Hallmark Alum Candace Cameron Bure's Uncomfortable Weight Loss Experience On Full House

The following article includes references to eating disorders.

Candace Cameron Bure has opened up about her experiences as a child star on "Full House," revealing the awkwardness she felt surrounding her changing appearance and weight. While feel-good movie fans know Bure for her lengthy list of Hallmark flicks, the California native landed her break-out role of DJ Tanner when she was only ten years old. Throughout the show's eight seasons, viewers watched as the stunningly transformed Bure grew up alongside co-stars Jodie Sweetin and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, a spotlight that could be suffocating at times.

"It is weird growing up in front of a camera, going through puberty on national television," she said on the "Pod Meets World" podcast. "There's, you know, really wonderful things being able to be on a television show and be successful and all of that, but it's just bizarre when, like, everyone sees your first zit, your boobs coming in." On the audio show, which is hosted by former "Boy Meets World" stars Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle, Bure discussed the uncomfortable attention that was paid to her weight.

"I was always the chubby-cheeked girl and a lot of people loved that I was," she said. "And I can look back and go, like, 'I was just a normal, average girl.'" The "Aurora Teagarden Mystery" star was also asked about the depiction of her weight on the long-running series, with Bure opening up about the weight loss-centered "Full House" episode that would never air today.

Candace Cameron Bure revealed on the "Pod Meets World" podcast that the "Full House" writers depicted her riding a stationary bike in the opening scene of one episode. This detail, which Bure spoke positively about, coincided with real-life weight loss and served to promote healthy habits. "Looking back, I don't think that was bad," she said. "I really put a lot of hard work and effort into losing twenty pounds."

Before this, though, DJ Tanner took center stage in a divisive storyline about unsafe dieting methods. The Season 4 episode, titled "Shape Up," saw DJ worrying about her body in anticipation of her friend Kimmy's pool party. The young teen expresses her desire to look like the models in magazines and resolves to lose weight in the two weeks before the party. Throughout the episode, DJ restricts her food intake and lies about skipping meals until she nearly passes out after overworking herself at the gym.

The episode has become controversial online, with some criticizing it for being an oversimplification of eating disorders while others have asserted that it deftly handled the topic of crash dieting in its thirty minutes. For her part, Bure opened up about her behind-the-scenes experience. "They actually talked to my mom and dad, and they talked to me and said, 'Would you feel comfortable if we wrote an episode like this?'" she said. "And I was like, 'Yeah, sure.' But when you're in it and doing it, it feels a little awkward."

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

In the years since "Full House," Candace Cameron Bure has been transparent about her personal experience with an eating disorder, sharing her story and promoting mental health awareness. Despite the undue attention on Bure's appearance growing up, it wasn't until adulthood that the Hollywood figure developed disordered eating habits. "I did not have an eating disorder when I was a child or when I was on television," she told Cosmopolitan in 2016. "I just knew that I wasn't always the thinnest girl on television, but it didn't knock my confidence."

Bure explained that she began struggling with her mental health after marrying former NHL player Valeri Bure and moving to Montreal as a young adult. While these are major life changes by themselves, the California native was also trying to adjust to a life outside of acting. "I really kind of lost a sense of who I was because I put so much value in myself as not only a friend and a daughter but as an actress, having worked for so many years, and I couldn't quite find my place," she told Good Housekeeping.

Since entering treatment and pursuing her recovery journey, Bure has actually gone on to speak out against some of the stereotypes inadvertently promoted in her "Full House" episode. "This disorder doesn't discriminate," she said. "It affects 30 million people in the United States alone, both men and women of all different ages. This is not a teenage girls' disease."

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).