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Size 4: Lexi very thin on her wedding day in 2008 Confident: A full figure at her graduation in 2004 Then: On her honeymoon on a very strict diet Now: Recovering and a healthy nine stone THE first time Lexi Zelley tried on her wedding dress she loved the ivory silk gown but hated the fact it was a size 14. And a burning desire to slim for her big day turned into a lethal obsession. By the time she went for a second fitting, only six months later, Lexi’s body had shrunk to a pitiful six stone. Dressmakers had to re-cut and re-stitch her dress, reducing it from a size 14 to a tiny size six, and still it hung around her bony shoulders, jutting ribs and sunken chest. Lexi, 29, says: “When I walked down the aisle my guests gasped. But not at how beautiful I looked, but how frail. "Friends I hadn’t seen for years were shocked when they saw my skinny frame, which was accentuated by my strapless dress. "Even work colleagues who saw me every day at the office were surprised to see just how tiny I’d become. "Normally I covered up in baggy jumpers, but that day all eyes were on me. "It was clear to everyone but me that I had developed an eating disorder.” Lexi’s dangerous dieting started the moment her best friend Bethany asked her to be a bridesmaid at her own wedding. It escalated into a life-threatening eating disorder as she prepared for her own ceremony a year later. Lexi, from Norwich, says: “Bethany asked me to wear a summery strapless dress and I agreed with her style choice, but inside I was horrified. "At 5ft 3in and 15-and-a-half stone I was technically obese. "Up until then I hadn’t worried about my size – and nor had my boyfriend Matt. "But the thought of waddling down the aisle behind beautiful, slim Bethany filled me with horror. "Our friend Nina, who was also going to the wedding, was a similar size to me and I confessed my fears to her. "Luckily she shared my concern. We vowed to go to the gym together and help keep each other motivated.” At first Lexi’s new diet and fitness regime was healthy. Working out twice a week and cutting back on calories meant the weight fell off easily. But then it became a fixation. Lexi says: “I noticed Nina was losing more weight than me and I started becoming competitive. "At first I took it easy. I would hit the gym for a vigorous session but afterwards I would treat myself to a few glasses of wine in the pub. "However, I realised I needed to up my game if I was going to beat her in the wedding weight-loss stakes. "I ditched the wine in favour of tap water and sneaked to the gym on my own before work. "I bought a pair of scales and weighed myself at home every morning, beaming when they showed I’d lost another pound.” Soon Lexi had a more positive reason to be happy. After six years together, her boyfriend Matt proposed with a beautiful diamond ring while they were having a lazy morning in bed. "Immediately I burst into tears,” says Lexi. “We celebrated that night, and I even threw my diet out the window as we tucked into a posh meal and wine. "But the next morning I felt horribly guilty. With the engagement ring firmly on my finger, I now knew I had to ramp up my diet to look good for my own wedding, as well as Bethany’s. "Nina fell pregnant so gave up her diet. But as soon as I stopped competing with her I started competing with myself. "With two weddings looming my diet spiralled out of control. I went for days without food. Somehow I trained myself to ignore the hunger pains.” Two months after getting engaged Lexi shopped for her wedding dress. "As I tugged on gorgeous gowns I was gutted to find I was a size 14. I’d worked so hard and I still felt like a bulging bride. "So I started going to the gym six times a week, morning and night, and stuck to a strictly controlled diet. "Often I would eat just 500 calories a day and I counted every single bite. "I made up excuses to skip meals and kept busy at work so I didn’t have to take a lunch break. "When Matt came home from work I told him I’d already eaten. He was completely oblivious.” But friends saw the warning signs that Lexi was taking it too far. Bethany invited her round to her house for a stern chat. Lexi says: “Bethany turned to me, her face grave with concern and bluntly said: ‘I think you have an eating disorder. You’ve lost so much weight.’ "It should have been a wake-up call but I was in denial. "Avoiding her gaze I told her everything was fine and promised her I was being careful. In the end she looked reassured.” By Bethany’s wedding, in August 2007, Lexi had shed four stone and was a svelte size 12. Flattered by compliments on her newly trim figure, she started to turn her attention to her own nuptials just less than a year away. "I flicked through magazines for inspiration. "I aspired to be like stars like Cheryl Cole, and cut out glossy pictures of skinny models from wedding and celebrity magazines for motivation. "I was obsessed with being a slim bride, but as the weight fell off, I struggled to see any difference.
"Looking in the mirror, all I could see were unsightly lumps and bumps.”
The stark extent of Lexi’s weight loss was revealed at her second dress fitting, just six months before her wedding. The beautiful size 14 dress she’d ordered now hung off her skeletal frame. “My mum was appalled,” says Lexi. "I thought she’d fill up with emotion at seeing her daughter’s lovely figure in a stunning dress but her eyes just showed shock. "She said ‘What have you done to yourself?’ She insisted on taking a photograph because she said she wanted me to remember how I looked. "I felt awful. I said ‘I’m sorry, Mum’ because I felt I’d let her down. "She begged me to put on weight and warned that I’d ruin my special day looking like I did.” With support from her mum and Bethany, Lexi was able to put on a stone. But she still looked painfully thin as she walked down the aisle in August 2008 in her totally re-made dress. And when the day was over, Lexi was still in the grip of an eating disorder. "On my wedding day I relaxed my diet and tucked in to our wedding breakfast. But the next day I felt utterly ashamed. "My diet had consumed me and even after Matt and I tied the knot I kept up my obsessive slimming. "I wouldn’t even drink water – one week I realised all I’d eaten was a watermelon. "I was constantly tired and ill and became so fragile I would burst into tears at the slightest thing. "I suffered panic attacks and was even taken to hospital with heart problems. My heart was weak and my kidneys started to show signs of failing.” Within two months of her wedding Lexi dropped to a childlike six stone and was diagnosed with anorexia. "I was wrecking my body – and my marriage,” she says. “Doctors warned I’d die. But what I was doing to myself still didn’t hit home.” Sadly, after six months as man and wife, Matt and Lexi split. The strain of her eating disorder had proved too much. "Finally, it was the wake-up call I needed,” says Lexi. “I vowed to get better and checked into an eating disorder clinic. "I started counselling and joined a group to meet other sufferers. "It helped, and with the close support of my mum and Bethany I got better.” In July 2010 Lexi checked out of the clinic and has since maintained a healthy weight of nine stone. She says: “I still suffer from low self-esteem and have a condition called body dysmorphic disorder which means I don’t see myself like others do. "But last year my parents encouraged me to join a modelling agency and I’ve since done several shoots. "I’m still working on my confidence but modelling has helped. "It’s not easy but I’m looking forward and finally learning to love my body. "My wedding diet cost me my marriage – and so nearly my life.” * By Heather Findlay. Matt’s name has been changed. This site contains materials from other clearly stated media sources for the purpose of discussion stimulation and content enrichment among our members only. whatsondalian.com does not necessarily endorse their views or the accuracy of their content. For copyright infringement issues please contact The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China ?????3D?? , China ??3D??, and more. For more , please visit ??3D?? today!
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