Demi Lovato on Her Eating Disorder: “There’s no cure and I may mess up”
February 21, 2012 in Beauty & Body Image, Celebrity Quotes, Demi Lovato by Versus
Demi Lovato, who’s been very vocal about her troubles with eating disorders, recently opened up to Daily Mail and shared her story with many sad details:
On her eating disorder: “I’ve never had a relationship with food that was normal. I remember looking in the mirror with nappies on thinking, ‘You’re fat, change it.’ I started overeating when I was about eight; I was a binge eater. I would bake a whole plate of cookies and eat them all. Then when I turned 12 I was bullied in school and they called me fat. I went from being an overeater to stopping eating and I lost about 30lb. From then on I continued undereating, but my weight plateaued. [Then] I started throwing up to lose weight. It was just a matter of manipulating situations and hiding — you get very clever and very secretive. The tricky part about this disease is that you start lying to the people around you and turn into someone that you’re not. It’s scary.”
Read more after the jump!
She’s still recovering: “Now I can eat as many meals as I am supposed to and not throw up any more. There’s definitely temptation — every meal I fight it. It’s an addiction and I’m going to have to fight it for the rest of my life. There’s no cure and I may mess up, but I want to be a better role model for my fans and my younger sister. There are days when I look in the mirror and think, ‘God, my jeans don’t fit today — this sucks.’ But I’m in a much more spiritual place now.”
… says Demi.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Good girl.
she’s honest, which makes her strong. Demi is setting a great example for others.
I agree. I really like that she is so honest about her disease. Of course now the “she is milking her ED”-comments will follow ASAP…
harmony with your body is not always easy to achieve. i think it’s really hard, personally. i wish she and anyone who suffers like this can find balance and peace.
Absolutely, there is no cure and I’m sure A LOT of ladies who frequent this website will attest to that. It never really goes away, you just somehow find a way to develop a healthier relationship with food and with your body. I’ve had differing opinions on Demo and what she is portraying but I can 100% get behind what she is sharing because she is honest and it can be embarassing. All the celebrities who blab on and on “I can eat whatever I want! I eat junk food all the time!” and so on and so forth are NOT portraying a positive image because for the majority of them, their perfectly lean and toned bodies speak to a different discipline and that is more often than not extreme dieting and exercising (and fasts, and colonics, and surgery, etc) it is so disheartening to see the amount of young women out there struggling with ED (and it’s so different from just strict diets… It takes over your entire life and if you have/have had one, you know it) there don’t seem to be enough role models for them to say hey, I’m not perfect and that’s Ok. They watch shows like Glee and see perfectly thin little bodies and the actresses saying “oh I eat what I want! I’m so healthy!” and wonder why they are not the same way. I’m ranting now but as a 30 year old woman who’s battled the pulls of ED since being a very overweight middle-schooler to a very underweight college student and now somewhere in between, I can TOTALLY relate and I applaud Demi for being honest about not being perfect.
Her ED-babbling used to annoy me so much, but lately I’ve been feeling sorry for her and started respecting her. I’ve had an ED since 2008 and it is true – it never just goes away. And I read that she didn’t want to go back to acting because she wasn’t confident enough.. I mean, I can relate to that. So I think she’s quite strong because she can speak talk about it..
Totally felt/feel the same like you.
This takes a lot of courage to say publicly. I went through treatment and can’t even tell some of my friends what exactly went on and how hard it is. I can’t imagine going through this in the public eye.
I’ve had an eating disorder since 2005. Anyone who says they’re “tired of hearing about it” or that she’s doing is for “attention” is clearly close minded and don’t fully understand the disorders. I’m proud of her for speaking up, and being honest. She will continue to have problems, and it is a constant battle between what you want to do, and what you know is right to do. Life can be lived without drugs, or without alcohol. But food never goes away. Not that they’re even comparable, but I admire her for her strength and opennness.
That’s not true. I had an ED and even now I have some problems eating some kind of food, but I’m tired of read always the same answers to the same questions that people have done to her since she was admitted.
Doesn’t she is tired too? I mean really, there is nothing more about her besides her eating disorder? I maybe am a really reserved person, but I would be like “Damn don’t you have other questions? I have talked about it too much, I want a break”
agreed. what is she, the chancellor of eating disorders? every time shes interviewed she has to talk about her ED in some shape or form. God she sucks. when i see pictures of her i think, ‘theres that crazy disney bulemic chick.’
Eating disorders are private struggles, and the way she presents herself its seems like she is using her “disease” to seek attention. perhaps shes frightened her 15 minutes are running out. tick tock.
Exactly, plus this girl was in rehab for drug issues, not ED’s. She’s using eating disorders as a coverup because people have more sympathy for someone struggling with an eating disorder than a crazy crackhead.
Agree mary. I don’t think of it as being honest, I think of it as more of an attention seeking thing.
Wow, you sound like a horrible person.
Ahaha Lana I totally agree. The fact that she is able to talk about it shows that she’s accepted it as part of her past and is trying to get on with her life. She probably doesn’t want this very private illness following her everywhere but unfortuantely the public want to know about it and think it’s their business to ask.
There IS more to her life than her eating disorder. She is a creative and talented young woman, but obviously this has been a part of her life since she was a child. And there aren’t many celebrities who are so open on the subject as she has been. She says she wants to be a role model, so she’s trying to get the message out there that this is a serious issue and that it isn’t easily beat. If you do have an ED you should get help for it & it is a long process.
Demi had a lot of demons she was dealing with and still is. She was young and in the spot light. Give her a break and stop judging. At least she is trying to change to better her life, bc some poeple never do.
“And there aren’t many celebrities who are so open on the subject as she has been.”
TONS of celebrities come forward about eating disorders! Almost a new one every year, in fact. Kelly Clarkson, Portia De Rossi, Christina Ricci, to name only a few. This is why I don’t see why she is being so celebrated for doing so; she wasn’t the first and she certainly won’t be the last.
but that’s the point. Celebrities admit they had eating disorders but they don’t do much else. Demi is being a spoke person; she chooses to speak about these things and to share her story, her struggles and her fears.
I don’t know if she has a substance abuse problem or not but I do believe her speaking out is important. I understand that you might not like her but its not fair that you judge her like that cause she is helping and specially since she is someone teenagers can relate to.
monkey: actually, i think Portia De Rossi wrote a book about it, so “Celebrities admit they had eating disorders but they don’t do much else.” is not really true. Just wanted to point that out, I’m not saying I disagree with what you’re saying.
Sometimes I am tired of hearing about it.
but years ago when I was a anorexic teenager, teenage pop stars were brittney and christina .. I prefer to Demi. Never listen to pop music, but I admired Brittey in relation to her body, and now I understand I admired Brittey in relation to her ED.. Britt said things in interviews like, “I don’t mind eating more at dinner, next day I Don’t have breakfast and I train 2 hours without eating anything,” And I said: cool, I do the same!
It would have been nice to hear what Demi says , and not listen to pro-ana tips that made me think that what I did was normal, it was fine.
if this is to try and damage control after her latest rehab stints, the thing is she won’t admit she has a substance abuse problem. she is just putting it all on the ED when really she is struggling with drugs which yes i’m sure are all intertwined with cocaine/weight loss/ mental health. i don’t like how she is only half-honest. especially since she said her ED makes her manipulative and lying. i know what shes saying and people like her just say the right things because they sound good and put people at ease. i just don’t buy it from her. she won’t be able to recover from her substance abuse issues because they never acknowledge them
I agree with you, however, it must be a tremendous amount of pressure with your every move watched and you have a substance abuse problem. We all know she has very serious drug/alcohol abuse problems and her latest stint in rehab is evidence of that, but I think it is possibly all intertwined. She must have clear psychological problems to have to turn to drugs and alcohol to deal with her ED – she is a seriously damaged girl. But, at least she is being honest about SOMETHING – I can’t imagine having to talk about all my problems to so many people. Now people like Lindsay Lohan, Kim K, etc – these vapid messes are honest about NOTHING and lie about EVERYTHING and assume we are all just idiots. Please
yeah it is better than kim k and lilo definitely. i don’t know how i feel about demi. i am intrigued by her, and have been by several years. because she is relatable for sure. maybe that’s what is so sad because you know we are all rooting for her. i know she had a hard life that led her to who she is today but she is an adult now and if she is going to be promoting wellness to millions of fans that look up to her, she could atleast try to live what she is saying. surely all the resources are there for her since she’s acting it out anyway..but instead she just goes out and parties nightly with other users and dresses inconsistently to what she is promoting, and dating wilmer who is just not good for her
sorry i’m not trying to direct this rant towards you. just sorting out my thoughts! haha
sometimes girls(lilo) idolize people like marilyn monroe who were these beautiful tragedies and forget that in the end they were unhappy and died
Just to let you know that in the full article she does refer to her drug and alcohol problems and she does say that she went to rehab for her eating disorder, her self-harm, her substance abuse and her issues with alcohol.
oh ok, thank you for pointing that out! i read on her twitter how she said there was an interview that completely made up her responses. i wonder whether this was the interview she was talking about?
But who is exactly following this girl’s every move? She’s just not that famous for anyone to care really. She’s some Disney channel actress, and the reason most people even know about her is because of her never ending statements. She’s creating this pressure where none exists. If she were to shut up and go away, I don’t think anyone would care or “watch her every move” it’s not like she’s Angelina Jolie.
I agree Anastasia. I had never even heard of her before I came to this site. I had heard of the other Disney stars but not her. She’s not a big star.
i think your retarded….cocaine makes you do CRAZY shit.Shes not LIndsey Lohan, and tripping out of night clubs all high. Shes dealing with an eating disorder not cocaine…
do you really think that i am “retarded”? i think that you could have looked in a dictionary to find a more appropriately-fitted word to describe your views of me.
on another note, cocaine does make you do crazy stuff…like punch a backup dancer perhaps? sorry that demi just doesn’t get near the publicity that lindsay does
It could be the one she’s talking about – ps don’t pay any attention to natnat!
Why don’t all of you concern yourselfs with your own problems and leave other people alone. Are your lives so boring that you have to become completely consumed with someone else’s?
Your username should say “Hypocrite”. If you took your own advice, you wouldn’t be on this website in the first place, let alone condemning the actions of others.
Says the person who took precious time out of their life to post this comment. Wow your life must be boring, trying to school others over the internet.
To me this is brainless leisure. I like so watch others obsess about celebrities. I love to see how some people can be so passionate about trifle matters and feel that voicing their opinion or discussing their issues would somehow miraculously change anything. it is also so much fun to comment just to see the highly “intelligent” replies you get.
So you have an obsession with other people’s obsessions? That’s kind of pathetic. And in order to get an intelligent reply, you have to start off with an intelligent comment in the first place. It’s you that’s taking things way too seriously. I doubt anyone cares to change anything about anyone, this is a gossip site nothing more. So I will direct part of your comment back to you, which is about as hypocritical as the rest of your posts. Just what do you think you are miraculously changing by voicing your opinion anyways?
When she first came out of rehab I disliked her SO MUCH. Every gossip website was her blabbing on and on about her ED. Now that I haven’t heard her for sometime I view her comments in an entirely different light. I don’t feel like she’s shoving this down my throat now that she has taken a break from her previously incessant chatter.
Also, why would someone born and raised in the United States use the word “nappies”?
haha i think the Irish interviewer changed the words for her. i wasn’t even sure what nappies is. pajamas?
What you call diapers, we call nappies in the UK.
oh..thats awkward! hahaha
isn’t nappies diapers?
ah yes, misscheeks beat me to it
That really bugs me. I looked it up and knew it was UK slang but if she didn’t say it, why change it? Ohh the beauty that is the media.
is ‘diapers’ (nappies) another word for undies? haha bc why would she be in diapers. if they’re going to change the wording they need to translate better
I get this picture of a 1-year-old staring into the mirror going “oh you’re fat, change it!” doubt she’d remember being that young tho.
for gods sake open a dictionary sometime catcab nappies is slang for diapers
Am I the only one who gets kind of tired of Demi? I can’t remember her talking about something else but her eating disorder. Don’t get me wrong, I also think that she’s a strong person because she can talk about it and could fight her desease… but please start talking about something new! Using an eating disorder to stay in the media is not cool. Stay famous because of your music, Demi!
shes not using her eating disorder to stay in the media… if youve turned on the radio recently youll hear a few songs from her actually!
not very many people are able to / have the resources like she does where she can talk about this horrible disease and have her VOICE HEARD. shes a powerful role model for young girls and seeing an influential person talking about it lets those who are suffering know that they are not alone. i see no other celebs trying to help..so props to demi, youre truly a role model.
Why do you need some tween actress to be your role model? Why do you need any actress to be your role model? Why can’t people just think for themselves instead of looking up to people who they’ll never know or care about? If I have an eating disorder I don’t see how this rich privileged whiny little snot is going to make me feel any better about my life.
@ Anastasia, I’m not going to comment about Demi’s situation. Meh don’t really care do I? Her life, her body. But I must say, I do 100% agree with you about people seeing celebrities as ‘role models’ for their lives. Yes it’s good to feel that you can relate to someone, but are you actually looking up to them as people? I’m certainly not. Think about it, what separates us from celebrities? Money and fame. If they lose that, then how are they any different from the rest of us? They’re just as messed up (if not moreso) than we are so it’s wrong to hold them up on this pedestal and put this great burden of ‘role model’ on their shoulders. By all means, appreciate their art, bodies, fashion etc. but if you look up to them as role models, you should be prepared when they inevitably ‘fail’ and disappoint you.
I usually agree with most of your comments, but I think that this is an exception. I had an ED, and when Demi came out about hers, talking on interviews and shows about it, I thought “hey, she’s not that skinny, but she still rocks that dress!”
And I think most of your comments are witty, but now you’re just kinda being harsh, imo.
btw have you ever had an eating disorder?
No, I’ve never had an eating disorder. However, it’s fine that she talked about her struggles and what not, but the thing is, we get it, it’s ENOUGH, how many times can she say the same old thing day after day? And, like I said before, her rehab stay was because of drugs not ED’s, so she’s not be truthful. She’s just using this ED thing to gain attention. There’s something overall I can’t stand about her.
i’m suffering from this too so i could understand her very well
She is so fake. She is violent and out of control, THAT is why she went away, not for an eating disorder!
The rehab facility Demi went to was in my hometown. It is an eating disorder rehab. Why would she choose a rehab that specializes in eating disorders if she didn’t have one? She could have gone anywhere, but she chose to go there. Obviously she had an ED.
She punched a girl and went to rehab for it. That’s what Debbs is referring to.
She didn’t “choose” to go anywhere. Disney made the arrangments.
yeah because they would rather market an eating disorder than her real underlying issues
I do not know about Demi’s disease. But an ED is a psychiatric illness, and this disease can cause episodes of violence and psychotic outbreaks. usually bulimia sufferers become violent and irritable.
I don’t know who she is to be honest. I think I might be a little too old and that’s why I don’t recognize these younger stars. Googling her is too much effort for my lazy butt.
I get the ed thing but it has to be draining to go public with it like she did here. I had anorexia and while I have confessed being a recovered anorexic on this site, I don’t think I could ever tell people such a thing without anonymity. She must be brave to speak about her struggles in front of the world to see. Good for her, I hope she is doing it to educate others because people are very ignorant about eating disorders.
i know what you mean, it took me several years after “recovering” (by recovering, i mean i do not purge anymore and i do not count and restrict calories e v e r y single day. that doesn’t mean i don’t have disordered thoughts from time to time or that i don’t ever notice calories) to be able to speak out loud about it. i noticed the article said she had an air of detachment when speaking about it. and that’s kind of how i feel because i do feel really far away from some of my old behaviors. it seems a little soon for her to be feeling that way though since she came out about it immediately after rehab, and her rehab wasn’t very long. i guess everyone is different but it has to be scary being so open. i hope its not because she is just speaking rehearsed lines
Does she do anything besides put out statements on eating disorders? I’m curious because I have no idea if she’s just famous for being famous at this point. She comes off as a arrogant holier than though brat. Every time I see a picture of her with her mannequin like face posing like a smug little b!tch on the red carpet I want to slap her. Stop trying to school people on eating disorders, like she’s some fountain of knowledge on the topic. This girl will run to any tabloid that gives her the time of day, and whine about her sad little life. Boo hoo get over no one cares at this point, especially since your problem is centered around drugs and anger issues, and not ED’s which you’d rather fool the public into believing. I wish someone would call her out on that.
Agree on this.
+1
You always speak the truth.
Aww thanks S!
Yep.
bring on the cakes!
lol jpjp that joke isn’t even funny
bring on the healthy habits
i like demi, she’s being really mature
Am I the only one who noticed her nails ??? jeez!!
hahah i loathe the dagger nail trend as well!
I really respect her for her honesty. It’s hard not to resist saying “I’m cured! Everything’s all right guys!” I admire that she’s being this truthful in the public eye, I’m not sure if I could have done the same.
i have had an eating disorder for 14 years and it wasnt until i got pregnant with my baby that i got better… i still struggle daily but i make a conscious effort to not purge if i ever binge… the pregnancy weight came all off after 10 mnths but i didnt make losing it my priority… taking care of my daughter was…good luck Demi! you are doing great
Why is everyone questioning her authenticity? And bashing her for seeking attention? Obviously when you make a public statement you’re prepared for attention, be it positive or negative. I don’t see anything wrong with that and I don’t see why we should just assume she’s being dishonest and faking it all.
And seriously, do you guys notice that she’s most likely ASKED about her issues by every single magazine? Apparently Dailymail doesn’t agree with those complaining about the ED talk getting boring. Why would she refuse to answer their questions? Honesty is part of recovery. I would hate having to open up to the public, but I kind of understand and respect her choice.
It’s not like I’m a fan of hers, but all the tearing-apart and over-analyzing is pretty disgusting.
“There’s a cure and I may mess up”.
As a recovering bulimia sufferer of almost ten years I know how frustrating this realization is, but I hope she hangs in. Maybe she should just keep out of the public eye for a while to really focus on her recovery.
This chick needs to shut up. All she talks about is the same thing. And “bullied”? She’s the bully. Very annoying girl. And always attention seeking. There are plenty of other people who have had ED and they don’t go on half as much as she does.
It’s great she’s being honest, but I worry a bit about the message she’s putting out there that “there’s no cure.” Okay, there’s no cure, but there IS a possibility of full recovery. Maybe not for her, maybe not for everyone, but the possibility is still there. So I hope that all the girls she’s being a ‘role model’ for aren’t taking away the message (from her frequent comments about struggling with this for her whole life) that there is no hope of full recovery.
Okay, druggie. Whatever you say.
lmao
Wow she just described my life exactly, it’s kind of creepy.
“There’s no cure and I might mess up”
Ummmm NO ONE CARES. Besides you and your retarded twitter fans. You’re not Princess Diana, no one cares or follows your every move. You mess up, then that’s your problem, deal with it.
Those nails are a bit scary, but I have no complaints on anything else. She looks healthy (I know that you can’t really tell from appearances, but ya know) and happier. I’m glad she’s progressing in the right way and getting better, and I hope eventually she’ll be able to reach that harmony with her body and food she’s looking for.
Demi has a beautiful face.
Anyway, I hope she continues to stay confident and healthy, and do well.
I like her and she sounds like she’s got a good head on her shoulders… but she needs to stop with the ridiculous extensions and makeup! She’d be sooo gorgeous with a more natural look. Looks like she’s trying to be Kim Kardashian or something.
She is honest but I hope at some point she will embrace her beauty and just take pride in caring for her body in a healthy way. I really like her and I think she has enormous potential. Side note: I wish they would tone down the make-up and hair on her sometimes. She was so beautiful in her skyscraper video. I think she’s a natural beauty and she really doesn’t need so much extra stuff IMO.
I wish she would just shut up about this already! it’s getting almost insufferable hearing about her struggle with bulimia and cutting repetitively telling the same old story over and over again, this is a private matter that she should keep to her self – or between her and her people (family, doctors, therapists ect.). I seriously think she’s trying to milk this, and she wants to become some poster child for eating disorders like Tracey Gold or something.
I’ve knocked her in the past for talking so much about this, but she is right that there is no real cure. It’s something you learn to manage and always carry with you, no matter the number on the scale or the calories you eat.
I don’t know if she is telling the truth or not, I don’t know if she does it by conviction or if she does it for publicity. but I think what she says is good, and this can help to many people. I’ve never heard anyone talking seriously about eating disorders in the media. she does it, and she says nothing false about the disease. This is a great truth, eating disorders never heal .. Even if someone has only a “small ED” the disease is never cured .. always remains something latent that could explode at any time. I “heal” ten years ago, and I am “completely cured” four years ago (I haven’t any unhealthy eating habit). But there are consequences,
I never recall a non-distorted perception of my body, only I assume that I haven’t it, and I don’t act upon this persepcion. I could never return to do the amount of physical exercise I did before getting sick (if I do it, The ghosts come back). And when my life is difficult, for some moments I want to return to my self-detructivos habits. If you cross the line there is no turning back .. I didn’t know it when I was 14 years, and years later when I heard the irreversibility of the disease and the physical consequences, my desire to heal increased
It’s not a disease it’s a destructive recurrent behavior and an obsession – I had an eating disorder, a rather severe case of Anorexia and then binge ate for many years off and on until I learned to be sensible about my behaviors and focus my mental energy on something else rather than my weight and that seemed to help me get out of its grip. Anorexia is reversible with cognitive therapy.
It is a disease! It’s irreversible, physically and mentally. My bilirubin stay permanently enlarged, though all seems well, something happened in my liver that never healed. My illness was mild and the effects were mild, but There is permanent damage .. so that a physician with a couple of blood tests always ask me: did You have an ED? It is irreversible.
Good for her. I think it’s great to have a role model out there being so vocal about what it is to have an eating disorder. She’s providing thoughtful and eloquent insight into what it’s actually like to suffer from bulimia. I also appreciate that she’s talking about it even though she’s not stick thin — it gives an accurate portrayal of most bulimics and I imagine will make it easier to talk about. My biggest reserve was always not ‘looking like’ I had an eating disorder. Lots of respect to this young lady.
she remembers being in nappies??really? #spoofs