My Eating Disorder Story || RED-S + female athlete triad

TW: discussion about eating disorders, body image, loss of period, etc.
~hi everyone! I have been wanting to make this video for quite a while now. However, I never really felt that I was in the right place mentally or emotionally to do so. With that said, I have grown a lot in the past year and feel confident enough to share my story. While it may be scary and nerve-racking to do so, I feel that I owe it to you all (and to myself) to be truly honest and authentic. Eating disorders are unfortunately very common amongst society and so many individuals suffer alone in silence. But I want people to know that you're not alone and that recovery is possible...and so incredibly worth it. I gained more than just weight this year...I gained happiness, laughter, joy, energy, and love for life again. Now, as a disclaimer, I know that I still have a lot to work on. Recovery is a process and something I will need to continue to work on each and every day. I'm choosing to be vulnerable and open with you all to hold myself accountable and continuously grow stronger. We are all worth SO much more than a stupid number on a scale. I know it's much easier said than done...but trust me: life is much more enjoyable when you stop worrying so much about what your body looks like... and instead, focus on all the amazing things it allows you to do and experience :)
~References:
American Academy of Family Physicians. (2022, July 15). Red-S in the active
female. www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/...
information-red-s-active-female.html
Boston Children’s Hospital. (n.d.). Relative energy deficiency in
sport (red-S). www.childrenshospital.org/con...
Eating Disorder Hope. (2022, July 7). Eating disorders in long distance
runners. www.eatingdisorderhope.com/ri...
/long-distance-runners
Eating Disorder Hope. (2024, April 11). Eating disorders in
athletes. www.eatingdisorderhope.com/ri...
Natural Womanhood. (2020, May 12). Reasons women need periods:
The menstrual cycle & bone health. naturalwomanhood.org/reasons-
women-need-periods-you-need-a-period-the-role-of-the-menstrual-cycle
-in-bone-health-development-2020/
Runners World. (n.d). Red-S: The condition all runners need to know
about. www.runnersworld.com/uk/healt...
deficiency-running/
Wikimedia Foundation. (2024, March 13). Relative energy deficiency in
sport. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativ...
#eatingdisorderrecovery #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #athlete #neda

[@kengineer12]

Hey! Just curious on your bone density scan what were your scores? Mine was -0.6 on my hips and -2 on my lumbar spine. These are z scores since I’m only 18 and my doctor said the test is inconclusive since I’m too young for t scores, so I’m not sure what to do since I think these scores might not be good, but was never told anything about it.

[@livdistefano8896]

Thank you so much Grace. This is incredible. So important to raise awareness…thank you for sharing❤

[@gracemichaud]

i miss you so so much Liv ILY❤❤

[@clareveverka3407]

Your bravery is so admirable Grace ❤️you are incredible!!!!Thank you for opening the discussion about such an important and prevalent topic ❤️

[@gracemichaud]

i love you so so much clare, thank you girly❤❤

[@uravitationalpull]

you are so brave. thank you for sharing your story. sending lots of love❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@gracemichaud]

you are so sweet, thank you❤❤

[@emilyfilms8087]

This is amazing thank you❤️

[@gracemichaud]

thank you for watching❤❤

[@TinysTeddies]

New to your channel, haha. What are you studying, may I ask? :)