This is my story, and I am finally ready to tell it.

Hi, i'm Taylor.  I am fifteen years old and I have had body image issues since around seventh grade.  In seventh grade, I went on a 1000 calorie diet that lasted until around the summer of 2007, when I stumbled upon some of the Thinspo websites on Xanga. 

I decided to change to that "lifestyle" this summer, and began restricting my calories to around 400 calories, and if I ever went over 600 calories, I considered it a failed day.   This was working great for  me in the beginning. I had complete control of myself, was losing weight, and I was an overall happier person.  But this was short-lived.  Only three months later my hair began falling out, I was always exhausted, I was rude to every single person I knew, and I hardly had energy to walk.   I would watch Food Network constantly  and salivate over the food they made.  I even had dreams about food! At this point I was around 5'7" and 100 pounds.

I had been using this website throughout the whole disorder to check the calories in the sparse amount of food that I was eating. Luckily though, I found my way into the forums and began reading all of the posts that said how many calories teens needed.   This opened my eyes. I immediately upped my calories to 800, then 1200, and now I am at around 1600 calories.

I am 5'7" and 114 pounds now.  I have never felt or looked better,  and it's all because of you users.  I thank each and every one of you for saving my life.

I realize that I am still technically underweight, but it is hard enough for me to eat 1600 calories at the moment. I promise I truly am working on that, although I am mainly focusing on getting proper nutrition.

If there is anybody struggling with an eating disorder and genuinely wants to change, I would love to share my experiences and hopefully educate you on the danger that you are putting yourself into.  I would also love to hear the stories of people who have been successful in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.