Nine months ago, she weighed just over 90 pounds at five-and-a-half feet tall. Now, 16-year-old Antonia Caruso is a much healthier 120 pounds and a dedicated powerlifter. More importantly, she's an anorexia survivor.
"Recovering from my eating disorder was the hardest thing I had to do,” Caruso said. “For me to come out of that and be this new person, this person who is actually me, that's what I'm most proud of."
With a squat of 210 pounds, a deadlift of 205 pounds and a bench of 100 pounds, Caruso has gone from emergency room trips to placing in competitions.
“There were people there who had been lifting for 10 years,” Caruso said. “For me to place, it was amazing.”
Although her road to recovery is an unusual one, Caruso has used powerlifting to overcome her eating disorder and wants to use her story to inspire others.
“I want someone to see this and know that this is permission for them to get better,” Caruso said.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald.
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