The British actress has been 'eating properly' for nearly five years and she's proud of the progress she's made although she's still 'pissed because I'm in pain now and everything's more complicated.'
- May 31, 2024
AceShowbiz - Jameela Jamil wished she could be more careful when it came to consuming something for her body. In an interview, the "Love at First Sight" actress admitted that she regrets "destroying" her organs with laxatives amid an eating disorder.<
The 38-year-old opened up about her struggle with anorexia in the Wednesday, May 29 episode of Kelly Ripa's "Let's Talk off Camera" podcast. "I'm amazed I even still have an a**hole, to be perfectly honest," she quipped about the laxatives.
"It's a real trooper. It's a survivor. I took any pill or drink or diet that [Oprah Winfrey] recommended. I did it. I took it. You know, any very low-calorie supermodel diet," she added. "I f**ked up my kidney, my liver, my digestive system, my heart... And most recently, I found out that I have destroyed my bone density."
While she'd like to blame outside pressures for her self-esteem issues, Jameela acknowledged that "ultimately this one's on me." She continued, "I'm so sorry to my body that I have jeopardized my future so severely for a beauty standard and to try to fit in with other people."
"That's why I'm so annoying publicly about eating disorders and diets because there's so much talk about the dangers of being in a bigger body," the British star further elaborated. "And there's no talk almost about the dangers of not eating enough, only eating too much."
Jameela went on, "I think that's really dangerous because we really have no idea the way that people's fertility is f**ked, the way their long-term health is f**ked. We just don't talk about it and it's an inconvenient truth that the diet industry kind of squashes." She then pointed out, "So I want to be someone who reminds people: don’t eat for your waistline now, eat for your longevity later."
Luckily, Jameela has been "eating properly" for nearly five years and she's proud of the progress she's made. "My hair has grown back, and my energy has come back, my sex drive has come back and everything is better in my life," she said with a laugh, although she's still "pissed because I'm in pain now and everything's more complicated."
With her experience, Jameela wants to set an example for others. "I guess I'm just not thinking of myself so much now. I've got more capacity to think of others and using every bit of energy I have to warn everyone else," she said.
