New York Fashion Model Overcomes Anorexia With Powerful Testimony, 'I Ask God for Strength Every Day'
A New York fashion model offered a rare look into the torments of anorexia on Tuesday, revealing that the only thing stronger than the illness was God's love.
Gabrielle Fitch, who has participated in high-profile fashion shows including those during New York Fashion Week, is just now recovering after a long battle with an eating disorder. Prone to limiting her food intake and over-exercising, Fitch's weight dropped to dangerous lows ... a common trait of fashion models today.
"I would say it is pretty common," the 21-year-old told The Christian Post before pointing out that eating disorders also affect people outside the fashion industry, whether male or female.
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"In the fashion industry, it's very important to be a certain size or a certain weight or you don't book jobs, you don't earn money or have an income; it's pretty serious," she added.
With the average American woman weighing in around 162 pounds, Fitch revealed that most women would be considered plus-size in the fashion industry. Under pressure to be thin and maintain her career, the 5-foot, 11-inch-tall model's weight plummeted to just 70 pounds before she finally landed in rehab last June.
"At first I was in denial, and when I realized that I was anorexic I really wasn't sure how to turn it around," said Finch, who spent three months in rehab.
"I have a very strong support team, and an accountability team, and above all, God," the model continued. "I ask God every day to give me strength. I had to create new habits and break old ones and break an addiction. Those main three things; support, accountability, and God. And also family. They help me along the path to get well."
Eating disorders, which include anorexia and bulimia, are a daily struggle for an estimated 10 million females and one million males in the U.S. Many experts believe the media plays a role on the desire to be thin, and Fitch agrees.
"In the media, you see all these girls who are thin, but what a lot of people don't know is that the photos are sometimes photoshopped, and the girl took three to four hours to get ready," she told CP. "Normal [sized] or a little overweight is not as beautiful in the magazines and fashion world, there is so much pressure to look a certain way."
Today, Fitch has given up modeling and is uncertain if she will resume her career once she is healthy. Despite her ongoing battle against anorexia, the Texas native said the struggle gets easier every day as she grows in her faith.
"Going through what I went through has strengthened my faith tremendously," she told CP. "Even at my lowest point God is always with me and willing to take me out of that for His glory, and I trust in God more than I ever have."
Finally, Fitch issued a word of advice to anyone suffering from an eating disorder.
"You gotta surround yourself with a positive atmosphere and rely on a support team to gain confidence that you can get through this, you have to be determined and ask God to keep giving you strength," she said.
