She may play the self-absorbed, insensitive, shallow Veronica Lodge in Riverdale, but actress Camila Mendes seems the total opposite.
The 23-year-old American actress has been vocal about her struggle with disordered eating in the past, and she’s just come out and detailed her decision quit dieting for once and for all in a lengthy Instagram post.
“When did being thin become more important than being healthy?” she wrote.
She continued, citing an appointment with a naturopath as a turning point:
“I recently went to a naturopath for the first time in my life. I told her about my anxiety around food and my obsession with dieting. She phrased a pivotal question in such a way that struck a chord with me: what other things could you be thinking about if you didn’t spend all your time thinking about your diet? I suddenly remembered all the activities I love that used to occupy my time. At some point in my life, I allowed my obsession with being thin to consume me, and I refused to make room in my mind for any other concerns. Somehow I had stripped myself of all the pastimes that brought me joy, and all that was left of me was my anxiety around food. “
She shared the emotional message along with the hashtag #DoneWithDieting, the catch-cry of nonprofit org Project HEAL.
She continued, pointing out obvious flawed promises of the health and fitness industry:
I’m done believing in the idea that there’s a thinner, happier version of me on the other side of all the tireless effort. Your body type is subject to genetics, and while eating nutrient-dense foods and exercising regularly will make you healthier, it will not necessarily make you thinner, and the current system fails to make that distinction.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfUYIlZATps/?taken-by=camimendes
She also called out the media for perpetuating harmful ideals, explaining that she’s “sick of the toxic narrative that the media consistently feeds us: that being thin is the ideal body type.”
Damn straight.
It’s a bold move by the young actress and a bloody important one at that.
