A WOMAN with an eating disorder history has transformed herself by adopting a vegan lifestyle and developing an Instagram following

20-year-old Beth Johnson,a former Stanwell pupil, has attracted 3,600 followers since setting up her LettuceBethy Instagram account in August 2016 to share her food and health-related journey.

She says when she was younger she had relied on sugary, fatty, salt-laden foods for energy and had begun to feel unhappy.

She said: “I wasn't feeding my body the correct fuel and so I was lethargic and slowly gaining weight so started obsessing over food through calorie restriction, binge eating and over exercising.

“From being an avid participant in the binge –starve cycle and even taking diet pills, I actually ended up gaining 25lbs.

“I had created a whole host of problems for myself when in the first place there was nothing wrong with me.”

One sleepless night she browsed the internet and found a video entitled 101 Reasons to Go Vegan.

She said: “The very next morning I watched a documentary called ‘Earthlings’ and I cried my eyes out. From that point onwards I became vegan and it has genuinely changed my life forever.”

She became vegan in February 2015 and now ways around 10 stone at 5” 11 with a healthy body mass index.

“Veganism changes everything. You suddenly make the connection between the food on your plate and the creature it used to be,” she said.

“At first I felt like a total outsider and weirdo because I was doing things different to everyone else and people around me were constantly questioning my decision and making fun of me.

She decided to set up lettucebethy to share her experiences.

“I've had so many messages from people who are battling eating disorders from anorexia to obesity who have messaged me for guidance about food and nutrition,” she said. “I have battled an eating disorder and over time have learned to love myself. I currently have around 3,600 followers. I'm taking every day at a time with my account and I'm happy to simply share my vegan, self-love journey with the world.

https://www.instagram.com/lettucebethy/