Fatima Sana Shaikh Gets Candid On Weight Gain, Workouts, And Battling Bulimia
Updated on: 11 February, 2026 12:34 PM IST |Shweta Shah
Fatima Sana Shaikh opens up on battling Bulimia
Actress Fatima Sana Shaikh has proved how good an actress she is time and again with her spectacular performances. Be it a fierce boxer in Dangal or an elegant diva in Metro... In Dino, she transformed herself effortlessly.
But her journey with health and becoming a healthy, secure individual was not an easy one. Fatima opened up on how discipline quietly slipped out of her hands after her physical transformation for Dangal.
On Rhea Chakraborty`s podcast, Chapter One, the actress got candid on weight fluctuations, binge-eating, starvation cycles, and battling bulimia.
Fatima Sana Shaikh on guilt and binge-eating
For Aamir Khan`s sports drama, the diva trained intensely, often for three hours, alongside additional workouts to look like a natural wrestler on screen. To gain weight, she consumed about 2500-3000 calories per day.
Also Read: Fatima Sana Shaikh Reveals Her First Film With Aamir Khan And It Isn`t Dangal
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“When I am goal-orientated, I will do everything,” Shaikh shared, describing the athlete-like mindset she`d adapted while shooting for the film.
However, once the film wrapped up, so did the mindset. But the appetite didn`t. While she wasn`t training with the same intensity anymore, her diet and calorie intake remained the same, resulting in losing balance.
“I could eat for two hours non-stop,” she added, admitting she lost control. “I have two extremes. If I am not holistic, I go towards extremes.”
Fatima Sana Shaikh on battling bulimia
The cycle became painfully familiar – binge-eating, guilt, restriction. Reflecting on her patterns took a backseat. It wasn`t the hunger; it was emotion.
“The problem is not in the food. It’s in you because you’re feeling insecure. You’re eating your feelings,” Fatima reflected.
During one of the most vulnerable moments in the conversation, the Aap Jaisa Koi actress revealed, “I felt I had absolutely no control. My understanding of diet was so rigid."
After overeating, Fatima would often vomit it out to avoid intake of calories. It became her secret ritual, a coping mechanism with the guilt of binge-eating, fuelled by self-shame and criticism.
“When anyone has a mental health disorder, everything seems fine on the outside. But all the demons are in the mind,” she added.
What changed in Fatima?
The actress admitted being a part of a ruthless industry where untoned arms, a little bulged belly, or even a slight double chin are minutely scrutinised. The expectation is to be flawlessly fit.
Even today, Shaikh chooses to binge-eat. But with more awareness and not having a love-hate relationship with her body. "There are days I binge eat. But I chose it. I’m not punishing myself the same way,” she explained.
Her friends helped her embrace a healthier, more holistic lifestyle that includes balanced meals filled with nutrition in her diet.
“You can eat. You can be full,” she recalled being told.
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