On Boxing Day, 2019, Francesca found herself in the worst possible environment: an over-the-top festive gathering with an equally over-the-top amount of festive food. It was the usual fare: roast potatoes, turkey crown, pigs in blankets. Plus all the leftover chocolate and confectionary that hadn’t been consumed the day before.
“A family friend made a casual comment like, ‘Well, time to hit the gym in the new year!’ and it completely threw me,” the 37-year-old recalls. Everyone else laughed it off, but for Francesca, who has suffered with anorexia and exercise addiction since the age of 19, it triggered a spiral of guilt and self-doubt. “That comment made me consciously restrict my eating. The next morning, I went for a run.”
