Demi Moore Remembers: “I Put So Much Pressure on Myself” after Riding Her Bike 60 Miles a Day to Lose Weight
“Was it really that important? Probably not, but I made it mean everything at the time,” the 61-year-old actress remarked on her perception of her appearance.
Demi Moore says that after her second pregnancy, she rode her bike 60 kilometers a day to shed pounds.
The actress acknowledges that she used to overwork herself but that she has since developed self-management skills regarding her body image.
In her latest film, The Substance, body image and “self-judgment” are prominent themes.
Demi Moore is discussing some of the harmful habits she used to lose weight and thinking back on her previous bad body image.
The 61-year-old actress discussed the “crazy” things she did to her body to comply with beauty standards at the time during her appearance on a Sept. 22 CBS Sunday Morning show.
“I overwork myself,” she said to host Tracy Smith. “And even though they were embarrassing and dehumanizing, I did that to myself because I did have experiences where I was told to lose weight.”
Moore disclosed that she had started filming Indecent Proposal not long after the 1991 birth of her daughter Scout Willis. She would ride her bike 60 miles a day to and from work in an attempt to shed the pregnancy weight.
“I believe [Scout] was approximately five or six months old during the time we spent filming,” she clarified. “I was taking care of her all night long, waking up in the dark with a trainer and a headlamp, riding all the way to Paramount, even on the set, and then spending a full day—which is typically twelve hours—shooting and then starting over again.”
She went on, “Even just the concept of what I did to my body is like so crazy, so ridiculous.” But after a while, you start to wonder, ‘Did it really mean that much?’ Most likely not, but I made it mean everything at the time.
Moore continued, saying that while her perception of herself “fluctuates” now, she is mentally faring much better.
She remarked, “Some days I look and think, ‘Wow that’s pretty good,’ and other days I catch myself hyperfocusing and dissecting things that I don’t like.”
The distinction is that I can now recognize myself. I can say something like, “Yeah, I don’t like that loose skin, but it is what it is.” Therefore, rather of chasing after what isn’t, I’m going to make the most of what is.
In an interview with The Guardian earlier this month, Moore was open about her body image and the “self-judgment” that her new movie The Substance explores.
Regarding the 1990s’ expectations for women’s bodies, the actress stated that unless a woman was slender at the time, she was not deemed attractive. She said to the outlet, “What I did to myself.” The meaning I gave it about myself. Taking a close look at that violence and realizing how vicious and nasty we can be toward ourselves.
“Flaws, chasing perfection, feeling rejected, and despair—all of these are not unique to women,” Moore went on. She then brought up a moment in the movie where her character Elisabeth Sparkle examines her reflection in the mirror before going on a date.
“Everyone has experienced times when they go back and attempt to fix something, only to end up making it worse to the point where they become incapable,” the speaker said. We notice these insignificant details that no one else notices, yet we become overly fixated on everything that we aren’t. All of us will ultimately be shattered if we begin to believe that our worth comes solely from the way we appear.
Moore went on to say that “people can anonymously judge one another in cruel ways,” adding that “we are living at a time of great judgment.”
“I feel [this kind of judgment] is a reflection of someone’s own unhappiness and/or a way to boost their own sense of self,” she stated at the time. “I’ve learnt to just let things go when they happen. What I make of it pertains to myself. It will have it if I give it a great deal of weight, value, and power. It won’t if I don’t.
In The Substance, Moore’s Elisabeth experiments with a narcotic from the criminal underworld in an attempt to become a younger version of herself. The film, which is helmed by Coralie Fargeat and features Margaret Qualley, delves into subjects such as body image, aging, and cultural expectations for women. In May, it took home the Best Screenplay prize from the Cannes Film Festival.
