Woman, 24, whose battle with anorexia saw her weight drop to 4.5 stone ‘saved’ by newfound passion for BODYBUILDING
Sophie Gajnik, 24, realised she needed to make a change when her hair started falling out and can now squat four times her body weight when she was anorexic
An ANOREXIC woman who plummeted to four-and-a-half-stone and lived on 300 calories a day has reclaimed her health by developing a passion for BODY BUILDING.
Sophie Gajnik, 24, from Melbourne, Australia, had always enjoyed sport from a young age but claims the pressure of university left little time for exercise, causing her to gain almost a stone in weight.
In a desperate bid to get back in shape, she started scrutinising her diet and exercising until she collapsed in exhaustion.
Sophie's strict regime quickly spiralled out of control and over the course of a year she'd gone from a healthy eight-and-a-half-stone to almost half that, developing serious medical conditions like liver damage and osteoporosis along the way.
But it wasn't until her hair started falling out that she realised she needed to make a change.
Now, instead of eating lettuce and shunning fatty foods, Sophie polishes off chicken schnitzels and dozens of eggs in a bid to build muscle.
Today she weighs a healthy 10 stone and her new-found muscles mean she can squat an impressive 105kgs - the equivalent of almost four of her former anorexics selves.
Sophie said: "I was never convinced that I had anorexia, but how could I be? I was so hungry and delusional. I was dying.
"I meticulously counted every calorie and would only eat if I 'earned' it through exercise. Even then, I wouldn't eat anything that was less than 90 per cent water-based.
"I had no muscles and rarely could I get up in time to go to the bathroom.
“Usually I'd just wee myself and my mum or boyfriend at the time would have to clean up after me.
"I had long pink hair and if I ran my fingers through it, 50 hairs would come out. It was devastating."
Growing up, sport was always Sophie's favourite part about school and at home her dad introduced her to swimming and tennis.
With two French parents, the family's diet was rich in butter and Sophie would snack endlessly on Doritos and lollies.
As a child she admitted she didn't even know what a calorie was.
Her active lifestyle kept her skinny and at 5ft 5" tall she hovered around eight stone.
But when it was time to enter university at 19, Sophie's world began to change.
She said: "I decided to study psychology because I wanted to be a psychologist or a social worker, but I quickly realised that I couldn't be those things because I'm too much of an emotional person.
"So after about a year, in December 2011, I cancelled my course. My parents were quite concerned and told me I was ruining my life.
"They came to Australia from France not speaking any English, so I felt like a failure. Like garbage.
"On top of that, I noticed I'd put on nearly a stone and my jeans were a little snug so I thought, at least I can get on top on this. This is something I can control."
The changes were small at first for Sophie - cutting out the junk food and going for short runs around the neighbourhood, and within four months she was back to her pre-uni weight.
The sense of achievement was a feeling she hadn't had in so long, so she decided to set another goal of seven stone, cutting out olive oil and fatty meats from her diet.
No longer was Sophie's diet a way to lose weight, but a serious disorder fuelled by her obsession with achievement.
She admitted: "On a typical day, I'd wake up and exercise so I could 'earn' my breakfast.
"That meant a three kilometre run, skipping for two minutes, push ups, sit ups, and jumping jacks until I passed out or nearly threw up. The whole routine would take me two or three hours.
"Then the voice in my head would say, 'don't eat breakfast! You're going to ruin your workout!'
"When I did eat, which was usually three times a day, I'd never go above 100 calories.
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"I'd even count the two calories in my Lipton tea. I was so scared of keeping food in the fridge because I thought my mum's food would seep out of the plastic and get onto mine. I was so delusional."
Instead of going out to parties with her friends, Sophie would lock herself in her room and spend hours researching ways to lose weight.
Despite the red flags that were beginning to creep up on her body, such as painful joints and yellowing skin, Sophie decided to go on holiday to Thailand with her then-boyfriend.
She said: "While we were there, it was at least 30 degrees every day with 90 per cent humidity, but I had to sleep with the heater on and two blankets.
"We were walking around all day and because I couldn't measure my food, I cut everything in half just to be sure.
"Not surprisingly, I lost 5kgs while we were there. And I was so excited.
"My parents, on the other hand, didn't even want to see the photos from our trip. To them, I was just a skeleton on the beach."
Too weak to exercise, Sophie continued to cut calories and before long she had plummeted to just over four-and-a-half stone.
Despite her iron deficiency, low blood pressure, liver damage and the loss of her period, it wasn't until Sophie noticed her hair falling out that she decided to seek help.
With the doctor in front of her, there was nowhere to hide and Sophie had to admit to herself that she had anorexia.
She said: "I was out of options. I had to start eating or I would die.
"But I decided I wanted to do it myself. I didn't want anyone interfering with my food or feeding me high-calorie shakes. That was my worst nightmare.
"In the beginning, I stuck with the same foods I felt comfortable with, but would eat an extra 50 calories at each meal.
"Eventually I started adding foods back into my diet, like carrots, apples, and capsicum. They tasted so sweet and flavourful!"
Slowly the number on the scale began to creep back up and by the start of 2014, after nearly a year of recovery, Sophie was back to almost eight stone.
By then she was beginning to get back into her fitness routine, starting out with stretching and watching yoga videos before progressing to jogging.
She said: "Cardio is great for your heart but I also wanted to get stronger, so I started lifting weights.
"I was so weak and self-conscious in the beginning, so I'd wait until midnight before going to the gym.
"I was addicted. I loved the positive relationship with food that came with it, as you have to eat protein to see results.
"Around the same time, there was a new gym that was opening closer to where I lived, so one day I took a jog there and put in my resume.
"I knew it was going to be hard finding work because I'd been out of action since 2012, but they offered me a job in reception.
"It was the perfect opportunity to re-join society and I was finally becoming my bubbly self again."
After a year of working at the gym, Sophie was offered the position of manager in February 2016.
She's well-known on the floor and admired for sharing her story openly and honestly.
Now Sophie loves showing women that it's okay to lift weights and leads by example.
She said: "I'm addicted to the weights and obsessed with keeping strong and active. I don't weigh myself anymore or count anything I eat and I even eat treats again.
"I consider myself fully recovered, but eating disorders are a real addiction, just like drugs or alcohol. I'm always wary that I could slip back into old habits, but I'm enjoying where I am right now.
"I'm glad I went through what I did. It was painful, but it taught me a lot. If I can help anyone by sharing my story, then it's worth it."
Last month we told how a teenager who survived on just one bagel a day showed off her incredible recovery after her weight plummeted to a dangerous four stone.
Graphic design and media communications student Faye Cullen, 18, battled with anorexia for four years.