“Please Don’t Tell Me I’m Thin”: Confessions of a Recovering Anorexic


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Whoa. I stumbled across an absolutely enthralling read by self-proclaimed recovering anorexic Samantha Levy, who writes an open letter, of sorts, to all the people in her life—past, present, future—who’ve ever commented on her body or weight.

In a blog post titled, “What I Weigh Is None of Your Business: What It’s Like To Be Recovering from Anorexia and Complimented on How Thin I Am,” she confronts the semi-envious, completely uninformed comments she’s heard so many times before: “You’re so thin! How do you do it?!”

Levy’s answer:

I exercise. I exercise in the cold, when I have a cold, with a fever, in the feverishly hot weather. I exercise with pain: in my legs, in my back, with ankles so weak I fear they will one day fail me.

I starve. I deny myself delicious food. Yummy food. The kind of food everyone else loves and eats together while I isolate. Being alone is the easiest way for me to avoid scary foods. And nearly every food is scary. I stick to what’s comfortable, which often means keeping my life simple and small.

This keeps my waist small, too.

Do you still want to be as thin as me?

This is a really intense read, y’all, and one I recommend you spend time digesting. It could have you thinking twice before you comment on—even what you might consider a compliment—another person’s body.

Read the full essay here.