Kristin Cavallari, 39, opened up about struggling with food and weight in her early 20s—saying she was obsessed, “guilt” herself every day, “deprived” herself with bland salads, and then binged on weekends. She shared how that changed into “real freedom around
Kristin Cavallari didn’t describe her past struggle in soft terms—she called it what it felt like, and she still sounds shaken by how exhausting it was.
“In my early 20s. I never had an eating disorder — actually. I probably would say this is a form of an eating disorder. ” the Hills alum. 39. said while discussing how she got ready for Miami Swim Week during a Tuesday. June 23. episode of her “Let’s Be Honest” podcast. “I was obsessed with food. I was obsessed with it!” she added. “I was obsessed with my weight. I would guilt myself all day, every day, and it was such a horrible way to live.”.
Cavallari said she feels different now. “To see where I’ve gotten today with real freedom around food, it makes me so happy and I’m so proud. All I wanna do is help other people who have experienced a similar situation.”
Her honesty didn’t stop at the feeling of guilt. She described the pattern she believes contributed to the problem. Cavallari said that in her early 20s. she “deprived” herself—“Not in a way where I was never eating. I was just eating salads with chicken and nothing else in it. Really bland and basic food and really being hyper aware of what I was putting in my body.”.
Then came the cycle she says she couldn’t break: “But then what I would do is I would drink on the weekends and I would binge eat so I guess that is an eating disorder. ” she recalled. “Not trying to minimize it!. I guess that is an eating disorder. This is the first time that I’m like, ‘Maybe it was.’”.
Cavallari also framed what happened to her as something broader than one personal story. She said she was on the “spectrum” of eating disorders, adding, “I think [it’s] really common for women because of our society.”
Today, she says she’s “hyper aware” in a different way—more about building structure than restricting herself. Now she makes sure she and her children—Camden, 13, Jaxon, 12, and Saylor, 10, whom she shares with ex-husband Jay Cutler—eat “clean” snacks and meals without restricting themselves.
Kristin Cavallari Let’s Be Honest podcast Miami Swim Week Uncommon James eating disorder food struggles Hills