Married At First Sight’s Sara Mesa has opened up about her past struggles with body dysmorphia in a candid video posted to social media.
Sara, who is a nutrition and fitness coach, took to her Instagram stories to share an experience that eventually led to her losing her hair.
“A few years back I was in a very restrictive mindset. I was very obsessive with counting calories and I would be constantly dieting just to get to a better physique,” Sara said.
“I was always trying to improve and look a certain way and I had extreme body dysmorphia and I did not think I looked the way that I looked.”
“I would say ‘no’ to so many things, I stopped drinking for a long period of time I became a shell of myself. I became a different person all to look a certain way,” Sara said.
“I would say no to pastries, to drinking and I would stay in most nights.
Sara recalled her experience with extreme dieting and exercise as “such a stressful time in [her] life”.
“I ended up losing my hair and having extreme hormonal acne and going through a depressive state,” the 29-year-old detailed.
Sara added that at the time she began binge eating and self-sabotaging.
“When all of this stuff started happening to me I would beat myself up and emotionally eat and it was an outer body experience.
“I was never ever content with the way that I looked.”
Sara said having lived both extremes, she has now found her happy medium and is happy to show other woman not to be fearful of food.
The 29-year-old’s message came after an online troll criticised Sara for posting videos of her consuming pastries and wine saying she was “setting a bad example” for healthy eating.
Sara clapped back calling on people to “stop demonizing food”.