Australian actress Teresa Palmer secretly battled with orthorexia, an eating disorder, for three years in her twenties.
The film star, 34, claims she became ‘unhealthily obsessed’ with eating ‘clean and low-calorie food’ during her time in Hollywood.
Appearing on Mamamia’s Me After You podcast, Teresa explained: ‘I wouldn’t eat anything [that had been] stripped of its nutritional value. And it was exhausting.’
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‘It was exhausting’: Australian actress Teresa Palmer (pictured in 2009) reveals how Hollywood pressures to slim down fueled her secret three-year battle with eating disorder, orthorexia
Teresa’s troubled relationship with food began in 2009 after an off-hand comment about her weight from her then-agent.
The blonde stunner claimed that the agent had encouraged her to exercise more after pictures surfaced of Teresa in a bikini online.
‘They said, “Do you know what? You should start working out, because that’s a part of your job. You need to make sure that you look really good,” and I was like, “Oh, I thought I did look good,”‘ she recalled to host and former Bachelor star Laura Byrne.
Striving for perfection: The Australian actress, 34, revealed that she became ‘unhealthily obsessed’ with eating ‘clean and low-calorie food’ in her twenties after a former agent encouraged her to workout more to ‘look good’ for the industry. Pictured in 2010
Breaking the cycle: Teresa admitted that she wasn’t able to break her unhealthy habits until her first pregnancy with son Bodhi Rain in 2013. Pictured in 2011
Teresa admitted she struggled for three years, until one milestone moment ‘healed’ her from her unhealthy habits – her first pregnancy with son Bodhi Rain in 2013.
‘My body just blossomed and I had this big belly and I could feel life within me, and it was just incredible seeing what my body could do,’ she said.
Even though the Warm Bodies star could see she was getting ‘stretch marks and cellulite’, she said she no longer cared.
‘My body just blossomed and I had this big belly and I could feel life within’: Teresa said becoming a mother helped her appreciate her body more
Teresa revealed to The Daily Telegraph in 2017 that she now follows a vegan diet.
Having been a ‘pescetarian for years’, she decided to cut fish from her diet after her eldest son Bodhi, who was three at the time, said: ‘Mummy, I don’t want to eat fish anymore, fish are my friends.’
Now happier and healthier than ever, Teresa’s personal and professional life is going strong.
Family: Teresa shares three gorgeous children- Bodhi Rain, six, son Forest Sage, three, and daughter Poet Lake, one with her husband Mark Webber (Teresa and her children are pictured)
She shares three gorgeous children- Bodhi Rain, six, son Forest Sage, three, and daughter Poet Lake, one, with her husband Mark Webber. Teresa is also the step-mother to Mark’s 12-year-old son Isaac Love from a previous marriage.
The blonde stunner has a slew of stellar acting credits under her belt including the lead role in Ride Like a Girl and Academy Award-winning film Hacksaw Ridge.
She also runs a successful blog called Your Zen Mama and has co-authored a parenting book.
Teresa and her family split their time between their homes in Los Angeles, California and Adelaide, South Australia.
If you, or anyone you know is struggling with an eating disorder or body image concerns, you can call the Butterfly Foundation National Helpline: 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673).
Hot mama! Now happier and healthier than ever, Teresa’s personal and professional life is going strong. Pictured seven months pregnant in 2019