both anorexic. Cassey’s videos are uplifting and give me something to look forward to. God bless you both.
Congratulations to you!
Such an achievement to have broken free from yourself!
It’s a sad, but also an amazing story and I am so happy you are starting to blossom and be happy and that feeling of accomplishment is such a strong force to keep ya going and keep at it!
Cassey is a fantastic motivator and she is such an inspiration, but you should not forget to thank yourself, for making the choise you made and stuck with it.
You made this happen!
And on those gloomy days that we all have, you always got the blogilates community to support you!
I believe in you too! <3