Shawn Johnson opened up about her struggle with body image issues, drugs, and medications in a new video she shared on her YouTube channel.<\/b>
\nShawn Johnson got very real about her journey to embracing her body in her June 27 video uploaded to her YouTube channel. The 28-year-old gold medal-winning Olympian opened up in a video titled, Body Image Issues: 110 Lbs. to Pregnant about her struggle following the 2008 Olympics and how she took her \u201cperfectionism mindset way too far.\u201d Shawn described feeling like she had \u201crun straight into a brick wall full speed,\u201d and had struggled with \u201ceating disorders, depression, [and] anxiety because as soon as the Olympics were over\u2026 I quickly realized I had a self-confidence and self-image issue.\u201d
\u201cEvery decision I made in my life up until that moment, for at least 13 of my 16 years, was based on gymnastics. What it would take and what I needed to do to get to the Olympics. What I ate, who I hung out with, how I dressed,\u201d she explained. \u201cLiterally every decision I made was for the Olympics. Now that the Olympics were over, I didn\u2019t know how to function as a normal human being.\u201d
Shawn Johnson competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics [REX\/Shutterstock]. The gymnast, however, tried to find her footing and appeared on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars in 2009. But unbeknownst to fans, she endured a major change while on the ballroom floor. \u201cWhen I went on Dancing with the Stars and I had my period for the first time, and I had to deal with going through puberty on national television, I hit a very low spot,\u201d Shawn shared. \u201cI\u2019d gained about 15 lbs. after the Olympics and I thought that was the worst thing in the entire world \u2014 which it wasn\u2019t, it was healthy and normal.\u201d
With her body changing in front of the world, the athlete chose to take different kinds of weight loss pills and various medications to halt her weight gain. \u201cI started doing any and everything I possibly could to lose the weight and to look like I did at the Olympics,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause in my mind, everybody praised me for what I did at the Olympics, they praised who I was as a human being when I was there. And in my mind if I could look like that \u2014 not necessarily compete or do gymnastics \u2014 but if I could be that person again, then the world would say that I was \u2018enough\u2019 and I was accepted.\u201d
Shawn further described the \u201cdark spiral\u201d she fell into where she was \u201con terrible medications and drugs that tried to \u2018spike my metabolism\u2019 and did nothing, I took diuretics, I did every fad diet. I remember I went through a three-week phase where I ate nothing but raw vegetables.\u201d After trying to return to gymnastics in 2012, Shawn made the ultimate decision to retire and hired a nutritionist and therapist to help her through her struggles and into a brighter, healthier future.
Shawn went on to marry Andrew East in 2016 but endured an incredibly difficult personal blow when she suffered a miscarriage during her first pregnancy, ultimately blaming herself for the loss when it wasn\u2019t on her at all. Last year, however, in April 2019, Shawn and her husband revealed that she was expecting and Shawn gave birth to the couple\u2019s daughter Drew Hazel East on October 29,2019. For Shawn, she described how \u201csomething switched\u201d when she got pregnant.
\u201cIt was no longer about me or my body or like the vanity or like the calories or what I looked like or what I weighed,\u201d she said in the video. \u201cI could have cared less. It was about protecting my baby. And I was so excited by that.\u201d Now, as a young mom, all Shawn really wants to do is \u201cbe a good influence\u2026 I\u2019ve had these tough experiences that make me a stronger mom that will allow me to teach Drew how to be strong as well.\u201d
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please contact the National Eating Disorders Association helpline by calling 1-800-931-2237 or by visiting NationalEatingDisorders.org.<\/p>\n