Plus size model Tess Holliday opens up about anorexia diagnosis

Holliday said she has been “struggling with eating disorders most of her life”
Tess Holliday/Instagram

Plus size model Tess Holliday has opened up about her long battle with anorexia and the confusion she felt after she was diagnosed with the condition.

Ms Holliday, who became the first size 22 model to sign with a major agency in 2015, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain she is now “healthier and happier” than ever before after dealing with the condition.

But she said the media usually portrays people with anorexia as being “extremely underweight”.

“But that’s part of why I had no idea that I could even struggle with anorexia,” she added.

“So you know, that’s part of why I wanted to share my story, because I know my body very well, I knew myself very well.

“So to hear that I could be, you know, living in a larger body and struggling with a disorder that’s been presented differently really threw me for a loop, and I figured other people were dealing with the same thing.”

Ms Holliday said she has been “struggling with eating disorders most of my entire life”.

“I restricted, I wouldn’t eat, I would go sometimes an entire day without eating anything,” she said.

Ms Holliday said it is “empowering” to be able to speak about her disorder, adding: “This is not a fun thing to be talking about.

“But the reality is, you know, if someone that can be as knowledgeable about their body and body positivity and loving yourself, if I can be struggling with an eating disorder like anorexia, I know that there’s other people that are dealing with it.”

Earlier this month, Ms Holliday shared her anorexia diagnosis on Twitter as she urged people not to comment on her "weight or perceived health."

She tweeted: "I’m anorexic & in recovery. I’m not ashamed to say it out loud anymore. I’m the result of a culture that celebrates thinness & equates that to worth, but I get to write my own narrative now. I’m finally able to care for a body that I’ve punished my entire life & I am finally free."

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