A woman ended up in hospital being fed by a tube after "spiralling out of control".
Julie Levens, from Huyton, found herself battling with anorexia nervosa and over exercising during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. She was hospitalised when she hit her lowest weight and was told by doctors she was "lucky to be alive".
Julie said: "I had very disordered habits that led me to spiral out of control during the coronavirus lockdowns. When I ended up on bed rest in hospital being fed through tubes, one of the consultants told me that my heart could stop beating at any minute.
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"I was so severely underweight and malnourished I wasn't even allowed to get up and walk to the toilet."
Julie, who works as a charity worker, realised something needed to change and she needed to find a healthier way to exercise. She said: "I came across POW8R [an app] during one of my daily lockdown walks and was drawn to how real and genuine the people were. I stopped one of my other subscriptions and immediately signed up."
POW8R was created by Holly Braithwaite, 36, and Callum Webb, 33, and became a "lifeline" for Julie. While not professional experts in eating disorders, the team reached out to Julie to offer emotional support and guidance, helping kickstart her recovery.
She said: "I didn't receive much help from the NHS services, to be honest. I felt as though I would get a telling off every time my weight was slightly low, like I was a naughty child.
"What I needed was more personalised and supportive care. Holly and Callum shifted my mindset towards food and fitness and built up my strength because I was extremely weak.
"They constantly checked in on me and offered support in any way they could. I could see they had total faith in me and knew I could get better - and now I have completely transformed my life."
Two years later Julie has gained two stone and says she feels stronger than ever.
She said: "When I first started the workouts I was using 4kg kettlebells and my upper body was so weak I couldn't even lift them properly. Now I am using 16kg kettlebells and doing the live workouts up to four times a week."
"Holly helped me loads nutrition-wise. She took away the focus on weight and made it about becoming strong and healthy to fuel my workouts getting the right amount of vitamins and protein in.
"Before, breakfast was the hardest meal of the day for me to eat. Now I enjoy all of my meals and particularly take pleasure in preparing my post-workout breakfast of Greek yoghurt, protein powder and berries to replenish my muscles and get stronger.
"They [Holly and Callum] genuinely saved my life. When I went into the hospital they didn't know how my heart was still beating. Without finding POW8R, it probably wouldn't be beating now."
If you are concerned about your own or someone else’s health, you can contact Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity, on 0808 801 0677 or beateatingdisorders.org.uk
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2023-12-17 05:30:00Z
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