Interview with Mel, anorexia blogger and her journey

And yes, we are continuing the “Interview” section!

Remember, we started with Angélique’s Interview , which was a great success.

We are back today with a second Interview: that of Mel who very kindly agreed to answer our questions. She keeps a blog (you will find the link at the end of the Interview): do not hesitate to visit her and you will learn even more!

Can you introduce yourself ?

My name is Mel, I’m 32, soon to be 33. I’m married and I have an adorable 4-year-old doll. My “food health” journey has been, how shall I say, more than chaotic: victim of diets since childhood, anorexia for more than 7 years, ups, downs… and after years of seeking help, but “real” support, the one who heals and not the one who calms the surface of the iceberg, I came out of it grown, trained in non-conformist nutrition and in personal development (or how to put an end to addictions, fears, guilt ..).

From what age did you no longer feel comfortable in your body? Why ?

My mother having suffered from child obesity, she always fought against this body and these kilos, with an aftertaste of shame and resentment against those who made fun of them. So, being a little chubby baby and a little girl with beautiful cheeks (but with average weight curves), she controlled my diet very young. I suffered a little from it as a child, because I couldn’t eat sweets like my cousins…. And I have cultivated a need to “compensate” for the times my parents weren’t there to tell me to stop :-). But I had lots of lovers, so I was fine in my head. As a teenager, I developed very quickly, with a beautiful 95C at 12 years old… horror for me. Especially in adolescence, this is where young people, especially girls, store fat for proper hormonal development, fat that evacuates itself once the body no longer needs it… But no one has ever explained that to me! Suddenly, a little chubby, my diets intensified, with their share of yo-yos, frustrations, “gavage”, guilt… and these diets actually made me gain more weight than anything else. I was not obese, but plump, with a peak of 62 kilos for 1.62m at 16 years old. But above all, I felt very bad about myself and that’s when I decided, on my own for the first time, that I had to be careful. And I discovered the incredible lure of counting calories….. until I fell into the infernal spiral of anorexia at the age of 20… I can’t explain everything here, it would take too long, but I think it’s is more detailed on my blog my diets have intensified, with their share of yo-yos, frustrations, “gavage”, guilt… and these diets have actually made me gain more weight than anything else. I was not obese, but plump, with a peak of 62 kilos for 1.62m at 16 years old. But above all, I felt very bad about myself and that’s when I decided, on my own for the first time, that I had to be careful. And I discovered the incredible lure of counting calories….. until I fell into the infernal spiral of anorexia at the age of 20… I can’t explain everything here, it would take too long, but I think it’s is more detailed on my blog my diets have intensified, with their share of yo-yos, frustrations, “gavage”, guilt… and these diets have actually made me gain more weight than anything else. I was not obese, but plump, with a peak of 62 kilos for 1.62m at 16 years old. But above all, I felt very bad about myself and that’s when I decided, on my own for the first time, that I had to be careful. And I discovered the incredible lure of counting calories….. until I fell into the infernal spiral of anorexia at the age of 20… I can’t explain everything here, it would take too long, but I think it’s is more detailed on my blog with at the peak 62 kilos for 1.62m at 16 years old. But above all, I felt very bad about myself and that’s when I decided, on my own for the first time, that I had to be careful. And I discovered the incredible lure of counting calories….. until I fell into the infernal spiral of anorexia at the age of 20… I can’t explain everything here, it would take too long, but I think it’s is more detailed on my blog with at the peak 62 kilos for 1.62m at 16 years old. But above all, I felt very bad about myself and that’s when I decided, on my own for the first time, that I had to be careful. And I discovered the incredible lure of counting calories….. until I fell into the infernal spiral of anorexia at the age of 20… I can’t explain everything here, it would take too long, but I think it’s is more detailed on my blog 

And today, where are you with your body and your weight?

It is very surprising…. I remember one of my uncles saying to me meanly when I was a kid “but anyway, you will never be thin! ”… I don’t have the spirit of revenge, resentment or anger, I have found my inner peace  But if he saw me today, I think he would swallow his tongue! I never weigh myself, except during medical visits. I am thin, even too thin for my taste and my husband’s taste: I must weigh about 44 kilos. And yet, I eat more than during my period of anorexia and I went from 10 hours of sport during this dirty period to 2 times 30 mins. I know, it’s inconceivable… If someone had told me it was possible, I would never, ever, ever have gone on a diet or fallen into this ano… but as I am convinced that “nothing arrives for nothing, this “experience” allowed me to discover the healthiest way to eat, all the lies of classic dietary advice, low calorie diets etc. and above all to help others. In short, at the emotional and psychological level, I went through hell, the hell of deprivation, “authorization/punishment” behavior, excessive sport, etc. I found my inner peace, through food, through techniques like eft, etc.

What are the main things and/or people that helped you get out of your anorexia? What was the “click” (if there was a particular one)?

It would take too long to describe here, once again I tell everything on my blog. The click…. I think I’ve come to the end of myself and I said to myself “either you choose to stay with your girlfriend “Ano”, staying alone, depressed, cut off from the world but thin, or you cut ties with her, you choose life, friends, love and you agree to become “normal” again”. Cornelian choice for an anorexic, because we are so good with this status…And above all, as a young bride, I wanted a child…. And impossible with my anorexia, because I no longer had my periods and impossible to bring them back…

To sum up, it was the American practitioners who got me out of there, I can cite Julia Ross who treats eating disorders like addictions, Gary Taubes, Jack Kruse… and a wonderful Belgian, who trained me by continued, Taty Lauwers.

You have turned to a multitude of different methods, and you now favor “non-private” methods (unlike diets therefore), and even more precisely the “paleo” type diet, is that right? How many “deprivation” diets, methods or tricks have you tried so far?

My god… all of them!!! I tried everything, and since I was very avant-garde, I even took agar agar and Konjac before they even arrived here! I really did everything, young people, weight watchers in my own way, calorie counting etc… but above all, what I followed during all this period, that is to say about 28 years (and oh how much I regret it! ), it’s 0 fat! What nonsense… if I had been told at the time that it was precisely by eating lots of good fats (be careful, not all kinds of fats!) that I would melt and that I would be so well in my head… No to the instead, we are told to eat starchy foods, bread, fruit, in short sugar, but above all no fat…

Today, I’m more in paleo mode, but in the “high fat low carb” version: in fact, I was diagnosed with gluten and lactose intolerance (very fashionable now, it’s crazy) a while ago 10 years. It was a real shock, especially since at the time nobody knew and I was taken for an extraterrestrial. In short, with my anorexia, I developed intestinal problems, and many other intolerances, in particular to all cereals, legumes and fructose. So, it is true that my diet is made up of 70% good fats (see my blog), 25% of proteins and the rest of vegetables, dark chocolate 100% etc… And above all, what changed my life was to change my sporting rhythm and sport: for about 10 years , I got up at 5 a.m. to make sure I could do an hour and a half of stepping (you know, Decathlon’s blue stepper) at a very slow pace, even on weekends, public holidays, etc… And when I got home from work, I went back to stepping again… In short, I was tired of getting up so early, I was losing a lot of time in there instead of taking care of my husband and my daughter, and above all I don’t even know to what extent this fake sport contributed to my sugar cravings… It’s a real addiction, the last one I have had to fight… Today, I only do one or two half-hour “bodybuilding” sessions per week. And there I see results on my body: I ​​recommend reading Body by science, you will understand!! I was wasting a lot of time there instead of taking care of my husband and my daughter, and above all I don’t even know to what extent this fake sport contributed to my sugar cravings… It’s a real addiction, the last that I had to fight… Today, I only do one or two half-hour “weight training” sessions per week. And there I see results on my body: I ​​recommend reading Body by science, you will understand!! I was wasting a lot of time there instead of taking care of my husband and my daughter, and above all I don’t even know to what extent this fake sport contributed to my sugar cravings… It’s a real addiction, the last that I had to fight… Today, I only do one or two half-hour “weight training” sessions per week. And there I see results on my body: I ​​recommend reading Body by science, you will understand!!

What would you like to say to Internet users who only see weight loss through deprivation?

To change radically  Or rather to ask the real questions about the effectiveness of these diets: if they really worked, no one would need to do them again, right? And above all, always deprive yourself…. It can’t exist, it’s not viable! Hence the yo-yos but everyone does as they want and especially as they can, because the psychological barriers are very hard to cross.

How do you go about helping someone with anorexia? What advice would you give to Internet users who know, in their entourage, an anorexic person?

It’s so complicated to help an ano person… because they have to help themselves, it’s the only way for them to get out of it, they have to really want it. My advice: don’t judge her because she doesn’t do it on purpose to be like that, she is inhabited by a force more powerful than her own will, she fights as best she can. Be there when she needs it…

You offer support for “victims of the regime”, could you tell us more?

The victims of diets are all those who have started one one day… because the yoyo effect sets in and suddenly we go from diet to diet, we completely upset our hormonal system and our body loses its natural ability to burn fat and not sugar… Just forget everything you’ve always learned about dietetics and eat differently, according to your deep profile. We are all different, so how would one and the same diet work for everyone? You have to eat according to your profile.

What do you think of the BMI (Body Mass Index)?

It is an interesting mathematical index to know where to stand from a medical point of view. It should be considered as such, and not as a tool to achieve “performances” of the type “I want to go below 17”.

Would you like to tell us about your blog? It’s time to advertise 

www.caloriepholie.com is my story, everything I experienced to get out of it, advice, links. When I created it, I did it above all for myself, as a therapy to tell myself that what I had experienced could be useful to others. It’s authentic, stuffed with the classic anti-diet notes and tips I talk about in previous questions. I have a lot of contacts via this blog, I am the first surprised, and also saddened because it is a reflection of our society: so many people suffer food speaking…. And find no help.

Will your blog last a long time?

As long as I have the request!!! As long as it is useful. I don’t have time to update it, but hey, it’s already dense enough for a first-timer!