I forced my sister into an eating disorder

Growing up, my sister and I were close but very different. I was really into partying and the social scene. However, my sister had really low self-esteem and locked herself away with her school books for company. She used to tell me how sad she was and I took this to heart. I hated seeing her that way. I believed, and still do, that if you’re healthy, then that’s your best shot at happiness.

My sister used to come home and binge on a whole packet of six iced buns every afternoon. She never exercised and she was miserable. She was never paid any attention from boys but only because she shut them out with insults and attitude before they could get interested in her. It was her defence mechanism. She was overweight and had a bad case of acne. I believed this was all due to her bad eating habits and complete lack of exercise. So one day I decided to get her healthy.

I had to start by convincing her to want to be healthy. I told her about all the endorphins that are released when you exercise and how happy you can be just by going for a jog. I promised if she didn’t feel better after spending six weeks “doing it my way” then I would leave her alone to do her own thing.

I made her come jogging with me of an afternoon and though she hated it, I pushed her. I forced her to stop eating the way she did. She worked at a bakery and brought home masses of bakery food and I would just throw it in the bin in front of her, despite her whining. She started losing weight and looking good. Then she started getting into it. She liked exercising and eating right. She got her first date with a boy and came to parties with me. But then she just kept going. She started getting obsessed. She thought the more weight she lost, the more attention she would get. She turned nasty and self-centred. I tried to stop her by telling her she looked great the way she was, but it only went to her head and made her worse. I blamed myself for trying to change her. I just wanted her to be healthy.

My sister is still sick to this day. She gets worse at different times. I miss her so much, she isn’t the same person I knew and loved. I still think it’s important to try and encourage your loved ones to get healthy. For a long time there, she was really happy and healthy but it went too far. I don’t know what I should have done differently to help her stop at a good weight but I encourage everyone to not lose sight of their goals. A healthy body should be a number one priority, not getting “thin”.