My weight fluctuated when I was 30, and I did the unthinkable - I stepped out as a plus-sized model.

In the past, I often found that when I reached out for a fast cure it led me down a slippery slope of more medications, hopeful dependence on the next prescription and ultimately a much longer drawn-out illness.

I had been on this insane diet for almost 17 years to maintain the weight that was demanded of me when I was modeling. My diet was really starvation. I am not naturally that thin.

I've found that balance is key. I'm no longer an extremist in any one direction.

I was essentially paid to perpetuate the myth that we are all, or should at least try to be, 17 and a size 2 forever.

From the time I started school, it was clear to everyone that I wasn't learning at the same pace as other kids.

Though my parents assured me over and over again that I wasn't stupid or slow, I sensed that my dyslexia was now a stigma on all of us.