Katharine McPhee Opened Up About The Body Image Issues She Faced While Pregnant With Her Son: "I Was Losing Control And I Was Going Back To This Old Disordered Version Of Myself"

    "Even though you know your body is going to change, and you expect that...psychologically, it just does something different."

    Andria Moore
    by Andria Moore

    BuzzFeed Staff

    In the age of constant social media, body issues and body dysmorphia are unfortunately common. Even amongst talented singers like former American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee Foster.

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    In a recent interview on Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt's Instagram live show, "Before, During, and After," Katharine opened up about the body image issues she faced after giving birth to her son nearly one year ago.

    "Even though you know your body is going to change, and you expect that, if you're someone who has control issues with your body…psychologically, it just does something different," she said. "It played with my mind a little bit."

    Back in 2006, Katharine admitted to struggling with bulimia since she was 17. It wasn't until she was 22 and had just booked American Idol that she began the road to recovery.

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    However, Katharine said that the changes she noticed in her body during pregnancy brought back some of those negative feelings. "I was losing control, and I was going back to this old disordered version of myself, which was upsetting because I just wanted to enjoy my baby." she said.

    Katharine explained that she taught herself to "overcome" her disordered behavior by just letting herself eat what she needed to. "The way I was able to overcome disordered behavior, in terms of food, was not obsessing and letting my body tell me what was needed," she continued.

    Now, Katharine's road to recovery has been about "self-love."

    "For me, I had to take the steps, walk through it, to kind of find self-love. I think it's reasonable to say that you don't always have moments of self-love. I really struggled during that first trimester. It was difficult for me to find that self-love, self-appreciation."

    It takes a lot of mental strength to overcome negative thoughts about your body. I find Katharine's story so inspiring!