Hooked on ‘Healthy’ eating 

Cameron Brodie,29,an interiors stylist from London, struggles with an obsession

My issues with food all started when I was 11. I had puppy fat and got teased at school; at the same time, my mum had gained weight after a hysterectomy and I felt that my dad didn’t support her. A year later their marriage broke up – and I began yo-yo dieting.

It wasn’t until I turned 26 that my weight settled at 9st (I’m 5ft 6in). and then I started a healthy-eating regime to maintain it. I avoid complex carbohydrates. I eat grains, such as quinoa, lentils and only a small amount of fruit because of the high sugar content. I never food, and weigh everything before I eat it.

On a good day I make a porridge with soya milk and honey. With a quarter of a banana or blueberries. I snack on an apple and for lunch I have an egg-white omelette with quinoa or Parma ham. For dinner I have steamed fish and veg. but only small portions. If I weigh in at even a pound over 9st. I think, ‘Right, I’m not going to eat at all.’ My diet is healthy, but I’m aware that sometimes I don’t eat enough and my energy gets low. When this happens I take an antioxidant supplement that’s usually for cancer patients and up my protein intake.

I never eat cake or chocolate. For my 29th birthday. My mum bought a Godiva chocolate cake. I put some in my mouth to enjoy the tease, chewed it, then spat it out. I’ve turned down work so I can go to the gym for four hours. If something bad happens in my life. I blame my weight. I feel my boyfriend  would love me more if I were thinner – in reality, my food habits drive him nuts and he gets frustrated with me.

I do know it’s an obsession. I’ve been seeing a hypnotherapist and a psychologist  because I know I have a problem, but it’s really tough and for each step forward I take a step back. Deep down, I know I have a lot to be grateful for, but I’m not happy within myself. Which makes it hard to change.

Kate Williams, head of nutrition and dietetics at south London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, says, “Cameron’s weight is (just) in the healthy range, but her diet isn’t. But not eating enough iron, calcium or protein, she’s at risk of anaemia and osteoporosis. Low carbs are the main reason for her tiredness.”