Incredible recovery of 6st anorexic whose heart could have ‘stopped at any minute’

A woman warned by doctors her heart could ‘stop at any minute’ due to an eating disorder claims a fitness app helped save her life.

Julie Levens, from Huyton near Liverpool, battled with anorexia and over-exercising during Covid.

The 30-year-old’s condition spiralled ‘out of control’ during lockdowns.

At her lowest weight of just under 6st, charity worker Ms Levens was admitted to hospital with protruding collarbones, tube-fed and told by medics she was ‘lucky to be alive’.

But she claimed shifting her ‘mindset towards food and fitness’ helped to kickstart her road to recovery and gain 2st.

Julie Levens, from Huyton in Liverpool, was warned by doctors her heart could ‘stop at any minute’ due to how anorexia was damaging her health. Here she is pictured in hospital weighing just 6st

Now 8st, the 30-year-old  says she shifted her mind towards healthy eating and fitness and away from disordered habits and can enjoy eating breakfast again thanks, in part, to a fitness app

‘When I went into the hospital they didn’t know how my heart was still beating,’ said Ms Levens. 

‘When I ended up in hospital being fed through tubes, one of the consultants told me that my heart could stop beating at any minute.’

During her hospital stay, she was so severely underweight and malnourished that medics did not allow her to walk to the toilet alone. 

Approximately 1.3million people in the UK and 28.8million in the US have an eating disorder, such as anorexia or bulimia. 

Many sufferers control what they eat, skip meals, exercise excessively and struggle to admit that their weight loss is serious, according to the NHS. 

The charity worker said her eating disorder was sparked by disordered habits which spiralled ‘out of control’ during lockdowns

At her lowest weight of under 6st, she was admitted to hospital where she was was tube-fed and told by medics she was ‘lucky to be alive’. But now she has gained 2st and is continuing her journey to recovery 

Ms Levens sought help from the NHS when she realised she needed a drastic change to improve her health. 

But she felt the NHS services didn’t offer enough support and left her feeling ‘like a naughty child’ for being ‘a slightly low weight’.

‘What I needed was more personalised and supportive care,’ said Ms Levens.

She came across the fitness app POW8R during a walk after leaving hospital and now credits it for her recovery.

Ms Levens said POW8R’s live high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions became a lifeline, providing her crucial structure and motivation to get healthier.

After two years of using the app for fitness and health advice she gained 2st and now feels stronger than ever.

‘When I first started the workouts I was using 4kg kettlebells and my upper body was so weak I couldn’t even lift them properly,’ said Ms Levens. 

After two years of using the app for fitness and health advice Ms Levens gained 2st and now feels stronger than ever

Ms Levens sought help from the NHS when she realised she needed a drastic change to improve her health 

‘Now I am using 16kg kettlebells and doing the live workouts up to four times a week.’

She added that changing her approach to food was key to her recovery from anorexia, and that POW8R’s cofounder Holly Braithwaite, 36, had helped her avoid calorie counting and obsessive behaviours. 

While not a professional experts in eating disorders, Ms Levens said Ms Braithwaite reached out to offer emotional support and guidance.

‘She took away the focus on weight and made it about becoming strong and healthy to fuel my workouts getting the right amount of vitamins and protein in,’ she said.

‘Before, breakfast was the hardest meal of the day for me to eat.

‘Now I enjoy all of my meals and particularly take pleasure in preparing my post-workout breakfast of Greek yoghurt, protein powder and berries to replenish my muscles and get stronger.’