Controversial Exercise Guru Jane Fonda’s Bulimia Battle

Is it just me, or are stars more willing to admit their battles with anorexia than with bulimia? I admit it – bulimia just isn’t as attractive as anorexia. In terms of eating disorders – they are both deadly, but somehow the image of a thin waif who cannot force herself to eat isn’t quite as disgusting as kneeling over the toilet bowl with a finger down your throat.

As a recovering bulimic, I am particularly grateful for celebs who ‘fess up to their eating disorders and bring them out in the light. I know Jane Fonda isn’t exactly Reese Witherspoon, and hardly a household name for the under 30 set, but for the over 35 year old set, we know her. We grew up with her. She was still older than we were, but I don’t know many women in their 40s who didn’t punish themselves with her series of exercise videos.

Anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder can see themselves in her quote. “It was like hell. No one quite understands what causes it. And I think some people are more prone to it than others, but it had something to do with living a lie. Not being authentic. Faking it. It’s like becoming a woman and then rejecting it. Like alcoholism, it’s a disease of denial. And the problem – which you don’t realize in the beginning – it that it’s just as addictive as a drug.”

The good news? She’s been eating disorder free for over 30 years.