Amanda Bynes admits she gained over 20lbs due to depression, says ‘I want to get back to 110lbs’

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Former child star Amanda Bynes has opened up about her struggle with mental health and its impact on her weight.

In an Instagram story posted on March 28, she shared her experience with depression and its negative effect on her life.

Amanda Bynes is doing a lot better now

Despite the weight gain in just two months, Bynes revealed she was feeling better and even mastered how to push herself up for exercise and eat healthy. 

“I’ve gained over 20 lbs in the past few months from being depressed,” the 37-year-old revealed.

Despite the challenges, Bynes noted, “I’m doing a lot better now and have learned to do opposite action when I don’t feel like working out or eating clean.”

Amanda Bynes struggles with body image and addiction

Bynes, who currently weighs 162 lbs, expressed her desire to return to her previous weight of 110 lbs.

The 'What a Girl Wants' star further wrote in the post, “I weigh 162 lbs right now and want to get back to 110 lbs."

The 'Hairspray' star admitted that when she was at the peak of her career in 2018, she battled severe body insecurities, leading to an addiction to Adderall and other drugs, ultimately influencing her decision to retire from acting in 2012.

Her role in 'She’s the Man', a modern take on Shakespeare’s 'Twelfth Night' where she portrayed a girl impersonating her twin brother, significantly triggered her body image issues and subsequent drug issues when the movie came out. 

“When the movie came out and I saw it, I went into a deep depression for 4-6 months because I didn’t like how I looked when I was a boy,” she confessed to Paper magazine.

Amanda Bynes began using Adderall after reading an article about its weight-loss action

The actress began experimenting with drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine and her weight loss goal led to an Adderall addiction.

“I definitely abused Adderall,” she admitted, after reading a magazine article that labeled Adderall as ‘the new skinny pill.' "I was like, ‘Well, I have to get my hands on that,'" she said.

 

Following similar experiences with her weight and appearance after filming 'Hall Pass' and 'Easy A' in 2010, Bynes decided to quit acting altogether.

The subsequent years were marred by several arrests for drug possession, a DUI, reckless driving, and many more, according to People. 

Amanda Bynes' obsession with the idea that she was ugly 

In 2013, she was hospitalized for an involuntary psychiatric stay which her parents extended for nearly six months.

The extension was explained in the court documents that she “is obsessed with the idea that she and others are ‘ugly.’"

She would also talk about cosmetic procedures "incessantly" which had her parent worried as it was "dangerous and detrimental to her health." Since her release, Bynes has led a quieter life. She is sober now and has been gradually returning to the public eye.