Fatima Sana Shaikh battled cycles of bingeing, starvation, and a year of bulimia, which affected her mental health. Sanya Malhotra first noticed the signs, helping her acknowledge and address the issue.
Fatima Sana Shaikh
Dangal actress Fatima Sana Shaikh recently spoke out about her eating disorders and revealed that she has a poisonous relationship with food. She recalled that while filming Dangal, she had to gain weight, so she trained hard and ate 2,500 to 3,000 calories every day. When the movie ended, her exercise levels decreased, but she continued to consume the same number of calories, leaving her feeling unfit and out of control. She stated that she would alternate between periods of rigorous starvation and hours of bingeing. She spoke about suffering from bulimia for a year, and stated her Dangal co-star Sanya Malhotra was the first to discover the symptoms.
Fatima Sana Shaikh opened up about her eating disorders
In a podcast with Rhea Chakraborty, Fatima Sana Shaikh shared, "I have had a very love-hate relationship with myself. And I have been addicted to a certain image of myself. That I have to look like this. And I have a very toxic relationship with food. During Dangal, I put on weight because I had to. And whenever I am goal-oriented, like I need to achieve this for the role, then I am going to do everything. But there I was, training for 3 hours. Then I was working out for 1.5 hours. So I consumed 2,500 to 3,000 calories every day for me to gain weight. Now, when the movie ended, I was not training so much, but I am still had 3,000 calories. Because I am used to it. So I am unfit, I’m not healthy, I’m not working out. And that made it very difficult for me because food became my comfort zone, and I could eat nonstop for hours. It still happens to me. And I’m hating myself because I have no control. I’m just eating, and I am upset. Why can’t I stop? I have no control."
She added that she had two extremes. She'd either eat for hours on end or fall into famine mode. "Then I'd go into starvation mode." It was so crippling that I refused to leave my house. Because I would overeat. She said, "I'll eat both outside and at home."
On suffering from Bulimia
“I was bulimic for a year because I had absolutely no control, and my understanding of diet was so rigid. That there can only be this much calorie intake. I consumed more calories than that in 2 hours. Now, assume 12 hours are still left. How can I not think about food in those 12 hours? I think about food all the time. I am always hungry," she said.
She also revealed that her Dangal co-star Sanya Malhotra recognized the indications. "Sanya (Malhotra) knew what was going on and said, 'I know what you are doing.'" At first, I said no. I'm not doing anything. Then she said, "I just wanted you to know that I know." And then I felt ashamed. I thought I was doing something wrong. It's harming my mental health. Then my other friend, Rahul Mody, entered my life. He began producing smoothies and healthy foods. That you can eat and feel full. Also, that is not a way to live. "Are you so caught up in your own thoughts that you're afraid to leave?" Fatima asked.
She stated that if you continue to eat, you will eventually become numb. "You're consuming your feelings. Because you want to not feel anything, and be numb. And when you keep eating consistently, you become numb after a point. It's similar to doom scrolling. By the end, you're feeling nauseated. Then you induce bulimia because you want to stop eating and avoid the calories. "And it's extremely harmful," she warned.
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