Hwa Sa of K-pop girl group MAMAMOO shared her past experience of forcing herself to throw up as part of an extreme diet.
On December 29 episode of SBS' special show "Bodymentary," Hwa Sa opened up about her extreme dieting experience.
During her trainee days, Hwa Sa revealed that she weighed herself every day at the practice room, saying, "We had a weight tracking chart posted on the wall, which we had to submit during monthly evaluations. Most days, I would stop eating entirely. On some occasions, I even took laxatives from the pharmacy to empty my system before weighing myself."
Hwa Sa also shared her struggles back then, "If I overate once in a while, I would feel so guilty and angry, thinking, 'I've been under so much stress trying to lose this weight—why did I eat that?' I would break down in tears and force myself to throw up. Eventually, this led to anorexia."
She reflected on her hardships, admitting, "I started feeling nauseous all the time, and my salivary glands wouldn't stop overproducing. Anorexia and depression took hold of me, and I realized that my depressive state was affecting the people around me. That's when I thought, 'This isn't right.'"
Hwa Sa shared that when she felt anger and exhaustion over unattainable beauty standards despite her best efforts, she channeled those emotions into her song "Maria."
"It was my way of expressing the unreachable standards of beauty and the pressure they bring through music," she explained.
She added, "I wanted to proudly show off the cool things that make me who I am, show the world who I really am. "
Finally, Hwa Sa offered words of encouragement to those struggling with dieting stress, saying, "I'm so tired of the word 'weight.' I hope everyone can think about it more lightly. There are so many more joyful things to focus on. When you care for yourself in that way, you'll eventually find a healthy balance."
(Credit= SBS Bodymentary, '_mariahwasa' Instagram)