Kara DioGuardi Talks About Eating Disorder

I was actually really surprised when I read that American Idol judge, Kara DioGuardi, struggled with an eating disorder.  She revealed to Extra: "I’ve never spoken about this. I had kind of a binge eating disorder where, instead of dealing with my emotions, I would stuff them down with food.  I never threw up or starved myself.  It was an eating disorder. I actually went into a treatment center for it…I would get up and eat in the middle of the night."

WOW.  I think a lot of us have suffered with some sort of eating disorder at one time or another, even if it doesn’t always get to the point where we need to seek professional help.  I watch shows like The Biggest Loser and, some viewers might just see overweight people who eat too much but I see food addictions and consider the Biggest Loser ranch to be sort of a treatment center.  I could probably move in there tomorrow :)

The thing that is important is finding out why the disordered eating began in the first place and Kara seems to think that her problem stems from insecurity as a child.  "I really was a creative kid who didn’t know she was creative and didn’t have those outlets because I was always afraid to join the theater group and not perform," she said.  "The moment I started doing music, the moment I did what I loved to do in my life and committed to it, I didn’t have those problems anymore.  I have my outlet. I have that form of expression. I can go to the studio and talk about my feelings."

Unfortunately, Kara feels the pressure in her current job: "I had this craziness in my head that I had to be perfect all the time and I face it now on Idol 25 years later.  It’s kind of like, ‘Oh god, why did I say that? Why did I do this?’ But I made this commitment in my life to face my fears and if I am afraid of something, I make sure I do it."

It’s not worth it.  People watch the show and we pick the judges apart.  After a performance show, so many are already gossiping about feuds, dumb comments, bad advice, who looked drunk/stoned, etc… Sometimes I forget that these people have to go home at night and, like Kara, they could be second-guessing themselves while others tear them to shreds.

Kara does have an outlet for her frustration, though.  She built a studio at Phoenix House (an L.A.-area treatment center) where she now works with kids to help them find confidence. "It’s real therapeutic," she said.

image © 2009 FOX BROADCASTING CR: Jack Guy/FOX