An anorexic who shrunk to 5st and survived on a liquid diet for seven years has beaten the disease and become a bodybuilder.
Marta Chlanova began dieting at age 14 after an unkind friend called her fat – but soon it spiralled out of control and she found herself in the grips of the devastating illness.
By age 17 she was dieting so severely her Body Mass Index (BMI) sank to that of an underweight child’s and she was hospitalised on multiple occasions.
At age 24 she joined a gym and began bodybuilding – but also stopped eating solid foods – surviving on liquid shakes for years.
But as she began training for competitions she began adding more ingredients such as bananas and nuts into her shakes, and eventually gained weight and slowly recovered.
Now, she has qualified as a personal trainer and weighs a healthy ten stone – and eats a healthy diet of chicken, vegetables and carbohydrates.
Marta Chlanova, 33, began dieting at age 14 and by 17 (left) she weighed just 5st – the equivalent of an underweight child. But she managed to beat the disease and eventually became a bodybuilder (right)
Miss Chlanova was hospitalised on multiple occasions and nearly died. She is pictured in 2009, when she weighed 55 kg, with a BMI of 18.3 (left) and in 2010 (right) after moving to the UK
Miss Chanlova, 33, of Egham, Surrey, said: ‘I couldn’t eat anything – it wouldn’t sit right in my stomach.
‘I would eat a nice meal and throw it up straight away.
‘In fact, I would eat just to throw up. I liked the taste and I could get the pleasure from the food, but I didn’t want the calories.’
Miss Chlanova, who moved to the UK from the Czech Republic in 2010, first developed anorexia when she was 14.
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That summer, she had put on 8lbs (nearly 4kg) after binging on ice cream every day.
When an unkind friend told her she was fat, she vowed to lose the weight.
‘It started like a normal diet,’ she said. ‘I was eating lots of fruit and vegetables and then I started eating smaller portions.
‘My weight went down but I couldn’t stop it anymore, it was out of control.
‘I started eating pots of yoghurt three times a day.’
After her weight plummeted, Miss Chanlova was hospitalised on multiple occasions. But she now weighs a healthy 10st and says she is ‘happier than ever’ (right)
After entering bodybuilding competitions, Miss Chlanova realised she needed to eat more calories and slowly began adding bananas and ground nuts to her liquid diet. Slowly, she recovered and gained weight
Miss Chlanova was first hospitalised in 1999, then twice again over the following two years.
Her weight dipped to 5st 9lb (36 kg) and, at just 5?6, her BMI was an astonishing 12.6 – far below the 18.5 – 25 range that is considered healthy.
‘I was basically bones and skin,’ she said. ‘I started to lose my hair, my nails were brittle and I had dry skin.
‘I was hospitalised three times and I was supervised to eat regularly and put on weight.
‘But it wouldn’t work. Even though I knew I shouldn’t go any lower, I just couldn’t stop it.’
She endeavoured to beat her illness and eat a normal diet, but she couldn’t bring herself to stomach proper food.
Instead she survived on a liquid diet – eat just one treat a day to keep her tastebuds satisfied – only to vomit it back up.
During her lowest point, Miss Chanlova would eat a sweet treat a day – only to vomit it back up. She is pictured in 2009 (left) and 2011 (right) while still battling anorexia
‘I’ve literally built my body back from scratch,’ Miss Chanlova said. She now eats 2,600 calories a day as well as exercising daily
Then, when she was 24, Miss Chlanova decided to join a gym in her native Czech Republic to give herself a womanly shape.
As her passion for fitness grew, she began to train for the Natural Physique Association South East Championships figure class, which she placed third in 2014.
She said: ‘I trained for that on a diet of just liquid food. I had a mental barrier.’
Soon, she realised to gain muscle she would need to eat more calories and so she began adding ground nuts or bananas to her diet.
‘Gradually I got used to the idea of food and it felt better in my stomach,’ she said.
‘With time, I got better and now I eat six times a day, vegetables, protein like chicken or turkey, and carbs.’
Now, she eats about 2,600 calories a day as well as exercising daily.
‘I weigh ten stone and I feel happier and healthier than ever,’ she said.
‘I’m now a personal trainer and I’m competing in another competition in July.
‘I’ve literally built my body back from scratch.’
For more information and support on eating disorders visit B-eat’s website https://www.b-eat.co.uk/