Petite woman who has the willpower of a giant

“I am free. I am living again. And I am enjoying every single minute of it,” says bubbly Joanne Ellul Lanfranco, smiling broadly across the room. The past six months have been a turning point for the 24-year-old, who has been slowly shedding the shackles of anorexia and regaining weight. It has not been easy but, thanks to her willpower and the unflinching support of her family, especially her mother, Joanne only needs to add a few more kilos to reach normal weight. Problems for the always-slim Joanne began five-and-a-half years ago, after a short relationship ended. “I have always been a very sensitive person and I took the split very badly. I became obsessed and badly wanted something that I could control. That is when it all started. I realised that I could control my food intake. “During the first few days, I would have a small salad. Then, after a few days, I gave up eating completely. I would live on water and a packet of small crackers that I would eat possibly once a week,” she says. She began lying to her family that she had eaten at the University or with friends while walking from her home in Ħamrun to Bay Street and back. “It became my obsession. It takes over your...