text: The mother of a recovering anorexic has taken the brave decision to reveal shocking photographs of her daughter's frail five-stone frame to help others gripped by the devastating eating disorder overcome their illness. Consumed by an obsession with the 'perfect body', Emma Walker slipped into a dangerous cycle, her weight plummeting in a matter of months. Such was the severity of her eating disorder, that the 15-year-old was admitted to hospital twice and faced rigorous counselling sessions. Today, Emma, whose decision to release the photos is supported by her mother Kim Waddington, said she wants to help other anorexia sufferers. By combating the compulsion to be skinny  - and instead focusing on getting fit and building her muscle definition - she is now a healthier eight stone. Emma Walker became obsessed with achieving the 'perfect body'. Within months her weight had plummeted to five-and-a-half stone (left) as the eating disorder anorexia took hold. Today, weighing a healthier eight stone (right) the 15-year-old is sharing her story to help others . Emma's mother Kim, left, said it was devastating watching her daughter face her 'horrific' ordeal . 'I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I went through,' Emma said. 'I went through hell. 'I've realised I was miserable when I'd lost weight. 'But I've learned so much from what I've been through and if my story can even help one person beat anorexia, I would be so happy. 'I'm 10 times stronger than I've ever been before.' Ms Waddington described watching her daughter battle the eating disorder as a 'horrific' ordeal. 'I felt so out of control and every day is a battle. I woke up thinking about it and would go to bed thinking about it,' she said. 'It's a monster that had taken over my daughter and we were fighting that monster every day. It was horrific watching my daughter go through it all.' Emma, from Blaby, Leicestershire, first felt the urge to lose weight after seeing pictures of celebrities in magazines. Quickly, she said, it became an obsession. She said: 'Whoever was on the front cover, I wanted to be like them. 'I became very depressed about the way I looked because I wasn't as skinny as them, I didn't want to look in the mirror anymore.' Within weeks her weight had plummeted to eight stone, but she was compelled to shed more. 'I would go online about 100 times a day, obsessively trying to find new ways of losing weight,' she said. 'I tried every diet I could find as I thought it would make me perfect. 'My body image changed but I still thought I was big; I wanted to lose more weight.' By the time she returned to school in September, Emma had dropped to a size four. She described herself as having 'an addiction' to losing weight. 'By the time I went back to school in September, I was barely eating anything,' she said. 'When I first started, people were complimenting me so it made me want to keep going, it was addictive.' Emma, pictured left and right while battling anorexia, first felt the urge to lose weight after seeing pictures of celebrities in magazines and social media sites. Quickly, she said, it became an obsession . But after being admitted to hospital twice, and extensive counselling, the teenager said she is now on the road to recovery, gradually gaining weight again, left and right . However, during her first term back in school, Emma's condition deteriorated as a result of no food and excessive exercise. 'I was exhausted,' she said. 'I would get colds frequently, my immune system was weak and a thin layer of hair had grown all over my body in an attempt to keep me warm. 'Worst of all, my periods had stopped. Now, looking back, that's one of the major warning signs - when you're body isn't healthy enough to carry a baby.' Finally, after resisting initially, Emma went with mother Kim Waddington, 46, to see her GP during the October half term. He told Emma definitively that she was anorexic and sent her straight to hospital. However, the teenager said being told how sick she actually was did not change anything in her mind. 'Being told I was anorexic didn't really change anything within me, I was still in denial,' she said. 'It felt like I was being forced to recover and that wasn't the right environment for me. 'In the end, I was drinking water and hiding food in my dressing gown to make people think I was improving. They let me out of hospital but I still wasn't gaining weight.' Emma's continued lack of progress started to cause arguments at home sparking 'hysterical' rows with her mother. 'It got really bad, I was throwing things at her as she was making me eat,' she said. 'She was distraught; I know now she was doing it for my own good but at the time it felt like she was punishing me.' By combating the compulsion to be skinny and rather focus on getting fit and building her muscle definition, Emma is now a healthier eight stone . Emma was admitted to hospital again in January - it proved to be the turning point. 'When I was admitted again, I was told my urea level was 15 when it is supposed to be 6, meaning I was dangerously dehydrated,' she said. 'My blood pressure was off the scale as well. It was then I realised that I couldn't do this anymore, my family didn't deserve what I was putting them through. 'I started going to counselling and it changed my outlook on the whole thing, it made me want to get better rather than feeling like I was being forced. 'I stopped looking at thin people on Instagram and started looking at body-building pictures, it made me think I want to be strong, not skinny, and it has made me slowly improve.' Now at a much healthier weight, Emma says she still has bad days but that she now wants to act as an inspiration to others. 'Everyone has bad days when they get up and don't like the way they look, and I'm no different,' she said. 'But people need to know that if you want to get yourself out of anorexia enough, it can be done. 'If my story can stop someone feeling as low as I did, I will be really happy.' Sufferers of eating disorders can find out more and access help via the charity beat.
target: Emma Walker's weight plummeted to just five-and-a-half stone in months .
  After two hospital visits and counselling she is on the road to recovery .
  Rather than being skinny, is focusing on getting fit and building muscle .
  Now weighs eight stone and is keen to share her story to help others .