Fatima Sana Shaikh Reveals Years-Long Battle With Bulimia

Actor Fatima Sana Shaikh has opened up about her deeply personal journey with bulimia and her long-standing struggle with emotional eating—issues she has grappled with since her physical transformation for Dangal. While promoting her upcoming film Gustaakh Ishq with Vijay Varma, the actor spoke candidly on the podcast Chapter 2 with Rhea Chakraborty, offering a rare and honest look into the mental health challenges she faced behind the scenes of her career.

Fatima revealed that her complicated relationship with food began during the extensive physical preparation for Dangal, where she portrayed wrestler Geeta Phogat. To authentically embody the role, she trained nearly three hours a day and consumed between 2,500 and 3,000 calories daily. The demanding regimen served its purpose during filming, but once the movie concluded, she struggled to return to a balanced lifestyle. Her high-calorie eating habits persisted even though her training intensity declined, creating a mismatch that gradually developed into an unhealthy pattern.

This shift led to emotional dependence on food, ultimately affecting her mental health. Fatima admitted that she battled bulimia for two years, becoming trapped in a rigid and obsessive approach to dieting. She described how she constantly thought about food and found it difficult to maintain a healthy mindset. Her coping mechanisms often involved binge eating for hours during emotionally overwhelming moments, followed by extreme starvation. These cycles became so debilitating that they interfered with her daily activities, at times making it hard for her even to leave the house.

In her journey toward healing, Fatima recalled a pivotal moment when her Dangal co-star Sanya Malhotra confronted her about her eating habits. The conversation made her reflect on her behaviours, prompting feelings of shame but also helping her recognize the psychological impact of her disorder. She also credited screenwriter Rahul Mody for introducing her to a healthier dietary approach and offering steady emotional support.

Fatima stressed that mental health struggles often remain unseen, even when a person appears perfectly fine from the outside. She described fighting “demons and dark thoughts” internally and explained that overeating itself was not the core issue—rather, it was her tendency to use food as a way to numb complicated emotions, insecurities, and stress.

Despite the challenges, Fatima shared that she has grown more aware of her emotional triggers and is actively working to build a kinder, more balanced relationship with food. She acknowledged that the process has been long but emphasized her commitment to healing and self-acceptance.

On the professional front, Fatima was recently seen in the Netflix film Aap Jaisa Koi alongside R. Madhavan and played a key role in the sequel to the ensemble drama Life in a... Metro. Her next film, Gustaakh Ishq, is already generating buzz as she continues its promotional run.