'It's liberating to be free from the guilt': UFC champion Ronda Rousey on conquering her eating disorder - and why she refuses to 'conform' to society's feminine stereotypes

  • The 28-year-old, who has spoken candidly about her battle with bulimia, discussed her past struggles in a Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' session
  • Ronda recently defended her title bantamweight champion title, beating Bethe Correia in just 36 seconds during a fight in Brazil 
  • Leading up to the fight, the athlete has been body shamed by critics who say she looks 'too masculine
  • Defending herself against haters who have called her 'too manly', Ronda explained that her mom taught her not to be a D.N.B, a 'Do Nothing B***h'
  • The MMA fighter lent her catchphrase to a limited-edition T-shirt being sold to benefit a center for women’s mental health and body issues 

UFC star Ronda Rousey opened up about her past struggles with an eating disorder in a recent 'Ask Me Anything' session on Reddit, revealing to fans she feels liberated by the fact that she no longer feels guilty about eating.

The 28-year-old, who has dealt with a fair share of online bullies, doesn't shy away from discussing body image or her past struggles with bulimia, and when a Reddit user and former anorexic asked Ronda how it felt to conquer her eating disorder, the bantamweight champion gave her an honest answer. 

'It feels very liberating to be free of the guilt that used to come with every meal,' Ronda explained. 'And I feel like I have so much extra space in my brain now that I'm not constantly thinking about the next meal and trying to eat as much as possible every day while still losing weight.'

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Body confident: Ronda Rousey, who has spoken candidly about her past struggles with bulimia, said in a Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' that it is liberating to no longer feel guilty when she is eating

Body confident: Ronda Rousey, who has spoken candidly about her past struggles with bulimia, said in a Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' that it is liberating to no longer feel guilty when she is eating

'I feel amazing. I (think) I look amazing,' she added. 'And I just ate some bomb-a** french toast this morning.' 

Ronda also revealed that her favorite 'cheat' food is an order of 'buffalo wings naked with chunky blue cheese and extra hot sauce on the side'. And her love for wings knows no bounds. 

When asked how many she can eat, she admitted: 'At least 60 in one sitting. But there were no bets on the table. I think I could've done more if it really came down to it.'

Ronda recently defended her UFC title, beating Bethe Correia in just 36 seconds during the match held earlier this month in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, in the days leading up to the fight, the blonde beauty was body shamed on social media by cruel critics who labeled her 'too masculine'.

At the start of her AMA, Ronda noted that she gets 'a lot of questions about femininity and body image'.

'Women are constantly being made to feel the need to conform to an almost unattainable standard of what’s considered attractive so they can support a multitude of industries buying sh** in the pursuit of reaching this standard,' she explained. 

Don't be a D.N.B: Ronda Rousey is selling shirts for charity with her catchphrase, which urges women not to be a 'Do Nothing B***h'

Don't be a D.N.B: Ronda Rousey is selling shirts for charity with her catchphrase, which urges women not to be a 'Do Nothing B***h'

Earlier this week it was revealed that Ronda lent her motivational acronym D.N.B, short for 'Do Nothing B***h to a limited edition T-shirt, a portion of proceeds from which will benefit Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services 'for their work in mental health services and for women with body image issues'.

Ronda's shirt feature the buzzworthy term she to describe a woman who doesn't make something of herself - which she shared with listeners of vlog series UFC Embedded after people took to social media to criticize the way she looked.

'Listen, just because my body was developed for a purpose other than f***ing millionaires doesn’t mean it’s masculine,' she said. 'I think it’s femininely bad**s as f**k because there’s not a single muscle on my body that isn’t for a purpose because I’m not a do nothing b***h.'

Ronda explained in the clip that she has a term for the kind of woman her mother raised her not to be, a 'do nothing b***h or a D.N.B. for short'.

'[A D.N.B. is] the kind of chick that tries to be pretty and be taken care of by someone else,' she said. That's why I think it's hilarious if people say that my body looks masculine or something like that.' 

Not right: For weeks leading up to Ronda's UFC fight, people on social media criticized her appearance

Not right: For weeks leading up to Ronda's UFC fight, people on social media criticized her appearance

Harsh words: This woman said Ronda is 'far too masculine' to be considered 'even remotely pretty'

Harsh words: This woman said Ronda is 'far too masculine' to be considered 'even remotely pretty'

Big win: Ronda recently defended her bantamweight  for the sixth time with a devastating knockout of Bethe Correia within 36 seconds of the fight that was held in Rio de Janeiro

Big win: Ronda recently defended her bantamweight for the sixth time with a devastating knockout of Bethe Correia within 36 seconds of the fight that was held in Rio de Janeiro

Many fans applauded Ronda's attitude and confidence in the face of hurtful words, which several people on Twitter shared leading up to her fight with Beth.

'Ronda Rousey is disgustingly manly how can people find her attractive? [sic]' one man on Twitter wrote recently, while another added: 'Ronda Rousey has it wrong, it's not her body that's too masculine (although it is kinda) it's her face [sic].' 

Someone else noted: 'Ronda Rousey is not attractive to me I don't see what some of y'all dudes see in her she look straight manly to me. [sic]' 

Ronda is also known to discuss her childhood speech impediment, which has later been referred to as apraxia of speech, and during her AMA session a speech therapist asked the mixed martial arts fighter to share some words of wisdom about inspiring children who are struggling with similar issues.

'I love my speech therapist - I thought she was super cool and I didn't even know I was in speech therapy,' Ronda recalled. 'I'd like to tell any kid struggling with speech that anything can be overcome with hard work regardless of how insurmountable the odds seem.'

Favorite meal: During her Reddit session, Ronda also admitted that her favorite 'cheat' food is wings, noting that she can eat 60 in one sitting. Last week she enjoyed 'post fight' wings with UFC president Dana White

Favorite meal: During her Reddit session, Ronda also admitted that her favorite 'cheat' food is wings, noting that she can eat 60 in one sitting. Last week she enjoyed 'post fight' wings with UFC president Dana White

Glammed up: Ronda had defended herself against those who criticize her look, saying that every muscles on her body exists for a purpose
Glammed up: Ronda had defended herself against those who criticize her look, saying that every muscles on her body exists for a purpose

Glammed up: Ronda had defended herself against those who criticize her look, saying that every muscles on her body exists for a purpose

'Shout out to all speech therapists. You're all awesome,' she added. 'And the best thing about my recovery was that I was never allowed to feel inferior.' 

The adversity Ronda has overcome has helped her to develop a healthy attitude when it comes to her rising fame and how she is portrayed in the media.

'I accept that I have NO control over my image already,' she explained. 'So, I try not to let the state of my perception have any effect on my happiness. You can never truly know anyone through only media anyway.

'If anything I just try to keep in mind that I'm an entertainer and not a politician or Miss America.'

Ronda, who said she is most proud of winning her Olympic bronze medal, recently took home two ESPY awards, one for the Best Female Athlete and the other for Best Fighter, a category that included boxing champion Floyd Mayweather.

When she took to the stage to receive her award for Best Fighter, the UFC's women's bantamweight champion took a jab at Floyd's domestic abuse record.

Playing tourist: On Monday, Ronda went sightseeing with her family, flashing her lacy black bra in a backless blue top
Playing tourist: On Monday, Ronda went sightseeing with her family, flashing her lacy black bra in a backless blue top

Playing tourist: After her fight in Brazil, Ronda went sightseeing with her family in Rio de Janeiro, flashing her lacy black bra in a backless blue top

'I wonder how Floyd feels to be beat by a woman for once,' she quipped. And the two have been verbally sparring ever since. 

When one Reddit user asked if she really thought she would beat Floyd in a 'ruleless' fight, she said that she does - but only if is a fight and not a boxing match.

'Floyd is one of the best boxers of all time. He would definitely beat me in a boxing match,' she explained. 'I unfortunately don't get into "matches". I fight for a living. In a no rules fight, I believe I can beat anyone on this planet.

'Boxing is a sweet science with strict rules that I respect very much and aspire every day to improve at. But you said ruleless fight, and that's my honest answer.'

And as for how to win Ronda's heart, the competitive athlete said it has everything to do with the man she is with and nothing to do with the date he has planned.   

'If a guy is lame, he'll have to come up with activities to distract you from his lameness,' she explained. 'If he's all kinds of awesome, doing nothing with him with be all kinds of awesome.'

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