Princess and the Pudge

My name is Misty, I'm a 27-year-old [former] freelance model from the west coast of Canada. I quit the industry approximately 3-4 years ago when I became disillusioned with the pressure of maintaining unrealistic western beauty standards.

I struggled with anoexia for a long time, in part due to my modeling work-- knowing I would only get paid work if I conformed to the 'expected' body type of being severely underweight (120 lbs). Note: Anorexia, while officially categorized as an eating disorder, is technically a mental illness because it is diagnosed based on your mentality: being obsessed with losing weight / being thin -- you can be anorexic even if you're not underweight.

In the early 2000s, I suffered through a couple family tragedies, which sent me to seek therapy for the grief and emotional trauma it had caused. Afterwards, I would rarely leave my house and switched to distance learning courses at the university (eventually dropping out). I started binge eating as comfort food became my coping mechanism, and would often spend entire days in bed binge-watching shows or playing video games. I gained weight consistently until earlier this year.

Now at 240 lbs, I've been struggling with my health issues.


My present physical ailments are: asthma, chronic bronchitis, hypoglycemia, many vitamin deficiencies (including iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and D), chronic fatigue due to insomnia, lordosis, sensory processing disorder, hyperphagia (often associated with binge eating), heart palpitations, early-onset arthritis, chronic shin splints, joint grinding / pain, chronic headaches/migraines, celiac, allergy to dairy.
 
Present injuries are: costochondritis, plantar fasciitis (both feet), and tibia stress fractures (both legs). As you can imagine, this severely impedes my ability to move around, much less exercise. I can't lift or put weight onto my arms or engage my pectorals, I cannot run or do anything that pulls on the ligaments in the feet (until they heal), and walking in general just hurts throughout my legs. Despite all that, I'm very proud and still trying to be a functional human being, though my family and s.o. lend a hand when needed.


I see three specialist doctors as well as my general physician, and my brother uses his education to help me find exercises that work for me.
Cool Fact: My brother, who is a personal trainer and has a masters in rehabilitation sciences, uses and highly recommends this site and its app to friends, family, and clients. He is presently considering moving his business to an online platform.

I insist on keeping my work in stage theater that I'm passionate about, despite being in pain. I write self-help articles about mental illness, eating disorders, and surviving trauma. My overall life goal for the past twenty years (yes, I planned my life out when I was 7 years old) has been to become a published fantasy author, so I'm often sitting at the computer or with a notebook to write. My days are mainly spent in bed or at my desk.


Main Goals: 
Lose 60 lbs to reach a healthy weight
Strengthen my lungs so I can go hiking or jogging
Increase flexibility to achieve Lord of the Dance pilates pose
Be able to bend down and touch my toes
Tone / strengthen and be less prone to injuries
Stick to a full routine consistently


Apologies that this message turned out longer than I had intended. My thanks to anyone who read it in its entirety.