Miss GB final place for woman who tackled eating disorder

A woman from Swansea who binged on takeaways and weighed over 17 stone (108kg) has qualified for the finals of Miss Great Britain.

Kirsty Logan said she ate burgers, pizzas and curries almost every day for five years after the sudden death of her father.

But she turned her life around after Covid left her in hospital.

She told BBC Radio Wales she hoped to win the beauty contest to raise awareness of eating disorders.

After the death of her father when she was 25, she said her eating habits spiralled out of control.

"I'd go to McDonald's and I'd buy two, three, sometimes four, double sausage and egg McMuffins and hash browns and I'd stuff them in their little paper bags into my purse and try and consume as much as I could on the tube to work every day," said Ms Logan, who had been working in public relations in London at the time.

"At lunchtimes I'd go out and I'd buy two chicken green curries and four naan breads and then after work I'd be running down to McDonald's and get two McChicken Sandwich meals - large, extra fries.

"I'd sit there on the train and I would eat them and I'd kind of be really embarrassed, and sometimes I would even move carriages because I could see people going 'is all that food for her?'"

Although she first noticed her weight gain and the impact on her health, she was also concerned about how it was affecting her at work.

"My stomach felt like it was being stretched, obviously I felt greasy, tired and lethargic," she said.

"I'm a publicist, I'm a PR - we're on the go all the time, our communication skills are really important. So I was really good at my job but suddenly I was really tired all the time, it was coming across like I couldn't be bothered."

On the train home from work, Ms Logan noticed other passengers would offer her their seats.

"My stomach was so distended because of the bloat that people thought I was pregnant," she said.

"That wasn't even the thing that made me think 'Hang on I think I need to lose weight here', because of course when you've got an eating disorder, you also lose track of how big you've got and trying to avoid mirrors and avoid your reflection. It's very easy to lose control."

She added the toll on her physically was a result of problems with her mental health.

"I really hated myself and it was almost like a punishment mechanism," she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

Early on in the pandemic, Ms Logan got Covid following a trip to New York, and ended up in hospital, where doctors and nurses "read me the Riot Act".

"[They] were quite rightly sick and tired of having to deal with people like me, who were putting their health at risk," she said.

"That, for me, was the moment where I thought I have literally put my life on hold for five years because of something that's happened, all of my emotions are frozen and I punish myself."

For the next 16 months, Ms Logan adopted a much healthier lifestyle, shedding seven stone (45kg) in weight. She said a change in her mindset was crucial, helped by the Nightingale online eating disorder support group, run by BEAT.

"I made a huge lifestyle change and that has been the key to my weight loss," she said.

"It hasn't been about going to the gym, it hasn't been about restricting eating - it's about re-programming my brain to understand what I'm putting in my body.

"Now, it's like I've got a new brain. It's great, I've got so much freedom."

As the finals of Miss Great Britain approach in September, Ms Logan said she hoped to use the contest to highlight matters close to her heart.

"I am using my platform to increase awareness around binge eating disorder, in an attempt to promote more understanding to the triggers and early indicators of the condition.

"In addition, I am working to shine a light on the duty of care we have to each other in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has worsened the obesity crisis in the UK and which is putting additional strain on our NHS."

If you are affected by any of the issues raised here, help and support is available online at BBC Action Line.