Demi Moore described how she used to “torture” her body in her early Hollywood days.
The “Substance” actress, 62, admitted to People on Wednesday that she would do “crazy things [with] diet and exercise” to transform her physique for her roles in her 1990s films, “Striptease” and “G.I. Jane.”
“All because I had placed so much value on what my outsides looked like,” she confessed after revealing that one of her grueling workouts consisted of biking “about 26 miles” from her Malibu home to Paramount Studios.
Moore specifically recalled being so hard on herself while bulking up to portray Lieutenant Jordan O’Neill in 1997’s “G.I. Jane.”
“[I was] so harsh and had a much more antagonistic relationship with my body,” she explained.
“And straight up, I was really just punishing myself. And in this desire to dominate it versus now, I have a much more kind of intuitive, relaxed, trusting relationship with my body. It’s so much more about my overall health and well-being. It’s much more about longevity and quality of life. And I think I’ve evolved into greater gentility towards myself.”
However, Moore’s mindset shifted after she wrapped filming the war drama.
“I had transformed my body multiple times, and obviously, it was a much bigger, muscular body. And I’d had this incredible experience on this film, and I had experienced this sense of strength,” she said.
“But I realized, I didn’t want to wear that. I wanted to just have that within me. And I think I was exhausted from putting it through so much over such a long period of time.”
Once Moore “really let go” of the pressures to diet and exercise, she learned how to love her body.
“I stopped trying to control my food and I had a moment of surrender where I just let go and really understood what it meant to be in acceptance of my body as it is, even though it’s not the body I wanted,” she said.
The “Ghost” actress — who shares three daughters with ex Bruce Willis — continued, “I remember just asking to be my natural size because I didn’t know what it was anymore. I had three pregnancies. I had done all of this diet and exercise and controlled and changed it. And I didn’t know. So I just let go.”
She also felt more comfortable in her body after playing an FBI secretary-turned-stripper in 1996’s “Striptease.”
“I think I was so uncomfortable actually with the dancing part,” she recalled. “So I think the experience and sensation of dancing and moving and finding my own comfort with my own body in that way was very empowering and very liberating.”
Through plenty of self-work, Moore has come to accept that she no longer has the body of her 20-year-old self.
“[There was] liberation in that place of acceptance of my body as someone in their 60s. And it being what it is and it’s not the body that I had at 20, even when I was complaining about the body had at 20 or 30,” she said.
Moore now listens to her body by eating when she’s hungry and drinking when she’s thirsty.
“I listen to my body and I have a lot less fear. When I was younger, I felt like my body was betraying me. And so I then just tried to control it,” she noted. “And now I don’t operate from that place. It’s a much more aligned relationship.”
These days, Moore anchors each day with a short meditation and journaling session as she focuses on nourishing herself with the right foods.
“And overall I like really nutrient-dense food. I don’t eat meat. I do eat eggs. But I think a big part of wellness is really inside out,” she said. “And I’ve come to realize how important sleep is. I mean, I’m not perfect. I still do drink Red Bull. I do love it. But not many. One.”
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