"I had hyperemesis gravidarum (uncontrollable nausea and vomiting during pregnancy) so by six months pregnant I had lost 16 pounds. People were (and still are) very 'ohhh you're so lucky, you won at pregnancy!' But throwing up all day for months was really not winning at anything. I felt physically awful and actually depressed; I couldn't enjoy daily life at all. Thankfully, my son and I are totally healthy now, but my tooth enamel will never be the same." — Amelia Edelman"I caught viral meningitis in my senior year of high school. The sickness was so bad, I had to be out of school for a month, during which time I could only eat popsicles without getting sick to my stomach. I returned to school 18 pounds lighter, and a football player I had a crush on (who had rejected me horrendously prior to my illness) pounced on me my first day back. 'Hi! How are you? I've missed you.' I don't know if it was the residual Codeine talking, but I responded bluntly. 'Um, I thought we weren't talking anymore?' and he said, verbatim: 'Don't take this the wrong way, but you look really hot, like skinnier.' And I was like, 'Yeah, don't talk to me ever again.'" — Cat Quinn"In high school, I had a tumor in my breast and was going to the doctor every week. Because of the stress and the meds I was on, I got very very skinny. I believe I weighed 105 pounds senior year of high school (which, for my height, is VERY underweight). I felt horrible but all the girls at school used to compliment me, saying 'I wish I could be as skinny as you.' It was such a strange feeling because I didn't want to have to explain my situation to all of these people every single time someone gave me a 'compliment.' After high school, though, once I was healthy, I found the process of gaining weight very difficult, because some part of me now saw this skinny girl as the one people thought was beautiful. Now, I'm healthy and at a normal weight and couldn't feel better! BUT the traces...those comments left on the way I saw my body took years for me to shed." — Adriana Ridings