Hi! I'm currently recovering from anorexia and I love running, swimming, and biking. I also adore classic literature and classical piano music.

It all started in Fall '07 when I was participating in swimming and high school cross country running as a seventh grader. I was exercising over four hours a day. It started innocently enough. I grew two inches and lost a little bit of weight due to all the exercise. I had always been a bit too thin throughout my childhood, so this was hardly noticeable at first.

As I unintentionally lost weight, my performance in swimming dropped, which frustrated me because I am a perfectionist. I started turning blue and purple, and it was so noticeable that you could see it all the way across the pool. I started feeling extreme fatigue and was unable to finish races. My coach had to lift me out of the water because I was so weak I couldn't pull myself out of the pool. I was forced to back off on the sports because I was almost passing out.

As I started exercising less, I started eating less. I was eternally cold all the time. It was just an awful cycle. I started doing about 500-1000 situps every day, and I still have the scars because I would get sores on my back from doing so many. I was still swimming, but not nearly as intensely as before. I kept losing weight.

My parents were concerned, but they did not suspect an eating disorder. They took me to cardiologists and pulmonologists, who noticed my abnormally low blood pressure. By now I had reached the height of my anorexia. I was still attempting to swim, but I was so light-headed and dizzy all the time. My parents took me to a rheumatologist that said I had Reynoud's syndrome because of my purple, freezing hands and feet. He also noted that my heart rate was a dangerous 36. My mom, dad, and friends began to notice my almost nonexistent eating patterns.

When we were on a trip in May 2008, my mom became very concerned because I wouldn't eat anything when we went out to dinner. When we got home, she immediately called the adolescent med doctor. I went to her, angry and bitter that my secret had been found out. However, I was shocked by what she told me. She said I was lucky to not have had cardiac arrest. She said that she could easily put me in the hospital, but she decided to give me a chance because I showed potential. I started the long road to recovery.

As of January 2009, I have returned to a perfectly healthy weight, and I am so happy to be swimming well again. I can't wait for track season too! However, I hate the way I look right now and am trying to plough through body image issues.