Tomi Lahren shares her struggle with disordered eating, 'I was way too skinny'

    Tomi Lahren is opening up about her past struggles with an eating disorder.

    The conservative political commentator and FOX Nation host took to Instagram to share a striking photo of herself from her early twenties. Despite her bright smile for the camera, Lahren is extremely thin in the photo, with her ribs, sternum, and arms appearing particularly gaunt.

    “This is me at age 21. I was WAY too skinny. I got out of a 6-year toxic relationship and my way of taking back control was to start running 7 miles a day- which was fine except I was eating WAY too little. I got down to under 100 lbs but no matter how skinny I got, it wasn’t enough and I couldn’t see how bad it was,” Lahren shared.

    She continued by saying she goes further into detail about her struggles in her upcoming book, Never Play Dead: How the Truth Makes You Unstoppable.

    “I know this story, and all the personal stories in my book, can help someone out there going through the same thing. You are ENOUGH. Grab my book now to read more. #TeamTomi#NeverPlayDead #learnfromit#bookstagram,” Lahren writes.

    Lahren’s admission that she ran seven miles a day while consuming “WAY too little” is an extremely common method of disordered eating. Between 40% and 80% of anorexia nervosa patients are prone to excessive exercise in their efforts to avoid putting on weight, according to the National Eating Disorder Association. Seeing as statistics shows between 0.3-0.4% of young women and 0.1% of young men will suffer from anorexia nervosa, those numbers are particularly striking.

    Always one to strike up controversy on social media, Lahren later tweeted that she was pleased by the level of compassion she received.

    “Thanks for the support,” she tweeted in response to user Gianno Caldwell, who said “Currently in Europe reading Tomi Lahren new book and wow just wow. @TomiLahren Thank you for telling your truth my friend.”

    “I don’t agree with you politically, but I’m glad you’re healthy. I wish more folks felt this way,” user Aaron Scanlon replied.

    “I don’t agree with you politically but will always support those that have the courage to openly talk about their struggles with mental illness. And yes eating disorders are a mental illness and anorexia is actually the most lethal psychiatric disorder,” another user said.

    “Good for you. You look much healthier and happier now. Keep up the good fight @TomiLahren love your work,” another Twitter user commented.

    Several users praised Lahren for her recovery, while adding that she should explore her personal wellbeing too.

    “I did a similar thing. It’s really brave of you to share your story, I’m proud of you for doing it, and I hope you begin to address what’s on the inside next,” one user said.

    “A healthier, yet still awful person. Glad you dealt with the outside, now fix your inside,” replied someone else.

    One user answered “Congrats. Just as you look back on this picture and see the problems, it’d be ideal if years from now you look back on your repulsive views today and realize what a truly horrible person you acted like.”

    “And now you’re toxic all by yourself!” another commented. “Congrats.”


    If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorder Association hotline at 1-800-931-2237.

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