Megan Jayne Crabbe's journey to recovery from an eating disorder has been nothing short of remarkable. The 31-year-old body-positive writer, who was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and body dysmorphia at the age of 14, has spent years navigating the complexities of her own mind.
Crabbe recalls being fixated on magazine articles about how to change her body as early as she was a preteen. As puberty began, her obsession with weight loss only intensified, leading her to adopt an extreme dieting regimen in an effort to manage anxiety and school pressures. But beneath the surface, Crabbe's eating disorder was wreaking havoc on her physical health.
She suffered from severe fatigue, low blood pressure, hearing loss, and dizziness – a laundry list of symptoms that attest to the devastating impact of disordered eating. Her body had shut down, and it took a hospitalization at 17 to prompt her parents to intervene.
The road to recovery was long and arduous, with Crabbe oscillating between periods of sobriety and relapse. She remembers committing to recovery with the same "all-or-nothing" mentality that had once fueled her anorexia, only to find herself back in the diet culture trap at 17.
It wasn't until Crabbe turned 21, after months of crash dieting and reaching a weight that she felt was her "goal," that she began to see the error of her ways. It was then that she discovered online body-positive communities and blogs, where individuals of all shapes and sizes were embracing their bodies and living life on their own terms.
Crabbe's transformation was nothing short of profound. She began to relearn hunger and fullness cues, moving away from restrictive eating habits and toward a more intuitive approach to food. Reconnecting with her body became central to healing, as she sought to listen to its needs rather than try to control it.
In doing so, Crabbe has become an outspoken advocate for body positivity, using her platform to challenge the societal norms that have long contributed to disordered eating and low self-esteem. She is a leading voice in the online community, inspiring countless others with her courage and resilience.
For Crabbe, recovery is not about achieving some mythical ideal of beauty or perfection but rather about embracing one's unique shape and size as a source of strength and empowerment. As she reflects on her journey, she knows that it took time to come to this realization: "My 'before' was trying to make myself as small as possible in every conceivable way... My 'after' is allowing myself to be my biggest self, however that looks."
Crabbe recalls being fixated on magazine articles about how to change her body as early as she was a preteen. As puberty began, her obsession with weight loss only intensified, leading her to adopt an extreme dieting regimen in an effort to manage anxiety and school pressures. But beneath the surface, Crabbe's eating disorder was wreaking havoc on her physical health.
She suffered from severe fatigue, low blood pressure, hearing loss, and dizziness – a laundry list of symptoms that attest to the devastating impact of disordered eating. Her body had shut down, and it took a hospitalization at 17 to prompt her parents to intervene.
The road to recovery was long and arduous, with Crabbe oscillating between periods of sobriety and relapse. She remembers committing to recovery with the same "all-or-nothing" mentality that had once fueled her anorexia, only to find herself back in the diet culture trap at 17.
It wasn't until Crabbe turned 21, after months of crash dieting and reaching a weight that she felt was her "goal," that she began to see the error of her ways. It was then that she discovered online body-positive communities and blogs, where individuals of all shapes and sizes were embracing their bodies and living life on their own terms.
Crabbe's transformation was nothing short of profound. She began to relearn hunger and fullness cues, moving away from restrictive eating habits and toward a more intuitive approach to food. Reconnecting with her body became central to healing, as she sought to listen to its needs rather than try to control it.
In doing so, Crabbe has become an outspoken advocate for body positivity, using her platform to challenge the societal norms that have long contributed to disordered eating and low self-esteem. She is a leading voice in the online community, inspiring countless others with her courage and resilience.
For Crabbe, recovery is not about achieving some mythical ideal of beauty or perfection but rather about embracing one's unique shape and size as a source of strength and empowerment. As she reflects on her journey, she knows that it took time to come to this realization: "My 'before' was trying to make myself as small as possible in every conceivable way... My 'after' is allowing myself to be my biggest self, however that looks."
recovery's not a destination, it's a journey. Megan Jayne Crabbe's story's a reminder that setbacks are par for the course & don't define your worth as a person. The key is being kind to yourself, learning from those setbacks & moving forward with a growth mindset 
. It's also about reframing your relationship with food & your body - not seeing it as something to be controlled or perfected, but rather embracing it for what it is 
. The most powerful thing Crabbe's done is silence the inner critic that was telling her she needed to change her body to be worthy, & instead chose self-love & acceptance 
. That's a lesson we can all learn from! 
I'm so inspired by Megan Jayne Crabbe's story. It's like she's proof that recovery from an eating disorder is totally possible and that you can come out the other side even stronger 
. It's like we need more people sharing their own stories of recovery and self-acceptance because it can totally help others feel less alone 
she went through an eating disorder from like 14 and it took her ages to recover but shes now all about body positivity and empowerment 
she talks about how society puts so much pressure on us to be a certain size or shape but shes all "nah idc" and im loving it 
And now she's like a total body positivity icon 
) we didn't even have social media platforms for body positivity, so I can only imagine how tough it must've been for her to find her voice and connect with others who were going through the same thing 
Anyway, I'm totally loving her message of self-love and acceptance - we need more people like Megan spreading positivity online 
. I mean, it sounds like she just magically snapped out of it and now lives this totally healthy life 
. But at the same time, I'm not so sure... I mean, have you seen her weight fluctuations throughout her journey? That kind of yo-yoing between periods of sobriety and relapse is kinda concerning, right? 
. And what about all the online communities and blogs that helped her on her journey? Are they just a bunch of feel-good Instagram posts or is there actual substance behind them? 
I don't know, maybe I'm just being too critical... but at the same time, I need more info before I can fully believe in Crabbe's recovery story