Walk to Nourish, not Punish

Do you want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money in aid of Butterfly Foundation and every donation will help. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

In my late teens - early twenties I suffered with disordered eating patterns which resulted in an anorexia diagnosis. In July of 2020, it nearly resulted in my own death. Eating disorders are a mental illness - Approximately 55- 97% of people diagnosed with an eating disorder have a mental illness comorbid condition. Furthermore, in July of 2020, I lost my dad to suicide and saw what effect that had on the world inside and around me. I knew I was only days away from the same path, so I decided to go all in recovery. Health and fitness has been a big part of my early twenties. With strength, courage and determination, I was able to change my mindset from using exercise and nutrition as a way to harm myself, as a way to nourish, fuel and become the strongest version of myself - mentally and physically. I now work in the fitness industry with many individuals with a goal to inspire others in moving their body to feel good, and in ways that bring joy and fulfillment. That is why I will be walking 100,000 steps in one day. I know this can be contradicting for eating disorder recovery. You do not have to use exercise in your life, you do not need to have exercise as a focus or reason to recover. However, it is prevalent for me and my journey, and I want to show what recovery has given me - a strong, mobile and healthy body that is capable of doing hard things - like walking 100,000 steps in one day.

Some eating disorder statistics -

1 in 5 deaths in anorexia are from suicide

20% of individuals with an anorexia diagnosis will die

The mortality rate for anorexia is “12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15 – 24 years old1 in 200 women suffers from anorexia

Anorexia typically begins presenting during adolescence or young adulthood

Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness in adolescents

The gender distribution for Binge Eating Disorder is roughly equal for males and females

15% of all women will experience an eating disorder in their lifetime

An Australian study found that 23% of transgender young people have a current or previous diagnosis of an eating disorder

More information about Butterfly Foundation: Butterfly's vision is to live in a world that celebrates health, well being and diversity. Its mission is to bring about change to the culture, policy and practice in the prevention, treatment and support of those affected by eating disorders and negative body image. Accordingly, Butterfly undertakes projects and activities that raise awareness about eating disorders and negative body image, seek to reduce stigma and encourage help seeking, and offer support to those with a lived experience, including:- Education in schools and community aimed at addressing risk factors for eating disorders and negative body image;- National awareness campaigns and active engagement in social media and other platforms to raise awareness, reduce stigma and encourage help seeking;- Developing the evidence base through research and collaboration via the Butterfly Research Institute;- Develop and disseminate a nationally consistent, evidence based approach to the prevention and treatment of eating disorders in Australia through the National Eating Disorders Collaboration;- Providing treatment and support services including national Teleweb counselling, clinical programs, community based recovery support services and an Intensive Outpatient Program;- Partnership with NSW Health through the Sydney Children's Hospital Network to provide the first child and adolescent day program for eating disorders in NSW, located at Butterfly House in Sydney;- Provide prevention and early intervention services focusing on risk factors for the development of eating disorders;- Providing financial support and assistance for people to access treatment.