Demi Lovato says shopping at grocery stores gave her panic attacks when she was struggling with an eating disorder.
The 33-year-old singer talked about the realities of disordered eating on a recent episode of the Chicks in the Office podcast while promoting her new cookbook, One Plate at a Time: Recipes for Finding Freedom with Food.
“I wanted to create a cookbook for people that are in recovery from disordered eating and are looking to take their next steps in the kitchen,” Lovato said near the 53-minute mark in the video linked here.
The former Disney star said she started her culinary journey about five years ago but that it wasn’t without its challenges.
“I was so intimidated by food before that the thought of going into a grocery store would send me into a panic attack, and seeing the food everywhere would break me down into tears,” she explained. “I wanted to simplify things for people that are also in recovery. So there's a lot about my personal journey in [the book] but there's also great tips and tricks for people that are just learning how to cook or wanting to set foot into the kitchen for the first time.”
Lovato was diagnosed with bulimia and other mental health issues in 2010 after checking into rehab following a violent incident with a friend.
Lovato now says that she has found “freedom with food.”
“I know that I'm deserving of the food that I eat and whatever I choose to put in my body: I'm deserving of that as well,” she said. “Whether it be a food that I was once afraid of or foods that I wasn't afraid of, I deserve it all. I think that having that freedom has allowed me to be more creative in the kitchen and develop recipes that are like the ones that are in this book.
“Old me would have been afraid of a lot of the recipes that are in this book, but now starting to cook and being in the kitchen, I've decided at times to take more risks and, especially in my recovery, trying foods that I was once afraid of was a big step for me. It's just been really helpful to cook. I really truly have found freedom with food.”
She also noted elsewhere in the podcast that “diet culture is really rampant.”
“It's really difficult to navigate early recovery with food, especially when you've been told certain beliefs your whole life through outside pressures,” Lovato said.
The It’s Not That Deep singer shared that she now enjoys grocery shopping.
“I think it's fun,” she explained. “My husband [Jordan ‘Jutes’ Lutes] and I make a game out of it [to] see how fast we can get the ingredients. I go grocery shopping a lot with one of my best friends, Ally. Having that support there by my side means everything to me.”
Demi Lovato’s One Plate at a Time: Recipes for Finding Freedom with Food is available for sale at book retailers.
If you or someone you know is struggling with disordered eating: help is available. Call the National Eating Disorders Association Helpline at 1-800-931-2237 or text NEDA to 741741
