Forget the calories, I ate myself skinny: Diet specialist reveals unusual weight loss plan

FOOD guru Christy reveals her battle with extreme diets, bulimia and depression in her book.

GLAMOROUS Christy Fergusson has told how she won a terrifying battle with bulimia in a struggle to be super-thin.

For years, she alternated between periods of bingeing and purging, and bouts of starvation till she realised what she needed was a total makeover of her life.

Now she has a PhD in psychology and specialist nutrition training and uses her personal experiences to help other young women avoid the same path.

And she's convinced it's possible to eat your way into a pair of skinny jeans, while staying sane and sexy at the same time.

Christy, 30, from Glasgow, said: "I sympathise with girls who're dieting and feeling miserable, lethargic and fed-up because that's exactly what I was like.

"I used to try so hard to reach seven-and-a-half stone. That was a magical weight for me when I was a teenager and I would starve myself to try to get there.

"Trouble is, once I got there I actually felt terrible. Now, I'm around seven-and-a-half stone but I'm fitter than I've ever been and I never tried to reach the weight.

"It's just where I am naturally when I eat well and live well."

Christy has written a self-help book – Hot, Healthy, Happy – explaining how she cured her health problems.

She's hoping that today's teenagers and 20-somethings will recognise some of their own hang-ups in her confessions.

The mum-of-one said: "I had so many health issues in my childhood and my teens.

"At 11, I had to leave school for a year because I was suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. I became overweight, I had digestive problems, horrendous acne, polycystic ovaries and endemetriosis.

"I would fluctuate between bulimia and strict calorie restriction. I would have one Weetabix with skimmed milk for breakfast then one WeightWatchers prepared meal for dinner and that's all I'd have all day.

"Then I'd just have a huge binge and make myself sick afterwards."

When they found out about the bulimia, Christy's anxious mum and dad took her in search of therapy.

In fifth year, she was only well enough to attend school one day a week but still won a place at university to study psychology.
She said: "It was when I saw a naturopath that it all fell into place for me. I was still eating rubbish at the time – Coco Pops and Pot Noodles – but I discovered that my diet was actually making me ill.

"And when I started making changes to that, I started looking better too."

Christy ditched the junk food in favour of detox regimes and nutritionally balanced meals and she noticed that her other ailments started to wane.

She said: "We're obsessed with counting calories when we should be looking at the ingredients."

Christy, married to personal trainer Jonathan White, follows a gluten and
dairy-free diet which includes lots of fresh green juices and no processed foods.

She said: "I enjoy food now – and it doesn't damage me."

Hot Healthy Happy by Christy Fergusson, published by Hay House at £12.99.

More News: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/health-fitness/eating-more-lose-weight-key-1844258