
By Rebecca Drew
THIS BRITISH mum-of-two was haunted by anorexia throughout her teenage years and saw her weight drop to under FIVE-STONE until she made it her mission to beat her demons so she could survive and have a family to call her own.

Olivia Cooper / mediadrumworld.com
Accounts manager, Olivia Cooper (31) from Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, was a sporty child growing up and was always involved in school sports teams and gymnastics. However, when she reached her teenage years, Olivia became aware of her appearance and started to limit her food intake and became addicted to exercise.

Olivia Cooper / mediadrumworld.com
Whilst suffering with anorexia, Olivia felt lost and was exhausted battling with her illness. When she was admitted to the Highfield Adolescent Unit in Oxford in 2002 for 12 months, she weighed close to 4st 7lbs and often wore childrenâs clothes as nothing fitted her. Whilst in hospital, she was closely monitored and had to follow a strict diet plan.

Olivia Cooper / mediadrumworld.com
Oliviaâs recovery turning point came while she was in hospital after she fainted in the shower, and seeing her familyâs turmoil, she realised that she wanted to live and have a family of her own. Olivia is now a UK size 8 and no longer weighs herself and has learnt to love her body and food. She also has two children, Bella (2) and Jack (10 months), with her husband Marcus, who she met in 2011.

Olivia Cooper / mediadrumworld.com
âI was very athletic at school, captain of games teams, did sports, was a gymnast as a child, and so I was always conscious of being active. I think going into my adolescent years I became more aware of appearance and it just spiralled from there – combining not eating with being addicted to exercise I became anorexic very quickly,â explained Olivia.

Olivia Cooper / mediadrumworld.com
âI felt completely lost. I was fighting a constant battle between being owned by the illness and wanting to banish it for good. It was exhausting.

Olivia Cooper / mediadrumworld.com
âI knew that I wanted to be a mum. And I knew the longer I carried on destroying my body the less likely I was to have children.

Olivia Cooper / mediadrumworld.com
âWhen I was in hospital for a year in Oxford it was very strict. We were weighed every Monday and Thursday, we had very strict diet plans, we had to be monitored and observed after meals, I had weekly blood tests to check, well, everything really.

Olivia Cooper / mediadrumworld.com
âIt was absolutely horrendous. And terrifying.

Olivia Cooper / mediadrumworld.com
âI had a very bad accident when I was in the shower at hospital. I fainted and banged my head badly. Seeing my family completely torn apart I just thought âwhat am I doing?â I wonât be dictated to by an evil illness. I knew I was going to die if I didnât. And I didnât want to die.â

Olivia Cooper / mediadrumworld.com
Now Olivia is happy with her body and she is proud of it for producing her two children and is supported by Marcus and her family who love her for who she is.

Olivia Cooper / mediadrumworld.com
However, she found changing her mindset towards food the most difficult and she shared her advice to others who may be in the same position she was once in.

Melanie Gerrard / @Melaniegracephoto / mediadrumworld.com
âGetting over the fact that whatever I eat wouldnât make me fat and that I didnât need to walk 10 miles a day if I ate an apple was the most difficult thing about my recovery,â she said.

Melanie Gerrard / @Melaniegracephoto / mediadrumworld.com
âI donât really have a regime now. I am looking after two kids under three so itâs just full on and hectic but I love cooking, I love food and I love eating. I donât exercise apart from running around after the kids.

Melanie Gerrard / @Melaniegracephoto / mediadrumworld.com
âAnorexia is not right. You donât need to be owned by it, life is for living and just to be healthy. Thereâs so much more to life.

Melanie Gerrard / @Melaniegracephoto / mediadrumworld.com
âI know it is so so hard to think that way when you are in the grip but it can be done! Iâm proof.â
For more information see www.instagram.com/oliviacooper10x_