Emily: My name is Emily and I suffer from bulimia.
Lauren: My name is Lauren and I have anorexia.
Emily: Look how skinny they are.
Lauren: Oh please, I still think that you didn't think you looked unhealthy back then but you did.
Emily: I met Lauren when we were in middle school.
Lauren: Eight years, wow ... ever since I moved here from Minnesota.
We talked about it, actually sat down and we found out that we both were going through like the same exact time, basically almost the same thing.
Used to be a lot bigger ...
Emily: I was always bigger too.
Lauren: No you weren't!
Emily: I had just auditioned for a dance company, and I wasn't very confident about my abilities in that company.
I remember the very first time that I purged, It took me a while to actually physically do it, but then, it became like clockwork to the point where it was really hard not to do it.
I was always tired, always depressed, always thinking about food. I just couldn't take it anymore.
I never thought that I could die from it until I started going through my therapy process
when you are very bulimic, you run the risk of having a heart attack. You can also have explosive stomach problems.
Your esophagus can really be in a lot of danger. Your teeth enamel goes away.
My mom was actually bulimic when she was in high school.It is common for mothers and daughters to have eating disorders.
Lauren: I saw at one point how you got skinny, but for me I went from like overweight to Like BAM! (laugh)
Emily: Yes, and you told people it was cause you had mono.
Lauren: From when I started my eating disorder I lost half of my body weight. I lost maybe about 10 pounds, and I just loved the feeling, I loved it.
I didn't see myself as fat, but I never felt that was good enough.
I would eat a 90 calorie bar that morning and I didn't eat anything else for the entire day.
My parents really didn't want to document while I was in my eating disorder by taking pictures,
I was very emaciated. I looked very weak like I could break. I was very tired. I went from about 160 pounds to about 85 to 80.
Because I looked so frail, You could see my ribs, you could see my spine, you could see my hip bones, I went to rehab twice; They told me I was going to die if I didn't actually take it seriously.
About 5% to 10% of anorexics die within the first ten years. When I saw my dad cry and my mom cry, that was kind of like I need to do this.
(Singing.) I know where you've been. I've been there too and I can honestly say that it's really tough to get through.
Lauren: I'm one of the lucky ones.
Emily: We were there for each other. We talked to each other about things.
Lauren: She was always there for me and she helped me stay in recovery.
Emily: I do feel like I've recovered, I have come such a far, far way from what I was a few years ago.
