After watching his sister suffer through an eating disorder, Shepparton’s Nathan Reid is raising money to support others in a similar situation.
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Liana Reid is battling the disease for the second time, with the mother-of-three admitted to hospital at the start of the month for around-the-clock care.
After helplessly watching his sister’s battle, Mr Reid wanted to do something to help.
‘‘My sister is going through her own battle with anorexia, this is the second time she’s had it ... I guess I was a bit naive about it and I thought it was a phase she went through, although recently she started going downhill again,’’ he said.
‘‘She’s in hospital, she went in on Saturday, she’s only 40kg and she’s fairly tall as well so there’s really nothing of her.’’
After recently launching Kids on the Move, a fitness program for children aimed at improving their overall health and wellbeing, Mr Reid decided to use this platform to raise awareness.
He is hosting a fitness session on Sunday, February 24, in Shepparton for children and adults, with proceeds going to The Butterfly Foundation.
The foundation offers a variety of services and programs that provide support, treatment, prevention, early intervention, education and training for eating disorders, a service which Mr Reid said was close to home.
‘‘I want to raise awareness for not only body image and anorexia, but the mental health as well, I just want to promote being healthy and active and support everyone that goes through it,’’ he said.
‘‘It is a tricky topic to talk about, we didn’t know how to approach it and I imagine other families would be the same ... there is no awareness around it, people don’t know how to deal with it.’’
The fitness session will involve a range of activities to suit all ages, with free samples, prizes and coffee available on the day.
While he has not set a goal of how much money he would like to raise, Mr Reid hoped the day encouraged discussion and gave hope to people who were suffering.
‘‘Whether it’s $50 or $500, it doesn’t bother me, the awareness is out there and people are talking about it,’’ he said.
The 45-minute fitness session is on Sunday, February 24, from 10am at the Boulevard Estate Southern Park, Canterbury Ave, Shepparton. Participants must be six or older and should arrive 30 minutes early to sign in. Cost is $5 a person. For information, visit the Kids On The Move Facebook page.
Liana’s experience
Liana Reid published a post on Facebook recently sharing her thoughts on living with an eating disorder.
"This is me, all 40kg of me.
This is what anorexia does.
It controls and consumes you, it sucks the life out of you, it kills you.
All you can think about is food.
I don’t know how many hours upon hours I’ve wasted looking at recipes, pictures, online food sites, walking around the supermarket reading labels looking for low-calorie foods yet not even buying them when I find something because I still couldn’t justify it.
Going out for breakfast, lunch or dinner but just sitting there not ordering anything and watching everyone else eat, craving chocolate, lollies and cakes (yes I have a huge sweet tooth) yet denying myself these because of the guilt, because they would make me gain weight.
Going to the pantry and then closing the door shortly after, telling myself to push past the hunger pains because the aftermath isn’t worth it.
Every time you see yourself in a mirror you check your body, feeling and looking to make sure your bones are still visible.
Weighing yourself multiple times a day, making sure the numbers are still going down.
Reaching your goal weight but then that’s still not good enough so you set another.
The list goes on and on and on ... I would not wish this disease on anyone, it is a killing nightmare and I don’t want to become a statistic."
How donations help through The Butterfly Foundation:
●$20 helps parents of someone with an eating disorder to attend a Butterfly face-to-face support group.
●$50 helps helpline counsellors develop resources to support individual and family recovery.
●$100 allows more schools to facilitate the foundation’s first digital body image program for males.
●$300 allows someone experiencing an eating disorder and their support person to attend a six-week face-to-face recovery program.
●$500 enables Butterfly sessional presenters to educate and empower teachers, students and parents within schools on prevention and early identification.
●$1000 allows rural or remote communities to be trained to deliver Butterfly’s recovery and carer support programs.
●$5000 aids in the relocation of a family so their loved one can attend the intensive outpatient program.
The Butterfly Foundation’s national helpline is available 8am to midnight, seven days a week, phone 1800334673.