Rebecca Hackfath took to healthy eating during her teenage years, encouraged by her older sister trying different diets.
But because of “exam stress” as well as friendship and family problems, her dieting progressed into anorexia.
This was because Rebecca saw her diet as the only thing under her control and became so skinny that she dropped to 63 pounds after hiding food from her family and some days would not even eat at all.
Watch her inspiring story below.
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Video credit: Rumble
When she reached the point that she was so weak she couldn’t even get out of bed, Rebecca, who was 19 at the time, was admitted to the hospital during her first year in university.
She underwent two years of treatment. Now 25, Rebecca is as healthy as ever and is currently training to be a Mental Health nurse at De Montfort University. She hopes to use her own experience to help others.
Rebecca, from Anstey, Leics, said: “I was always a fussy eater as a kid, but never thought anything of it.
“I always looked up to my older sister and always wanted to be like her – so when I saw her dieting I decided to try it too.
“I started by just eating healthy and then over time I cut more and more things out like chocolate and anything remotely unhealthy.
“I had recently started my GCSEs, had issues with my friendship circles and family problems, so I was constantly going through changes and stress.
“I decided that the only thing I could control myself was my diet, so took it to the next extreme.”
Even with her out-of-control diet and stress levels, Rebecca was able to get the grades needed to enter University. But because she lived by herself, her anorexia quickly went out of control and her weight precariously dropped.
She said: “When I was living with my parents I would do everything I could to look like I had eaten food – I would mash it on my plate or hide it in my pockets to throw in the bin when I was away from the table.
“I would even ‘stage’ that I had eaten meals by putting crumbs on clean plates, but even then there were times I would have to eat around them.
“Then, once I moved to university and was living by myself, I had no one to make sure I was eating.
“I definitely took advantage of it and would make sure that I was eating the bare minimum, and this is when I started to look unwell.
“My university at the time picked up on it and I was admitted to hospital to get some help when I was 19, but I only got worse when I came out.
“I would eat little to no calories a day which made me weak to the point that I couldn’t get out of bed and I only weighed four-and-a-half stone – so I moved back to my hometown.
“Then, when I was 20, I was re-admitted to hospital for another two months which is when I had a ‘light bulb’ moment
“After watching friends graduate at the same time I was supposed to, I knew that I had to take control of my life and get myself back on track.
“It was a slow process, but I kept my goals in my mind and eventually started getting better and letting go of my unhealthy obsession with my diet.”
Three years as an outpatient at the hospital convinced Rebecca to shift courses and work towards becoming a mental health nurse.
She said: “Being in the hospital so much I saw a lot of things a young girl shouldn’t see, and saw first-hand how much nurses help the situation.
“I feel like my first-hand experience will really help me in the job because I am living proof that it does get better.
“I want to teach people that they should confide in someone they trust early so they can get help before it’s too late.
“I can sympathize with everyone in hospital – being unwell and away from your friends and family is tough, so I want to help people make this situation as easy as possible.
“I’m in my second year now and absolutely love it and if I ever get bad thoughts, I just remember that if I get ill again I won’t be able to do a course that I really love and help people for the rest of my life.
“Finally I’m really excited to be moving forward with my life and doing something so positive that now neither my weight nor my diet comes into it anymore!”
Replaced!