- Shawn Johnson East recently spoke about his problems with disordered eating.
- The Olympian revealed that she took weight-loss pills after the 2008 Olympics to maintain her figure while competing.
- Shawn said her relationship with husband Andrew East and the pregnancy with daughter Drew Hazel have helped her overcome her body image issues.
On Saturday, Shawn Johnson East shared a vulnerable video on his YouTube channel detailing his experience with eating issues and body image issues.
Shawn, who competed as a gymnast and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said that while there were many incredible things that came with her sport, there was a lot of pressure around her figure, and as a teenager, no less . .
“In gymnastics because you are judged subjectively by your looks, and you mix it with being a teenage boy who didn’t know nutrition and psychology, I took that perfectionism and elite mindset too far,” he said in the video.
The gymnast revealed that she struggled with eating disorders, depression and anxiety after competing. “Because I didn’t have to work for the Olympics, I quickly realized that I had a problem with self-confidence and self-image,” she said, adding that a restricted diet caused me not to menstruate.
“When I followed Dancing with the stars and I had my period for the first time, and I had to deal with puberty on national television, I got to a very low point, “Shawn said.” He had gained around 15 pounds. after the Olympics and I thought that was the worst thing in the world, what it wasn’t, it was healthy and normal. “
The Olympian said she turned to weight loss pills, including ephedrine and Adderall.
“I started doing everything I could to lose weight and look like I did at the Olympics,” he explained. “And in my opinion, if I could look like this, not necessarily compete or do gymnastics, but if I could be that person again, the world would say that it was ‘enough’ and that I was accepted.”
“So I went through this kind of dark spiral of a few years with terrible drugs and drugs that tried to ‘speed up my metabolism’ and did nothing, took diuretics, did all the fad diets,” he continued. “I remember going through a three-week phase where I ate nothing but raw vegetables.”
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The former gymnast eventually hired a therapist and a nutritionist to help her learn healthier habits. Shawn’s relationship with her now husband Andrew East also helped her find confidence again. The couple married in 2016 and tried to expand their family, but Shawn suffered a miscarriage. “It was the lowest point in my life,” she said, adding that she blamed herself for her past choices around her health. Shawn reviewed her lifestyle in the hope that she could have a baby (although she feared having a relapse with her postpartum eating disorder).
Shawn found out that she was pregnant in 2019 and luckily her mindset changed for the better. “There was something that changed when I got pregnant, where it was no longer about me or my body, or the dresser, or the calories, or what I looked like, or what I weighed,” she said. “I could have cared less. It was about protecting my baby. And I was so excited about that.”
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She said she was “proud” to grow her body, and those feelings continued throughout Drew Hazel’s breastfeeding and postpartum. “I still feel safe,” she said.
“Having cleaned myself up from the drugs, the prescriptions and just the obsession, it wouldn’t change anything for the world,” he added. “It was very difficult and I don’t wish it on anyone, but I’ve had these difficult experiences that make me a stronger mother that will allow me to teach Drew how to be strong too.”
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