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Laurie Hernandez Shares Advice For Others In Eating Disorder Recovery

Laurie Hernandez Shares Advice For Others In Eating Disorder Recovery
  • Gymnast Laurie Hernandez recently opened up about her past struggle with an eating disorder.

  • In a new interview, she shares her advice for others in the recovery process.

  • Laurie says she focuses on fueling her body with what it needs instead of counting calories.


Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez, 21, has been incredibly open about her path to the Tokyo Olympics and the obstacles she's faced along the way. She's pushed through tough training schedules and injuries to make it this far. Now, she's sharing new details about recovering from her past eating disorders.

The gold medal athlete explained that she didn't always have a great relationship with food. "It was a really long up and down journey of understanding food and understanding how I saw food and how my body received food," she told Us Weekly. “There was a lot of learning and a lot of patience and grace involved.”

Laurie also shared that even though she needs to be conscious of her diet as an athlete, she doesn't count calories anymore. "It just got a little bit obsessive and unhealthy, and now I don’t count or track calories," she said. "I’m just kind of eating clean, because I also know that food is a fuel and for what I do and it is important to eat healthy."

The gold medalist explained that she's focusing less on restrictions and more on fueling her body: "Last night I had fish and vegetables and there was this giant pile of veggies on the plate," she said. "If I were calorie tracking it, I might say, ‘Oh, this is a lot of carbs.’ But my body was craving vegetables. So, why not give it? Whenever I get to be intuitive and listen to my body, it’s what makes me feel good.”

Laurie also shared some advice for others in eating disorder recovery. "Between social media and a support system or people that are around you, everyone will give you different advice on what you should do, how you should eat, how things should be," she explained. "Every body is completely different and taking the time to really understand what makes you feel good and what makes you feel like you... I think that’s the most important part. So be patient with yourself."

One of the most important members in Laurie's support system is her dad. "My dad has type 2 diabetes and I get to raise an awareness to that, but also put [him] on a pedestal," she told Us. "Now have an opportunity to get to talk about him and all the hard work that he’s been doing and his life and the representation of seeing him take care of himself and then being like, ‘Oh, then that means I should do that too.’"

The support for Laurie is widespread. "Look at you thriving 🥺💜," one user commented on her latest Instagram post.

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