Former gymnast Shawn Johnson opens up about eating disorder: 'I'm finally healthy'
Shawn Johnson won an Olympic gold medal back in 2008 at the age of 16, but the gymnast has struggled with her weight for many years. The now 23-year-old has opened up about her battle with eating disorder in her recent interview and said she is happy to be healthy.
"I've kind of gone through the gamut when it comes to health," she told Yahoo Health! on Tuesday. "I've hit lows with—I don't want to say diagnosed eating disorders—but eating disorders. And then I've gone the other way, where I've rejected fitness," she revealed, adding that she has gone through “the whole education system, all the nutritionists, and now I'm finally healthy.”
Johnson, who also won ABC's “Dancing With the Stars” in 2009. To look good on the show, Johnson tried many shortcut diets, which includes detoxes and cleanses.
“When I first went on [DWTS in 2009], I was 16, and I turned 17 on the show,” she told the website. “Going from this strict, regimented schedule to going through puberty on national TV and gaining weight, and just being kind of a huge target for criticism, was just really difficult for me.”
She had a tough time a year later when she tore her ACL while skiing. She had surgery and then then returned to gymnastics. After appearing in many competitions, she finally retired from gymnastics in 2012. Johnson also runs a website called The Body Department, where she shares information about being healthy, workouts, fitness, healthy recipes and other such information.
“For me, it was kind of like, what if I could build a place for these girls to go that was just as cool, but there is no negative association? It was health, and beauty, and fun, and ‘you’re perfect the way you are — but here are some workouts.’ And it kind of took off.”
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