Demi Lovato is a well-known American singer, songwriter, and actress who gained fame through her early roles in shows like Barney & Friends and her memorable portrayal of Mitchie Torres in the musical TV film, Camp Rock.
Demi’s career took off when she released her debut album and collaborated with Joe Jonas on a duet that reached the impressive rank of number 9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
While Demi has enjoyed considerable success in both the music and acting industries, her journey has also been marked by health challenges.
Lovato has battled with drug addiction, beginning as early as 18, along with struggles related to self-harm and bulimia nervosa. However, her history of health issues dates back even further. During an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Demi disclosed that she started using opiates and alcohol following a car accident at the age of 13.
Things took a darker turn when she began experimenting with cocaine at the age of 17, ultimately leading to addiction. This tumultuous period undoubtedly had a significant adverse impact on both her mental and physical well-being.
The silver lining in this story is Demi’s remarkable journey to overcome these challenges and lead a healthier, happier life. Let’s explore how she accomplished this transformation.
Demi Lovato’s Struggle With Drug Addiction
“I was acting out when I was 18 for many reasons, but I know now from multiple different doctors that it was not because I was bipolar,” Lovato talked about her drug addiction. “I had to grow the f*ck up and become a responsible person. And leave all this behind.”
Demi’s addiction had become so severe that even during the recording of her documentary film, Demi Lovato: Simply complicated, she couldn’t control herself. Talking about which, she said, “I wasn’t working my program. I wasn’t ready to get sober. I was sneaking it on planes, sneaking it in bathrooms, sneaking it throughout the night. Nobody knew.”
On July 28, 2018, Lovato was rushed to Cedars-Senai Medical Center after an opioid overdose. Her condition was called “dangerous” by doctors. “The doctors told me that I had five to 10 minutes, like, if no one had found me, then I wouldn’t be here,” Demi recalled.
There were various after-effects of Lovato’s overdosing including brain damage, multiple strokes, a heart attack, and vision problems.
This was certainly a dark chapter of Demi’s life and the good thing is that chapter is closed now. She has “defeated her demons” and is now living a healthy and sober life.
Demi’s Journey To Sobriety
After struggling for years and having a near-death experience, Lovato decided to put an end to her suffering. She was tired and wanted to live a healthy and happy life.
Even taking such a decision was a very hard step. But Demi was brave enough to step out of the shadows and fight her battle.
She started going to rehab and seek the help of friends to get over the addiction. Demi kept most information about her sobriety journey a secret. She wrote on Twitter, “If I feel like the world needs to know something, I will tell them MYSELF. All my fans need to know is I’m working hard on myself, I’m happy and clean and I’m SO grateful for their support.”
She continued, “I might share my struggle someday but until then, please stop making up s*it that you know nothing about.” In 2020, Lovato opened up about her addiction and sobriety on The Ellen Show saying that she felt abandoned when her management said that they were disappointed just because she had eaten a cake.
Demi said that it triggered the abandonment issues that she had with her father, who had left her. There is no doubt that Lovato has been through so much but the good news is she has left the bad days behind and is now living a healthy life. She definitely has defeated her demons.
Demi Lovato’s Weight Loss Journey
After achieving total sobriety and maintaining her mental health, Lovato turned to work on the improvement of her physical health. She knew that the years had destroyed her physical health too. So, after becoming sober, Lovato embarked on her weight loss journey.
To lose weight, Demi altered her diet plan. She stopped consuming unhealthy processed food and shifted to home cooking. Lovato also started spending a lot of time in the gym. Following are the details about her diet.
Demi’s Diet Plan
As already mentioned, Lovato started eating homemade food and said goodbye to eating out. She started incorporating more vegetables and fruits than meat into her diet. Lovato also eliminated alcohol from her life and substituted it with fruit and vegetable juice.
She would wake up at 7 AM in the morning and go for a walk. On returning, Lovato would have a smoothie and egg whites for breakfast. She also ate oatmeal on occasion. For lunch and dinner, a bowl of salad was a must for the first month.
After incorporating such a healthy diet plan into her lifestyle, Demi started seeing positive results. She loved living healthily so much that Demi still followed this diet plan and suggested others do the same.
Demi’s Workout Plan
Unlike her diet plan, Lovato hasn’t shared much about her workout plan to lose weight. What is known though is that Lovato started going to the gym on a daily basis, where she spent an hour.
She also started going for long walks in the morning. Along with that, she practiced yoga and meditation as well.
Before & After Weight Loss
Following her journey to sobriety and significant weight loss, Demi Lovato now weighs around 121 pounds. This is a noticeable change from her previous weight of nearly 150 pounds, marking an impressive loss of 29 pounds along the way.
Demi’s Reply to Critics
Even after getting over the addiction and transforming her life completely, Lovato couldn’t get away from critics. Demi said, “Idk who needs to hear this but complimenting someone on their weight loss can be as harmful as complimenting someone on their weight gain.”
She added, “If you don’t know someone’s history with food, please don’t comment on their body. Because even if your intention is pure, it might leave that person awake at 2 am overthinking that statement.”
Final Words
Demi’s sobriety and weight loss journey proves that there’s no gain without pain. In order to live a better life, Lovato had to get out of her comfort zone and feel uncomfortable more than once. But it was worth it.
Demi Lovato’s journey is a great example for us that we can follow to fight our demons and get over the obstacles that life throws at us.
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