Influencer Skye Wheatley has opened up about her ongoing struggles with her eating disorders on social media but it’s been met with criticism after fans accused her of spreading misinformation.
The former Big Brother star shared that she has suffered from anorexia and binge eating in the past, and although she’s been much better, she still has bingeing episodes.
In a 10-minute video posted to her social media accounts, the 28-year-old showed her followers the food she ate during her last binge. She also revealed exactly how many calories she consumed.
*CONTENT WARNING: The following story discusses descriptive information about eating disorders.*
“I have suffered with body image and how my body looks and didn’t have a good relationship with food. I’d binge eat to where I would just sleep. Eat to the point of exhaustion,” she told her followers.
“‘I wanted to share with you guys how many calories I ate in my last binge-eating session,” she continued. She then commenced to show off a table filled with chocolate, cupcakes, pizza, ice cream and lollies.
“All of this on my table is what I ate in my last binge-eating episode, it wasn’t everything,” she confessed.
“This is how many calories I consumed, it was over a day. I had 3,792 calories exactly, I went to Coles and got all my fave snacks and I started eating.”
Skye shared that she also ate a sandwich at her mother’s house, as well as her two sons’ leftovers from McDonalds.
“I was snacking on their chips and chicken nuggets, I ate whatever they didn’t eat.
“I could’ve easily gotten myself a meal but I have gotten so much better with my control.
“But sometimes I would do this for three or four days at a time,” she explained.
Skye Wheatley shared that she’s suffered with eating disorders since a young age
Skye shared that her relationship with food has improved over the years.
“When I was younger living at home I would [binge] once a week as an escape,” she said.
“I’ve had bulimia, anorexia, not severe anorexia but there were stages in my life where I did not eat and it would cause a binge-eating session.
“I have not starved myself since I was in my adolescent years, I have a good relationship with food now, I don’t count my calories, I don’t deprive myself,” she added.
However, Skye also encouraged her followers to download the app My Fitness Pal, which has copped criticism for promoting eating disorders.
‘”Another thing that helps when it comes to knowing about nutrition is downloading My Fitness Pal, you become so familiar with how many calories and protein are in what,” she shared.
Followers slam Skye for spreading misinformation about eating disorders
Whilst Skye received support for opening up about her eating disorders, many followers criticised her for spreading misinformation.
One follower wrote: “Is the point of this post to raise awareness or try and be relatable? I’m genuinely confused. This whole video is the complete antithesis of ED recovery and is steeped in diet culture.”
Another person told Skye to be careful when giving advice about binge eating, as she isn’t a “registered/accredited dietitian.”
A third person warned Skye about encouraging the use of MyFitnessPal, stating that the app promotes “disordered eating”.
“I highly recommend you do not scan every item and check the calories as it starts disordered eating,” they wrote.
According to Mayo Clinic, a binge-eating disorder “is a serious eating disorder in which you frequently consume unusually large amounts of food and feel unable to stop eating.”
Symptoms can include eating when you’re not hungry, eating until you’re uncomfortably full, feeling depressed or guilty about eating and eating in secret.
If you or anyone you know is struggling and needs support, call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or Lifeline on 13 11 14, both of which provide trained counsellors you can talk with 24/7. You can call the Butterfly Foundation on 1800 33 4673. You can also speak with someone confidentially at Headspace by calling 1800 650 890 or chat online here.
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