MCPHEE'S BULIMIA STRUGGLE `IDOL' STAR DISCUSSES BATTLE WITH EATING DISORDER.Byline: -- Fred Shuster Sherman Oaks' ``American Idol'' runner-up Katharine McPhee suffered from bulimia bulimia: see eating disorders. for five years, even in the early stages of the ``Idol'' season, but says she's finally conquered the eating disorder eat·ing disorder n. Any of several patterns of severely disturbed eating behavior, especially anorexia nervosa and bulimia, seen mainly in female teenagers and young women. . McPhee, 22, tells the new issue of People magazine, out on stands today, she struggled to cope with the binge-and-purge disorder since she was 17. At its worst, she said, she was throwing up seven times a day and could have permanently damaged her vocal cords vocal cords: see larynx. Vocal cords The pair of elastic, fibered bands inside the human larynx. The cords are covered with a mucous membrane and pass horizontally backward from the thyroid cartilage (Adam's apple) to insert on . ``When I made it onto `American Idol American Idol is an annual American televised singing competition, which began its first season on June 11, 2002. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the British reality program Pop Idol. ,' I knew that food -- my eating disorder -- was the one thing really holding me back,'' she told the magazine. After auditioning for ``Idol' last fall and making the cut, McPhee sought help, enrolling at the Eating Disorder Center of California in Brentwood, where she spent three months undergoing outpatient therapy. ``I'm really proud of Katharine,'' said Carolyn Costin, founder and executive director of the clinic. ``By coming out and opening herself up about this -- which a lot of people in the public eye have not done because of shame -- she can shed light on this disorder.'' McPhee, who told the show's producers about the problem, credits her parents and boyfriend Nick Cokas with helping her deal with the disorder. McPhee's single of ``Over the Rainbow,'' a performance that drew acclaim from the ``Idol'' judges, is being released Tuesday. ``Hollywood is not very nice to young women -- for years, she would go to auditions and was told she couldn't work unless she lost weight,'' said longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective McPhee family friend Susie Welby. ``It's so good she's talking about it now because this is such a common affliction among young women. It's important to see someone accept herself and be voluptuous and beautiful. Kat is really taking care of herself now.'' During the competition, which was ultimately won by Taylor Hicks Taylore Reuben Hicks (born October 7, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States for well over the span of a decade, during which he also released two independent , judge Simon Cowell Simon Cowell (born 7 October, 1959) is a British artist and repertoire ("A&R") executive for Sony BMG in the United Kingdom and a television producer, more commonly known as a judge on television programmes such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, American Idol called McPhee's voice ``the best of the competition.'' McPhee says that today, she practices something called ``intuitive eating Intuitive eating is a nutrition philosophy based on the premise that becoming more attuned to the body's natural hunger signals is a more effective way of losing weight than counting calories, fat grams, or satiety levels. ,'' which teaches you to eat small amounts of food that you crave, and helps you stop eating when you're full. Through the months she competed on ``American Idol'', McPhee lost 30 pounds while following this eating plan. People's senior editor Galina Espinoza said McPhee briefly hesitated before divulging details of her struggle during interviews for a cover story that appears in both People and Teen People this week. ``She decided she was in a position to help people, so she was going to tell what happened to her,'' Espinoza said. ``What surprised me was the depth of her struggle. You never imagine a young, beautiful girl who has everything going for her would fall victim to something like this.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Katharine McPhee talked to People magazine about the bulimia that threatened to damage her vocal cords. |
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