{"id":7977,"date":"2025-01-31T14:01:51","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T14:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/?p=7977"},"modified":"2025-01-31T14:01:53","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T14:01:53","slug":"st-the-worlds-thinnest-womans-battle-against-anorexia-will-leave-you-speechless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/archives\/7977","title":{"rendered":"ST.The World\u2019s Thinnest Woman\u2019s Battle Against Anorexia Will Leave You Speechless!"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id='\"post-87909\"' class='\"hitmag-single' post-87909 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-uncategorized>Valeria Levitin, 39, developed the eating disorder as a teenager after years of her mother weighing her as a child Taunted at school about her weight and told she was \u2018too fat\u2019 to be a model Says she is horrified by the letters she receives from girls wanting weight loss tips \u2013 and that her emaciated figure should be a severe warning about the dangers of extreme dieting Describes being anorexic as\u00a0\u00a0\u2018lonely, unattractive and repulsive for the people around me \u2018This is the desperately sad story of the thinnest woman in the world who weighs just four stone after years of extreme dieting.\n<div class='\"entry-content\"'>\n<p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/scontent.fpnh20-1.fna.fbcdn.net%5C/v%5C/t39.30808-6%5C/475784059_122159067554327729_4664718634919340591_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&amp;ccb=1-7&amp;_nc_sid=bdeb5f&amp;_nc_ohc=YnB7wtreDSsQ7kNvgGiw15-&amp;_nc_zt=23&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.fpnh20-1.fna&amp;_nc_gid=AA4NAxQlkiDBAPGsKeZtY3b&amp;oh=00_AYDxIslcr1tQekQ1b-e947jDvkl6G8yKfJTcvEMlSuECjA&amp;oe=67A1720F%5C%22" alt='\"May' be an image of acupuncture and text width='\"322\"' height='\"577\"'>\n</p><p>But rather than feel sorry for herself, Valeria Levitin says her emaciated figure should be a severe wake-up call for girls wanting matchstick-thin figures. At 5ft 8in, she should weigh between 9st and 12st, according to NHS advice. Instead, she is a tiny 4st 3lbs, less than half of what her lightest healthy weight should be. Scroll down to see the interview Valeria Levitin is a walking skeleton after years of anorexia reduced her weight to just four stone Valeria aged 19, on holiday in Mexico. She developed the eating disorder as a teenager and has now chosen to speak out about how the illness has ruined her life What is most worrying is that Valeria, originally from Russia but who now lives in Monaco, says she gets fan mail from girls desperate to copy her skeletal look. The 39-year-old told The Sun:\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-740\"' src="%5C%22http:%5C/%5C/safewould.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/1.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"'>\n<p>\u2018I have received emails from young girls who want me to teach them how to be like me.\u2018All the letters I\u2019ve had are from women, mainly in their twenties, who see me as some kind of inspiration. \u2018As a result, she has taken the brave step to speak out about her condition and campaign against anorexia \u2013 and says she refuses to teach young girls how to die. She says she wants to share her story to prevent other people falling victim to the same fate, saying anorexia has made her \u2018lonely, unattractive and repulsive for the people around me \u2018Valeria, pictured as she is today, was banned from ballet at the age of 24 over concerns she would injure herself as she weighed just six stone Valeria, who developed her eating disorder as a teenager, has chosen to speak out about how the illness has ruined her life. She says she wants to share her story to prevent other people falling victim to the same fate, saying anorexia has made her \u2018lonely, unattractive and repulsive for the people around me\u2019. Valeria, here aged 11, believes the roots of her condition lie with her mother,\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-742\"' src="%5C%22http:%5C/%5C/safewould.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/3.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"'>\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-743\"' src="%5C%22http:%5C/%5C/safewould.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/4.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"'>\n<p>who was terrified she would grow up obese like her relativesShe believes the roots of her condition lie with her mother, who was terrified Valeria would grow up obese like her relatives. Even as a young child, her diet was curtailed.ONE EXAMPLE OF HER \u2018FAN MAIL\u2019Hello dear Valeria,I am 23 and weigh 8\u00bdst and I do not like myself this way. I want to look skinny like Thumbelina. Nobody can persuade me not to diet, even though I acquired gastritis and pancreatitis.I have tried all kinds of diets but they all yielded only temporary results. On my present diet I do not feel hungry\u2026 I cannot return to my old way of eating because I fear I will gain weight. All my relatives are telling me it will hurt me, that I will be a victim of anorexia. I am a little worried that one day I will be faced with a problem of critically low weight and I want to know when to get worried.\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-744\"' src="%5C%22http:%5C/%5C/safewould.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/5.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"'>\n<p>When did it happen to you? Valeria was weighed often to ensure she hadn\u2019t gained any weight, such was her mother\u2019s drive for perfection. At 16, and weighing 10st, Valeria moved to Chicago with her parents. Desperate to fit in at a new school, she thought that if she lost weight, she would be accepted and liked. As a result, she restricted her diet even further, cutting out sugar or carbohydrates. The irony today is that, having cut out certain foods for so long, her body is intolerant to them and could not process them even if she wanted to. When a classmate made a cruel comment about Valeria\u2019s figure, she became even more determined to lose weight. She said: \u2018We were playing football and during the game a man said, \u201cI know how we can win.\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-745\"' src="%5C%22http:%5C/%5C/safewould.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/6.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"681\"' height='\"379\"'>\n<p>We need to put Valeria\u2019s big are in the goal\u201d. It shattered my whole world. \u2018By the time she was 23, Valeria\u2019s dress size had plummeted from a healthy size 12 to a tiny size six. Deciding to become a model made the situation even worse, as she was told she was still too fat to succeed. As her weight continued to plummet, by the age of 24 and weighing just six stone, she was banned from dancing over concerns she would injure herself. It has been so long since Valeria ate bread that she can no longer remember what it tastes like For the next ten years she saw more than 30 health specialists, though once dipped to a dangerously low 3st 10lbs. Today, even if she wanted to eat certain foods, she would be unable to. Many foods have to be avoided because they don\u2019t agree with her body any more. It has been so long since she ate bread that she can no longer remember what it tastes like. Her illness has also made her life a very lonely one.\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-746\"' src="%5C%22http:%5C/%5C/safewould.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/7.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"692\"' height='\"290\"'>\n<p>Single for a decade, she says relationships are difficult as she is unable to do the normal things that couples do, as going to restaurants. Now, she believes she cannot be cured simply by going to a doctor, having never gained weight after seeing a specialist. Aged 23, she decided to become a model, but suffered further set-backs after being told she was too big Rather, she says the problem is more about a \u2018lack of harmony between body and soul\u2019. Today Valeria takes supplements to counter the risk of bruising and avoids situations where she could fall. And she believes the solution could lie in moving back to Moscow \u2013 where she feels more at ease with herself \u2013 and trying to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a mother via a surrogate. For the incentive of wanting a child could be a trigger to get healthy again, she says.\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-747\"' src="%5C%22http:%5C/%5C/safewould.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/8.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"696\"' height='\"590\"'>\n<p>It is something she feels she can do if she can get herself healthy. Now 39, Valeria says she is desperate to get better and fulfill her dream of becoming a mother. She also wants to serve as a warning to others about the dangers of extreme dieting She said: \u2018I would love to have a family because I feel I have so much to give. But obviously it wouldn\u2019t be right to have a baby when I am ill. It wouldn\u2019t be fair on the child. \u2018I want to stand up to anorexia. I\u2019ve never given up on anything in my life and I\u2019m not about to give up now. \u2018Valeria would like people suffering from eating disorders like hers to get help. You can find support by going to b-eat.co.uk\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image\"'><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"wp-image-748\"' src="%5C%22http:%5C/%5C/safewould.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/9.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"699\"' height='\"403\"'>\n\n<footer class='\"entry-footer\"'>\n\n<div class='\"hm-related-posts\"'>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Valeria Levitin, 39, developed the eating disorder as a teenager after years of her mother weighing her as a child Taunted at school about her weight and told she was \u2018too fat\u2019 to be a model Says she is horrified by the letters she receives from girls wanting weight loss tips \u2013 and that her [&hellip;]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7977"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7979,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7977\/revisions\/7979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</p></div></footer></figure></p></figure></p></figure></p></figure></p></figure></p></figure></figure></p></figure></p></div></article>