Camila Mendes Gets Real About Her Struggle With An Eating Disorder

Camila Mendes is known for portraying the spunky and spirited Veronica Lodge on Riverdale. Yet the woman in back of one of the show's most charismatic characters hasn't routinely been as confident and bulletproof as trim have us believe.


Mendes recently opened up about battling bulimia at POPSUGAR's Play/Ground summit in New York on June 22, and also because the toll it had taken on her throughout the show's earlier days.


"I didn't realize I had a consuming food disorder up until I entered the industry... I couldn't even get through a fitting [on Riverdale]," she mentioned as she explained both the mental and physical anguish she's gone through while preparing for and embodying the role.


"I used to think [dieting] was a nice, healthy way to live. It took a lot... To get rid of that fear of carbohydrates she mentioned of her relationship with food. Costume fittings were a particularly painful experience throughout the show's early seasons, as she wasn't accustomed to wearing the kinds of tight skirts and dresses noticed in Veronica's closet. That anxiety escalated the actor's own struggles.


"It happened a little in high school and again As soon as I was in college," she previously explained in an interview with Shape back in December 2018, where she talked how she started managing the disorder, speaking on her experiences with her therapist and the advantages of normal physical activity and working with a nutritionist.


"Then it came back If I began working in this industry with fittings all of the time and watching myself on camera... If I ate a sweet, I could be like, 'Oh my God, I'm not going to eat for five hours right now Mendes later declared herself "#donewithdieting" on a February 2018 Instagram post, where she reached out to her followers to prepare a change in their lives and also her.


"My passion for education, cinema, music, etc. — All of the interests that used to occupy my mind — had been eaten away by my aspire to be thin, and it also made me miserable," she wrote. "I'm done believing in the idea that there's a thinner, happier version of me on the other side all of the tireless effort."


Mendes is currently enjoying life as a happier, healthier version of herself, and she's hoping she can assist others do the same. Previously, she worked with nonprofit corporation Project HEAL in a task to raise awareness and erase stigmas for those living with consuming food disorders.


"I can mention from experience that consuming food disorders are serious mental illnesses," she wrote. "Growing up, I watched my big sister suffer from one for several years, and I've experienced periods of my life once I've suffered indications as well."


For more data on Project HEAL or how you could will support those dealing with a consuming food disorder, visit the companies official website.