Anorexic teen whose weight dropped to just 40kg was addicted to cooking food but never eating it - and is now sharing photos of herself in the grips of the illness in the hope of saving lives

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A young woman has opened up about her battle with anorexia - and how she turned her life around after the eating disorder almost claimed her life.

Lucie Bertoldo, from Sydney, was once on the brink of death after she tipped the scales at just 40 kilograms at the height of her anorexia in April 2012.

She became consumed by the eating disorder at the age of 16 - an illness that saw an obsession with calorie counting and how she would restrict her diet.

The 20-year-old journalism student has revealed how anorexia took over her life, how she developed an intense fixation with food that led to an addiction to cooking but never eating it - and how she had overcome the condition.

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Sydney student Lucie Bertoldo (pictured) was once on the brink of death after she tipped the scales at just 40 kilograms (left) at the height of her anorexia in April 2012

The young woman has revealed how anorexia first came to take over her life at the age of 16

'I remember looking in the mirror one day and thought my life would be easier if I got more fit and healthy,' Miss Bertoldo told Daily Mail Australia.

The young woman revealed how she was always passionate about her health, nutrition and fitness - a simple lifestyle she focused on before her eating disorder spiralled out of control.

The then sporty teenager started to exercise excessively and eat less - slowly falling into the grips of anorexia, without realising what she was doing to herself.

'I played a lot of different sports, attending dance classes - and I was constantly in an environment where I was comparing myself to other girls,' she said.

'I was always a bit of a perfectionist at school. I wanted to be good at sports and academics - and I wanted to please my family and do well for my teachers so I guess the pressure got to me.

'I started cutting out food, really slowly at first. I would say to myself "okay, I will only have one junk food a day" but then it turned into "no junk food a day". No sweets, no treats, nothing, and gradually I would start exercising.

'[I was] exercising more and more, pretty much, I wasn't eating or complimenting much to the exercising. I started losing weight quite rapidly.'

The then sporty teen became consumed by the eating disorder when she was in high school

She revealed how she has always been passionate about her health, nutrition and fitness

Far from getting better, she found herself skipping meals everyday - and keeping her dark secret under wraps from her family and friends.

'At first, I had no control over what I was doing,' she said.

'But I think with more education, I eventually knew what I was doing. What really scared me most was I knew what I was doing to myself but I didn't stop. You want to stop but at the same time, you just can't.'

Four months later, she was diagnosed with the life-threatening condition after her parents noticed her struggle with eating dinner one night.

'I remember the day my parents thought something was wrong with me,' Miss Bertoldo said.

'I was sitting at the dinner table, I just starred at the chicken and I realised I couldn't eat it. And then the pressing questions came. I started getting hysterical over a piece of chicken. Mum said: "Okay, I'm taking you to the doctors tomorrow".'

She was diagnosed with anorexia after her parents noticed her struggle with eating dinner

She was part of a dance group in her teens, loved playing sports and was always keeping fit

She was admitted to hospital at the start of November 2012 after she dramatically dropped 10 kilograms.

'One doctor who I've known since I was born said quite frankly that I was dying - when after a month of visits with no improvement but worsening,' she said.

'And I was put on the emergency list because with the wait on the other one I wouldn't be emitted until December to early January I think.

'I wouldn't have lasted that long because the weight loss became that rapid. Once I hit 40 kilograms they put me in a week later.

'I was in denial at the time, because I couldn't see myself improving.'

Her life spiralled out of control at the age of 16 when she was fixated with calorie counting

During the ordeal, Miss Bertoldo recalled the moment she struggled to eat her first meal after being dangerously thin.

'I remember it took me over two weeks to finish my first meal in hospital,' she said.

Despite her worsening condition, Miss Bertoldo had a penchant for baking

'I just starred at the food, thinking I didn't know how this was going to work. It was kind of like seeing fat on your plate instead of food.

'My mentality was certainly different at the time. I was looking at food differently.'

Her illness had become so severe, she was fixated with calorie counting and restricting her diet next to nothing.

'My father's family are Italian - so you know they always cook a lot. We ended up celebrating Father's Day at their home one year. I barely ate but I still felt [full] huge when I left,' she said.

'I was in an environment where you would just focus on calories, fats and sugars - all the bad stuff. You're supposed to look at how food gives you all the energy and nourishment - but I didn't see any of that. It was a reflex kind of thing.'

She had became fixated with calorie counting and restricting her diet to nothing

Despite her worsening condition, Miss Bertoldo had a penchant for baking but she would never taste her own cooking afterwards.

'I bought five cook books and I was cooking constantly,' she said.

'It was a huge obsession. I used to bake all the time. I was doing it everyday but my mum and sister started feeling uncomfortable that I was making all this stuff but I wasn't eating it.

'I think it just comes with the disease. You become so obsessed with food and you would think about food and start cooking something you were craving on - but you would have this empty feeling.

'It was a sense of achievement, emptiness made me feel skinny or being the skinniest in the room - you can actually feel it.'

She enjoyed playing netball - in which she had to give up while she was hospitalised in 2012

More than four years on, Miss Bertoldo has made a remarkable transformation to her body

And it wasn't until she was sitting in the audience of her dance class, when she realised what she was missing out on in her life.

'One of the most defining moments was when I was allowed to leave hospital to watch my dance concert,' she said.

Miss Bertoldo has decided to speak out about the illness, and share her incredible photographs of her remarkable healing process in the hope of inspiring others

'I remember sitting there and just feeling c**p because I should be up on stage with my friends and sister.

'But the eating disorder actually made me lose everything. You can't do what you want to do.'

And more than four years on, Miss Bertoldo has made a remarkable transformation to her body as she continues with her recovery.

'I'm physically recovered but I'm just struggling with the whole mental side. I eat fine now if I stick to my limits,' she said. 

'I have a few physical side effects now which I also have to deal with. But I'm definitely at the best place that I've been in these last four years.

'Dealing with the weight gain has been hard but I work out a lot and that keeps me happy. Being able to do the things I couldn't do before makes me feel over the moon.

'When I look back at photos now, I understand why my doctors warned me that I was dying, and that's another thing that kept me going with my recovery.

'I think its easy to think "why me" but I believe that God must have given me a second chance and a new perspective of life and that's why I take up so many opportunities that are given to me.'

She found herself skipping meals - and keeping her dark secret under wraps from everyone

The then teen (left) playing netball and her City2Surf run (right) accomplished when she was fit to run again after overcoming her anorexia

Miss Bertoldo has decided to speak out about the illness, and share her incredible photographs of her remarkable healing process in the hope of inspiring others.

'What I was doing when things got tough was, in my head, I would go through all the things I couldn't do at the time,' she said.

'I love running and playing netball, but when I was admitted, I couldn't do any of these things. I started going through things I couldn't do and started thinking of what I can do if I wasn't sick.

'It was a challenge but I set myself goals. I would tell myself I wanted to finish school, run City2Surf, go to university, fly overseas on an exchange and do my gym course - all these things I couldn't do when I was in a critical condition.

'One of my goals was to get back on the netball court and when I did achieved that, I felt so much better. I have control over my life and I've been able to eat well again.

'When I was in hospital, one of the girls told me: "Every meal you eat is a step getting your life back" - that quote really stuck with me.'