Tracey Gold On Pressures To Be Thin
Tracey Gold, 39, knows all too well about the pressure to be thin in Hollywood.
Her battle with anorexia nervosa was no secret while she played the part of Carol Seaver on the 1980's sit-com Family Ties. She went from being a bit chubby to dangerously thin as she tried to fit the Hollywood standard.
Gold recently talked to In Touch about the pressures she felt. She told the magazine, "It's ridiculous. It definitely lends itself to eating disorders and all of that sort of stuff."
She said that "fat jokes" aimed at her during the hit TV series didn't help matters and were a factor in her dramatic, and almost deadly weight loss. The actress became obsessed with food and her weight . At one point, she went on a medically supervised diet of 500 calories a day to shave off extra pounds.
Tracey said, "It became an addiction. I couldn't stop losing weight."
Time has given Tracey a better perspective. She's now a healthy weight for her frame and has four sons with her husband of 14 years, Roby Marshall.
In 2003 she penned Room to Grow: An Appetite for Life with Julie McCarron, which focuses on the eating disorder. In an out of print edition of the book, Gold said, "I always knew there'd come a day in the future, when I was far away from the media glare, when I'd have the proper time and perspective to process all I went through. Now there are many trained experts in the field of anorexia and eating disorders; and there are a lot of girls who struggle with it. I have both: the knowledge and the experience. I want this book to be something girls can turn to for help; something they can pick up and hold, a source of comfort and encouragement. It is for every sister, daughter, or friend whose life has been touched by anorexia nervosa. My celebrity has provided me a forum from which I can help others."
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