Tess Holliday says other anorexics have accused her of 'lying' about her eating disorder
Tess Holliday has opened up about her battle with anorexia, saying she has faced backlash from other anorexics who think she is ‘lying’ about having the eating disorder because she is plus-size.
In an interview with Good Morning America that aired on Thursday, the 35-year-old model and body-positivity activist shared that she was recently diagnosed by a psychologist but has struggled with ‘disordered eating’ most of her life.
‘I always thought that I overate,’ she said. ‘But then, people in my life would say, “Oh yeah, I ate more than Tess,” and it was almost like I wore it as a badge of honor.’
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Opening up: Tess Holiday, 35, told Good Morning America that she was recently diagnosed with anorexia by a psychologist in a candid interview that aired on Thursday
Confusing: The plus-size model and body-positivity advocate said she’s struggled with ‘disordered eating’ most of her life but actually thought she ‘overate’
Tess received an outpouring of support when she publicly revealed that she is in recovery from the eating disorder, but there were some critics who questioned how she can love and celebrate curves and also be anorexic.
‘I’ve had a lot of messages from folks that are anorexic that are livid and angry because they feel like I’m lying,’ she said. ‘I am plus-size, but advocating for diversity and larger bodies, and so I think for people hearing me say I’m anorexic was really jarring and hard and confusing.’
The social media star, who found fame as a plus-size model, wants people to know that eating disorders don’t discriminate.
‘You can’t look at someone and tell whether or not they’re healthy. You just can’t,’ she said. ‘I understand that people look at me and I don’t fit what we have seen presented as, you know, the diagnosis for anorexia.
‘But then, for me, that tells me that there’s a larger problem which I’ve been actually saying for years is that we have a like, a lack of diversity and representation in the world.’
Backlash: While Tess has received an outpouring of support, she said she has also had people with anorexia accuse her of ‘lying’ because she’s not underweight
Thoughts: The mother of two believes it was ‘hard and confusing’ for people to hear her say she is anorexic when she’s a plus-size model advocating for larger bodies
Strike a pose: Tess shared photos of herself modeling a red sports bra and matching leggings from Fabletics on Wednesday as part of her partnership with the brand
Tess told GMA that she wants to use her platform to share her story and hopefully help others with similar struggles.
‘The sky’s the limit,’ she said. ‘I actually feel like I can take on the things that life is throwing my way and I have been happier in the last six months, through my recovery than I’ve been in my entire life. I feel whole. I feel at peace. I really feel in my power.’
Tess publicly revealed her anorexia diagnosis on Twitter last weekend in response to her growing frustration with people commenting on her weight and health.
‘I’m anorexic and in recovery. I’m not ashamed to say it out loud anymore,’ she tweeted. ‘I’m the result of a culture that celebrates thinness and 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 and I am finally free.’
Announcement: Tess publicly revealed her eating disorder on social media over the weekend
Candid: The plus-size model said she is ‘not ashamed’ to say that she has an eating disorder out loud anymore
Honest: Tess tweeted about her eating disorder on Saturday, saying she is the ‘result of a culture that celebrates thinness’
She explained in another post shared on Instagram that she has lost weight while healing from her eating disorder and has been inundated with people encouraging her to lose more.
‘To everyone that keeps saying “you’re looking healthy lately” or “You are losing weight, keep it up!” Stop. Don’t. Comment. On. My. Weight. Or. Perceived. Health. Keep. It. To. Yourself. Thanks,’ she wrote.
‘I’m healing from an eating disorder and feeding my body regularly for the first time in my entire life,’ she noted.
‘When you equate weight loss with “health” and place value and worth on someone’s size, you are basically saying that we are more valuable now because we are smaller and perpetuating diet culture… and that’s corny as hell. NOT here for it.’
Triggering: The plus-size model warned people on Twitter and Instagram to keep their comments about her weight to themselves
Happy: The body-positivity activist, pictured in March, said she is now able to ‘care for’ for the body she ‘punished’ her entire life and is ‘finally free’
Damaging: Tess, pictured earlier this month, shared that she she lost weight while healing from her eating disorder and people have been encouraging her to lose more
The mother of two added that people’s positive comments about her weight loss are triggering to both her and others.
‘For folks like me that are trying to reframe our relationships with our bodies and heal, hearing comments about weight is triggering as hell,’ she said.
‘It sets us back in our progress — and when people working on themselves see you commenting to me that way, it hurts THEM, not just me. I can take it (I shouldn’t have to, but I can) but they didn’t ask for that trauma, ok?’
Tess ended her post with a warning, saying: ‘If you can’t tell someone they look nice without making it about their size, then baby, please don’t say nuthin at all.’
The social media star received plenty of messages of support from fans, inspiring some to open up about their own eating disorders.
Hard to handle: The model, pictured in July 2020, has spent decades of struggling with body image and backlash over her weight
Truth: ‘For folks like me that are trying to reframe our relationships with our bodies and heal, hearing comments about weight is triggering as hell,’ said Tess, pictured in October 2020
Social media star: Tess, pictured in November 2020, has more than 2.1 million Instagram followers
‘Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Over the last 2 years, encouraged by an ex I’ve been for the most part starving myself,’ one person commented. ‘I went from 380 to 240 but everyone made it a positive thing I’d didn’t realize it could be a problem.’
‘Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying this. I am as well,’ another shared. ‘However not being a skinny-minnie has me all wrapped up in my head about it. So hard to describe how it feels. I have a good friend who applauds me when I finish just a sandwich.’
Despite the positive comments and support she received, there were those who questioned her eating disorder.
‘Not the “but your fat how are you anorexic” comments [six],’ she tweeted. ‘Y’all don’t know how science & body works huh.
‘My technical diagnosis is anorexia nervosa and yes, I’m still not ashamed. I’m too damn happy for y’all to even come close to dimming my shine.’
WHAT IS ATYPICAL ANOREXIA?
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by weight loss, a fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image.
People with anorexia generally restrict their calories and types of foods they eat. They may also exercise compulsively, purge via vomiting and laxatives, and/or binge eat.
When people think of anorexia, they normally think of a person of extremely low weight. However, a person with atypical anorexia nervosa does not have this symptom of the disease.
Studies have found that people with larger bodies can also have anorexia.
In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association added atypical anorexia nervosa to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
The DSM is used worldwide and contains sets of diagnostic criteria to help clinicians diagnose mental health problems.
Atypical anorexia has all the criteria of anorexia met, except significant weight loss. The individual’s weight is within or above the normal range.
According to the DSM-5 criteria, to be diagnosed with either atypical anorexia or tradition anorexia, they must have:
- Persistent restriction of energy intake (in the case of anorexia, leading to significantly low body weight)
- Either an intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat or persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain (even if significantly low weight)
- Disturbance in the way one’s body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body shape and weight on self-evaluation, or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of the potentially low body weight
Sometimes atypical anorexia is considered an ‘other specified feeding or eating disorder’ (OSFED).
Source: National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
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She added: ‘To everyone saying that I can’t possibly love myself and have an eating disorder, that is the actual definition of loving myself. Being able to prioritize myself & to be in recovery. I’m more self-aware than any of my critics but you know, y’all go off.’
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by weight loss, a fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image, according to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).
People with anorexia generally restrict their calories and types of foods they eat. They may also ‘exercise compulsively, purge via vomiting and laxatives, and/or binge eat.’
While anorexia is typically associated with low body weight, studies have found that people with larger bodies can also have anorexia.
Atypical anorexia nervosa was formally recognized in 2013 and is diagnosed in patients who don’t have the usual low body weight synonymous with the disorder.
Looking back: Tess is pictured on the red carpet at the Grammys in January 2020
Looking back: The mother of two, who is pictured voting in November, has also been candid about her struggles with depression and anxiety
Boudoir shoot: Tess, pictured in August 2020, is known for sharing racy photos of herself online. In a recent tweet, she insisted that she can have anorexia and still love herself
NEDA noted that larger-bodied individuals struggling with the eating disorder ‘may be less likely to be diagnosed due to cultural prejudice against fat and obesity.’
Tess, who has more than 2.1 million Instagram followers, has been also been open with her fans about her struggles with anxiety and depression as well as the dissolution of her marriage.
In October 2020, she announced that she and her husband of five years, Nick Holliday, split following the photographer’s move to his native Australia the year before.
She confirmed their breakup on Instagram when she shared a topless photo of herself posing in a bathroom in Ojai, Californiaa, writing: ‘Cut a boy off and my checks got bigger.’
Just days after she revealed they were headed for a divorce, she slammed Nick online, branding him an absentee father and an ‘abusive narcissist’ while accusing him of gaslighting her.
Over: Tess announced last year that she had her husband of five years, Nick Holliday, had split. They’re pictured in February 2018
Big news: She confirmed their split in late October while sharing a topless selfie, writing: ‘Cut a boy off and my checks got bigger’
Happier times: Tess and Nick secretly wed in a Las Vegas chapel in 2015 (pictured). Following their split, she branded him an absentee father and an ‘abusive narcissist’
‘Of course Trump and my ex are both Geminis, both abusive narcissists who make me question my own reality,’ Tess tweeted the day before the 2020 presidential election.
Tess and Nick share a four-year-old son Bowie, and she also has a 15-year-old son Rylee from a previous relationship.
When a fan warned her about the dangers of publicly bashing her child’s father, Tess claimed she has been raising their son by herself.
In July 2019, Tess came out as pansexual and said she would be open to a relationship with a woman. At the time, she was in a monogamous heterosexual marriage with Nick, who describes himself as a ‘queer dad’ on his Instagram bio.
The influencer alluded to problems in their relationship in an interview with Parents that was featured in the magazine’s January issue.
Tess shared that she and Nick were living apart, saying he had been ‘working on himself’ in his native Australia since September 2019. However, she declined to comment on their relationship status.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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