A mother whose anorexia was so severe she weighed just 40 kilograms at her lowest point has praised her miracle twins for ‘saving her life’.
Jessica Rolley, 32, from Melbourne, lived off freshly squeezed carrot, celery and ginger juice for two years, and even avoided water in a bid to avoid ‘bloating’.
But as her heart began to fail, Jessica decided to seek help and she began to eat avocados and cucumbers with hummus in a bid to gain weight and conceive children.
‘My lifelong dream was to get married and become a mum,’ Jessica said. ‘I was ecstatic when I knew I was pregnant.’
A mother (pictured) whose anorexia was so severe she weighed just 40 kilograms at her lowest point has praised her miracle twins for ‘saving her life’
As her heart began to fail, Jessica (pictured with her twins) sought help and began to eat avocados and cucumbers with hummus in a bid to gain weight and conceive children
The stay-at-home mum said she had always suffered with body dysmorphia, but her destructive eating habits got worse in 2014 following a bout of ‘Bali belly’.
After recovering from severe food poisoning, Jessica noticed she lost weight quickly and became addicted to ‘throwing up food’.
‘I started drinking juice to cleanse my body of the parasite but then I became addicted to juicing because I loved how light I felt and lived off five celery, ginger and carrot juices a day,’ she explained.
At her lightest, Jessica weighed just 40 kilograms.
‘I used to drink laxatives tea and black coffee all day – I don’t know how my insides survived,’ she said.
The stay-at-home mum (pictured) said she had always suffered with body dysmorphia, but her destructive eating habits heightened in 2014 following a bout of ‘Bali belly’
Jessica said she started drinking juice to ‘cleanse’ her body, but became addicted to how ‘light’ she felt as a result of it (pictured with her twins)
While to others it was clear the now 32-year-old was getting ‘thinner and thinner’, Jessica said she thought the opposite was true and that she was ‘still fat’.
‘I became faint and started having accidents as I was so weak – one of the worst being a fall at my best friend’s wedding which resulted in bruising on the brain,’ she said.
‘I also passed out when lifting a chair and was rushed into hospital where medics told me my body was shutting down.’
While to others it was clear the now 32-year-old was getting ‘thinner and thinner’, Jessica (pictured) said she thought the opposite was true and that she was ‘still fat’
Jessica said she went two years without menstruating, before she got her period back a month before getting pregnant with the twins (pictured)
In 2017, when she realised what was happening, Jessica said she started counselling in a bid to help her with her weight issues.
She married her partner, Jonathan, 36, and was ‘ecstatic’ when she managed to get pregnant just a couple of months after their wedding.
Jessica said she went two years without menstruating, before she got her period back a month before getting pregnant.
‘Getting pregnant was the best feeling in the world,’ she said.
She went to have a scan at six weeks and said she ‘couldn’t stop laughing’ when she and Jonathan saw twins.
Jessica credits her twins with being the ‘driver’ for her to eat, as she knew she had to be healthy for them to survive and thrive
While she was pregnant, Jessica said she ‘managed’ to put on 35 kilograms (pictured after she gave birth)
She knew that now she was pregnant, she would need to eat more for the sake of her babies:
‘They were the driver for me to eat, however it was confronting watching the weight pile on and knowing I had to eat to keep them healthy and to ensure they grew,’ she said.
‘I was so determined to keep the babies alive and do whatever it took even if it meant eating my cravings of Vegemite toast and hot chips.’
While she was pregnant, Jessica said she ‘managed’ to put on 35 kilograms.
‘I had to for my babies to survive,’ she said.
The mum-of-two is now a healthy size eight with 17-month-old sons Hunter and Jaeger, and she credits her babies with bringing her out of a dark place (pictured with her family)
The mum-of-two is now a healthy size eight with 17-month-old sons Hunter and Jaeger, and she credits her babies with bringing her out of a dark place.
‘My children saved my life as my maternal instincts took over and I began eating again,’ Jessica said.
‘They are perfect, and we feel incredibly grateful to have them.
‘I am sharing my very personal story to give hope to anyone that is suffering with anorexia or body dysmorphia.’
*If you need help or support for an eating disorder or body image issue, please call Butterfly’s National Helpline on 1800 334 673 or e-mail support@thebutterflyfoundation.org.au*