VEGAN influencer Zhanna Samsonova boasted she had the weight of “18 coconuts” before her tragic death.
The 39-year-old known as Zhanna D’Art, who is feared to have starved to death, proudly shared on Instagram she weighed 41kgs after going on an extreme fruit-only diet.
INSTAGRAM/ZHANNA D’ARTZhanna Samsonova proudly posted a photo holding coconuts[/caption]
INSTAGRAM/ZHANNA D’ARTThe influencer promoted her all-fruit diet[/caption]
INSTAGRAM/ZHANNA D’ARTThe 39-year-old died before she was due to fly back home[/caption]
The Russian national died while on a tour of south-eastern Asia after catching a “cholera-like infection,” just hours before she was due to fly home.
Despite concerns from her friends who were worried about her alarmingly low weight, the influencer insisted on sticking to her restrictive diet.
Zhanna told her Instagram followers how she spent years eating and drinking just fruits, sunflower seed sprouts, smoothies, and juices.
And in one post she was thrilled to announce she weighed 41kgs- the equivalent of 18 coconuts.
Sharing a picture of herself holding a bunch of coconuts, she wrote: “Being thin doesn’t mean weak! Being big and bulky doesn’t mean strong!
“Recognize that we all come in different shapes and sizes, and that all people are inherently valuable regardless of the way they look.
“I holding the brunch of 9 coconuts just with a one left hand!
“One coconut is about 2-2,3 kg of weight. Summary is approximately 18-22kg…And my wigth is 41kg btw.”
The influencer’s grieving mum Vera Samsonova previously revealed how she begged her to come home during their last phone conversation the day before she died.
“Zhanna, you need to go to Moscow,” the 63-year-old had pleaded.
“I understood that Zhanna was about to die, but still I could not help her in any way. My daughter’s life has turned into a nightmare,” she told Russian newspaper Novye Izvestiya.
In Samsonova’s last moments, Vera explained that seemed to have finally understood the errors of her ways and replied: “Yes, I was so mistaken.”
One of her friends, Olga Chernyaeva, told Russian media how Samsonova could barely walk in the months before her death.
“I watched her journey to death for seven years. About five months ago, I met Zhanna in Sri Lanka and she had a haggard look.
“Her legs were swollen… It was amazing that she was still moving – I think she did it through pain.”
Chernyaeva added that she was forced to helplessly watch as Samsonova – who refused to get treatment – turned to “only bones” and was left bed-bound.
“She was in bed for almost a month. If she got up, it was very difficult for her to walk – it took several minutes to overcome one step of the stairs.”
The raw food influencer also had touted online that her body does not “require” water.
“I have not drunk water for the last 6 years. This is a common occurrence in those who are on a fruit diet,” she wrote on Instagram post from last year.
“This is not something that I limit or restrain myself, it’s just that my body does not require it,” she added.
Another friend reported how seeing Samsonova several months ago had left her “horrified”.
“Her hands were like those of my 12-year-old sister, thin,” they told Russian news outlet 116.ru.
“A few months ago, in Sri Lanka, she already looked exhausted.
“They sent her home to seek treatment. However, she ran away again. When I saw her in Phuket, I was horrified.
“I lived one floor above her and every day I feared finding her lifeless body in the morning. I convinced her to seek treatment, but she didn’t make it.”
Days before she died, Samsonova shared the haunting last message: “Life is meaningless but worth living provided you recognise it’s meaningless.”
The cryptic note written over a selfie with her mouth open came after seven weeks of conspicuous silence on her Instagram.
Zhanna’s family is waiting for a medical report and a death certificate to show her official cause of death.
The Beat Eating Disorders helpline is open 365 days a year. Call 0808 801 0677 or see beateatingdisorders.org.uk.
instagram/@rawveganfoodchefThe food blogger is suspected to have starved herself to death[/caption]
Social media – Refer to sourceZhanna had also said she had stopped drinking water for years[/caption]
