Battling His Body: Richard Simmons Struggled With Pills, Bulimia Years Before Sex Change
As an overweight, effeminate child, Richard Simmons was hounded by bullies, both big and small. Years before The National ENQUIRER revealed that the workout guru, 67, was transitioning into a woman, he struggled with multiple eating disorders to break free from the burden of his own body.
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Desperate to stop the beatdowns and shame, a school-aged Simmons accepted his friend Anna's offer to steal her mother's diet pills for a quick fix. "If Anna's mom could lose weight with a pill, so could I," he thought. "My troubles were over."
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At first, the teen was "bursting with energy" and even lost his ever-present appetite. "Food suddenly didn't mean that much to me," he wrote. "This is what it must be like to be normal."
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Soon enough, after downing pills every morning, "the pounds began to drop off," he recalled, adding that he told his parents he was simply dieting. "The lie got bigger while I got smaller."
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In a scary turn, Simmons began feeling like his heart "was going to explode," and suffering from anxiety. "It was one of the most unpleasant feelings I had ever felt," he said. Terrified, he stopped taking the pills.
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Soon, he gained back all the weight. But after college, Simmons found a new solution to his weight problem: throwing up.
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A co-worker Josie taught him how to induce vomiting after a big meal. "Everything I'd just eaten was gone, in a minute," he marveled after sneaking off to the bathroom for the first time. "My God, it was like I could take back my guilt!"
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After months of bulimia, Simmons became sick. "My eyes were extremely bloodshot," he said. "I looked very fatigued and worn out."
Richard Simmons films outside Slimmons Studios
After a doctor warned him about the consequences, he stopped the destructive behavior — and gained the weight back. "I'd lost and gained and had still learned nothing about what would make my body healthy and happy," he wrote.
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With diet and exercise, Simmons finally slimmed down. But he was still miserable. According to The ENQUIRER, the fitness pro made the brave decision to transition into a woman named Fiona in order to be truly happy.
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According to sources, he is now undergoing hormone treatments and even got a boob jobhttps://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/richard-simmons-boob-job-hormones-treatments-transition/! However, he continues to remain in hiding.