Leanne Li Suffered Binge Eating Disorder
Winning the 2005 Miss Chinese International Pageant, Leanne Li (李亞男) was known for beautiful figure. In her early career in the entertainment industry, Leanne had maintained a rigorous weight loss routine which resembled hell. Due to excessively suppressing her appetite, Leanne had exhibited symptoms resembling to bulimia, where every two weeks, she would binge eat, losing complete control!
Finding Respite in Praying to God
Leanne revealed, “As a child, I never considered that I would become an actress. I do not know how to socialize well. All along, I wished to become a graphic designer or teacher instead. I struggled over the decision as to whether to enter the entertainment industry with my family for a long time. Once I signed a contract with TVB, it would involve a two year commitment, with a stand alone option of another four years. In other words, if I felt that the first two years’ development was not good, I have the option to return to Canada to resume my studies. Although TVB’s offer was quite good, my family still worried that I was unfamiliar with Hong Kong and did not have any relatives to take care of me…. In the end, I chose to pray to God. After consistently praying for two to three months, my entire family found inner peace. My parents were willing to let me enter the entertainment industry. Reflecting back, this incident was quite a miracle!”
Mother Had High Expectations
Leanne stated, “In my first two to three months in the entertainment industry, my mother especially flew from Canada to join me in Hong Kong. Accompanying me on work excursions, she wanted to make sure that I did not possess any fears hosting a variety program and ascertain that the program’s Director and Assistant Director took care of me. My mother also arranged a couple to prepare soups for me, to ensure that I would be able to drink soups on a regular basis and reap the healing benefits.
“Although my parents were concerned about me working in the entertainment industry, they felt that once the decision was made, then I can only do my best. My parents possessed vey high expectations toward my career! Aside from noting how I dressed, my hairstyle and acting, my parents focused heavily on my physique. Therefore, early in my career, I worked very hard to lose weight. Each day, I went jogging for half an hour and ate modest meals. For my breakfast, I only ate one bowl of oatmeal. For my lunch, I ate steamed fish and boiled vegetables. At night, I ate the same boiled vegetables, a little meat and soup. I did not dare to eat rice. If I did not have time, I would eat fruit and salad.”
Binge Eating Disorder
“During those days, I appeared to be without any problems on the surface, but I felt very painful in my heart! When I could no longer tolerate my plain diet, my food cravings would suddenly erupt! I would eat a lot of snacks and cakes in one sitting. This type of binge eating broke out once every two weeks. One time, I felt so painful enduring my plain diet, I went to a buffet restaurant by myself on a whim after work. Why did I not ask a friend to the buffet with me? At that moment, I desperately wanted to eat a lot of food. If I were to ask someone to come along, it will take at least half an hour! I wanted to eat ravenously and could not even wait another half hour! Thus, I went to eat the buffet by myself.”
Envies Good Friend, Linda Chung
In her first two years in Hong Kong, Leanne lived at a dormitory that TVB provided for many overseas beauty pageant contestants, who did not have local relatives to take care of them, as a contract perk. Leanne said, “Despite this, I have only been able to send back money to my family in Canada recently. There are too many expenses that an artist has to incur. For example, we cannot buy clothes that are too cheap. We need to buy more cosmetic products than the average woman. Transportation costs are also very hefty, as I often need to take the taxi. Anyhow, it is very difficult to have spare cash left over!
“Of course, there are gains and losses. During my first few years in the industry, I struggled very hard, whether it involved money or my eating habits. However, I am very happy to have met a group of like-minded good friends. My first real friend in the industry is Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣), who resided in the same dormitory provided by TVB. We lived together for half a year, which cemented our close friendship. Our personalities are very similiar; aside from possessing a Westernized personality, we are very gentle and deal with things carefully. We are not impulsive, but may be a bit faltering (婆媽).
“Another close friend is Grace Wong (王君馨). We became good friends because we also lived together. We are both Christians and at the time, both of us tried very hard to lose weight. Grace and I exercised the same restraints in our diet. At night, we would eat a dish of boiled vegetables together without any complaints!
“As for Linda, she is luckier than Grace and I. Although Linda also tries to eat very light, but every five minutes, she will put something in the microwave to eat. Perhaps it is due to her thinness, she will not get fat no matter how she eats! At the time, I was very envious of her. Each time after returning home from my daily jog, I would hear running the microwave. Each time, I would think, ‘Why do I still have to go running?’ It cannot be helped, things in life are not always fair!”
Compiled from Oriental Daily
Jayne: I’m sure many actresses have the same dieting pressures as Leanne. Looking beautiful takes a lot of effort.
They say the camera adds ten pounds visually, which puts pressure on actresses to lose weight in order to compensate. An actress’s life isn’t easy. Glad she found some good friends for support. A new generation God Squad…?
thewong,
I sense that Leanne came from a protective family. In the same series of recent interviews with Oriental Daily/ The Sun, Leanne noted that comparisons were often made between Fala and herself by the public, since they were MCI’s in the same pageant.
Leanne said that Fala is very smart, in the sense that she is very independent and has been on her own, for a long time. Coupled with Leanne’s description of her mother’s behavior, I sense that she came from a protective upbringing.
It was even hinted that she dieted down so severely because her mother paid attention to Leanne’s phsyique. Her parents expected her to achieve success in TVB and one of the methods was to look the ideal part and lose weight. She lost weight because she wanted to fulfill her parents’ expectations.
Btw, in another interview, Leanne also said that she loved Wong Cho Lam because she can be her true self when with him. She was looking at some chocolates and he urged her, “If you like it, why don’t you eat it? It’s okay.”
I sense that Leanne was a bit uncertain of herself before meeting Wong Cho Lam, who has acted as her mentor, friend, and finally boyfriend.
“Wong Cho Lam, who has acted as her mentor, friend, and finally boyfriend”
Isn’t mentor a bit too much? He is hardly mentor material. I would say a friend, a confidante, boyfriend, soul mate.
Yes, her family seemed quite protective, but they also seemed to have a bit of the Tiger Mother in them.
I think “mentor” is an apropos descriptor because in another article Jayne translated, it was mentioned that Leanne’ singing instructor suggested she go to Wong Cho Lam for advice, and he also taught her Cantonese and how to read scripts.
It could be that Cho Lam is her guiding light? That there sounds like a good man.
I think Leanne looks very fine with her weight. Being more skinny, she will look uglier. Seeing some Txb actresses with a stick body make me feel so zzzz.
I think she should stop her diet n let lose a little. Too skinny is not gonna make her beautiful.
Leanne looks fine now without having to lose any more weight. I know Hongkong girls are all very skinny. I guess “the camera adds ten pounds visually” is right on certain artistes. However, the most important thing for Leanne to do now is to work hard on her acting, as well as her Cantonese. Without good acting and good pronunciation of words (in Cantonese), she will never be very successful.
Fala Chen is a good example for her. She has improved so much in her acting and Cantonese in the last few years, and she is now a highly promoted fadan in TVB. Leanne is as pretty as Fala in appearance, except she is a bit tall to find a male partner for her in dramas.
Instead of working on “the losing” of her weight, she should work on her acting and language skills. She will not have the energy to act if she is too skinny.
Poor Leanne. I imagine eat plain food everyday, and it’s really hard. I don’t think I can last a month with plain food only.
Leanne’s diet plan is wayyyy better than Sammi Cheng’s. Sammie doesn’t eat at all sometimes and that’s crazy!!
Who cares about this kelefe Leanne Li,come on Jayne ,focus more news at better actress like Mandy Wong and Sire Ma etc and not kelefe actress next,why waste your time and space translate on kelefe actress,however she shall stick on her acting and not focus on kelefe Wong too much ,this Leanne Li shall learn how to speak cantonese first to move away from her kelefe role .
One don’t like watching Leanne and WCL doesn’t mean others don’t like watching them.. pls be mindful of others.
Gosh, rude much?
Is her cantonese that bad? I thought vivien yeo was worse and she is fellow malaysian and I shall say hers is worse? Or Fala? Or what’s that bald dude from Taiwan called? The one in 4 in love where I have to switch on subtitles to understand what he is talking about?
Funn,
Do you mean KingKong frm Taiwan? his cantonese has a very funny accent prolly taiwanese accent. And yeah I agree iwth you that our fella malaysian vivian yeo still can’t speak Cantonese fluently..
I sometimes can’t understand what she’s talking too. Fala’s cantonese has improved somehow though.
Kingkong? Not Kam Kong? I am confused! Yeah that guy. Had to strain my ear, more so when he has so much dialogue!
And no need fluent but rather understandable cantonese and not the really senget type. Sometimes I can’t even understand Twins, with their perpetual ehhhhhhhhh ehhhhhhhhhhh ehhhhhhhhhhhh.
Funn,
yess KamKong hahaha, it seems like I was the one who got the name confused.
but Funn, have u ever speak to HOng kong people in person before? because their way of passing out a sentence is difficult to understand like especially when you’re talking to those CX agent over the phone. maybe because our Malaysian’s cantonese is mixed with bahasa and english sometimes so we don’t actually speak “the exact cantonese”.
Like for example “Loh Hong: were spoke in the new series 36 hrs on call when TY and her dad were chatting. I gotta ask my dad what does that mean by “loh hong”, then my dad says it means “government hospital”. I wonder why can’t they just call it as “Ching Fu Yue Yun” aka government hospital in cantonese which is widely spoken in msia.
Dunno why, I never like how Twins talk on tv.. maybe like u mentioned, their perpertual is too long and never ending.
And the way they carry themselves is way too “childish” in acting. Not so genuine.
vivien yeo is other kelefe from Malaysia ,she is Malaysia tak boleh ,she from Johor that the reason her Cantonese is bad and she from Chinese school i think,Jayne focus on her less because she is kelefe from Malaysia,however she earn more than Leanne in term of advertising and marketing and she is support by MCA and UMNO .
I should work on my cantonese…
:/
I prefer listening to Christine Kuo and Leanne over Vivien. Vivien cantonese is better than them, but, her cantonese sound hard. Like she used a lot of force to control it.
Christine and Leanne’s canto does not sound like this.
King King is the most unintelligible of the bunch.
How you know MCA and UMNO supports her? You see her at the meetings and gatherings??
Veejay, I never really knew HK cantonese is so “lan yam” until I spoke to someone from guandong and I realise HK’s cantonese is also bad, in a way. Of course ours is more “senget” but theirs is lazier. The terms used are actually just slang and not the language itself. Like we have our own. Loh hong? I always hear them call hospitals by their name though.
@Funn Lim and Veejay
His english name is “King Kong” Chinese name pronounced in Cantonese is “Kam Kong”
So both of you are correct 🙂
@hikaru,
Thanks for the information 🙂
Moses,
“Who cares about this kelefe Leanne Li,come on Jayne ,focus more news at better actress like Mandy Wong”
I try to give space to big names and modest names in the HK entertainment industry. It also depends on the contents in the article; if there is good material in an entertaining or insightful manner, then I think it is worth sharing with everyone.
Based on the # of comments and discussion this article has generated, I believe my gut instincts are correct.
Everyone’s chance to be featured will come as long as they give good interviews heheh.
Moses,
“Who cares about this kelefe Leanne Li”
Btw, I’ll like to add that all we see are the results and not the efforts behind the scene. Perhaps many people thought Leanne was just born slim and didn’t have to work for it. “Kelefe” doesn’t mean she doesn’t work hard, however the results may just not be proportionate to what she put in.
As Leanne put it, not everything is fair in life. Some people just care about the results and don’t care about the process behind it. I found her story, her description of the “process” of what happened in her life and career over the last few years to be inspiring, whether or not others may have found her career accomplishments to be stellar or not.
Jayne has also translate news of Mandy Wong before.
Binge eating is not bulimia. Bulimia includes throwing up. Hers is just loss of control. And why should she just eat plain food everyday? Isn’t the art to good eating is not to deny yourself?
And why is she making a name for herself in such article and then as Cholam girlfriend when I have yet to see any substantial stuff except maybe as host and such?
“I’m sure many actresses have the same dieting pressures as Leanne. Looking beautiful takes a lot of effort.”
She actually looks normal, unlike some who has this lollipop look.
Funn,
Lollipop looks as in big head with tiny body? hehe.
I guess this apply to Kenix Kwok since her excessive diet has ruined her pretty body..
Kenix was aneroxic. Now she is I suppose just very very slim. At least she looks better now. Believe me in person she looks terrible because when I saw her that time she was at one of her thinnest.
Yes, lollipop means big head, thin body which is what MOST stars suffer from except Bollywood and Korean stars. So I shall say Leanne has normal body.
Actually some forms of bulimia does not include throwing up. Besides, the article stresses that she exhibited signs of bulimia, not she is bulimic? Which is Correct.
But isn’t a bulimic someone who stuffs themselves and then get it all out? Because if they just stuff, it is just stuffing.
“:Bulimia is an illness in which a person binges on food or has regular episodes of overeating and feels a loss of control. The affected person then uses various methods — such as vomiting or laxative abuse — to prevent weight gain”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001381/
Ewwwwww
Funn is right. Bulimia involved 2 process, binging and getting the food out after that. If just binging alone, it’s not bulimia.
There are two sub-types of bulimia nervosa:
Purging type bulimics self-induce vomiting (usually by triggering the gag reflex or ingesting emetics such as syrup of ipecac) to rapidly remove food from the body before it can be digested, or use laxatives, diuretics, or enemas.
Non-purging type bulimics (approximately 6%–8% of cases) exercise or fast excessively after a binge to offset the caloric intake after eating. Purging-type bulimics may also exercise or fast, but as a secondary form of weight control.
//
Besides, eating disorders affect your mental state more than anything else.
When I went overseas for University, my mum will always be “shocked” at my weight (which was very average), when I came home during summer break. She, like most Hong Kong-ers, prefer waif-ish. So whenever I go home for holidays, it will end up with 3 months diet – sometimes its meal replacement drinks, cabbage soup diet, or some crap like that. I ended up binge eating, and sometimes vomiting, after that. Sometimes I did not vomit, but ended up crying as though my life depended on it, and very depressed. Like I said, eating disorders affect more of your mental state than anything.
“Non-purging type bulimics (approximately 6%–8% of cases) exercise or fast excessively after a binge to offset the caloric intake after eating.”
Then almost everyone is a bulimic. I disagree this is bulimic. Not from what I read.
I am sorry to read you suffered from this really difficult disease and I agree, it is more mental than physical. Are you better now? Are you in control? Because seriously, if you’re slim and healthy, isn’t that good enough? What more should one ask for? holidays of course will be time for gaining a bit of weight. I am surprised though your mother thinks otherwise. I think if you disagree with your mom, stop with the diet and eat whatever you want within healthy limits. It is always the slim ones who obsesses about 2 pounds, 10 pounds. I am beyond being obsessed. I am not bothered, which is dangerous also.
Look, forget what people think. Stop binge and then vomit or whatever. That is very wrong. If you’re healthy BMI, don’t ever think of going through dieting and all. You will just mess up your body.
Funn,
I think there’s a differentiation between “normal” binge eating, and when it will lead to more serious eating disorders, like bulimia. It really depends on one’s mental state of health and how one feels after binge eating. If you feel slightly guilty after eating buffet, like any normal person, is ok, you may skip the next meal or two, or add another 30 minutes to your exercise schedule. But when someone feels excessively guilty, eg. to the point of thinking they are a failure, depression, then it may lead to eating disorder. Even if they don’t vomit, I believe that is a sign of eating disorder.
Maybe I just feel more sensitive to such situations, as I myself, was in the same boat some years ago,
Nicole,
“But when someone feels excessively guilty, eg. to the point of thinking they are a failure, depression, then it may lead to eating disorder. Even if they don’t vomit, I believe that is a sign of eating disorder.”
I hope you are better now. Did your binge eating last throughout all the years of university? I think it is very important to remove that emotional aspect associated with food, such as food giving us pleasure or guilt. Food should be seen as a practical thing we eat to just feed our bodies. When we have stress, if we can find something else to comfort us, then it will be okay. Also negative body image, along with our overall negative impression of ourselves, takes time to change. It takes real effort and coaching to change.
Women have such extreme pressure in their body image. Growing up, my best friend was super thin and I was always the chubby one. Standing next to her, there were a lot of comparisons. I had very poor body image of myself growing up, but thinking back, I wasn’t truly overweight, just an overly negative impression of myself and lack of confidence.
All my teenage years, I refused to wear a swimsuit and avoided the beach like the plague. The women in my family, mom and sister also had negative image of their own bodies, which affected my own perception.
Agreed. Binge eating is not the same as bulimia. I suffered from binge eating myself (around 8th grade), eating very little on regular days and then going on binges and feeling fat afterwards. It seems like just recently did people acknowledge binge eating as a real eating disorder.
It’s tough being a public figure, especially in Asian countries, with all the pressure to stay thin. I personally think it’s very unhealthy for the Asian media to only acknowledge skinny as beautiful. Being ‘skinny fat’ or a bag of bones is not appealing. I mean I don’t understand how people can look at someone like Sharon Chan and thin she has an ‘amazing’ body. She already looks really skinny in pictures I can’t imagine what she looks like in person.
Sharon Chan used to look really good until recently where she became too thin. Look at Lydia Shum. She can be both big and BIG. When she was sick, she became very thin and that wasn’t the Lydia the viewers know. It is the pressure of equating being stick thin as being attractive, more so in Asia where those with little boys body seems the most preferred. But the media’s attitude can be changed by someone looking different and being very successful at that. Unfortunately everyone conforms rather than create. I just saw Marilyn Monroe’s pictures. If by today’s standard, she will be considered fat.
I like to eat my comfort foods (sugary desserts) when I feel stressed. If I see a box of chocolates before me, I’ll likely eat half the chocolates in one sitting. There is something about chocolate that I cannot control myself over.
When I was younger, I didn’t have control in eating potato chips either. Can eat an entire bag in one sitting. Learned not to buy chips in a big bag; would rather pay more money on a smaller bag.
I’ve learned to exercise better limits in my eating pattern, but whenever I’m stressed, I think of the favorite foods that I would like to eat. Seriously, eating something I like brings such a smile to my face.
So yes, I’ll rather be a few pounds slimmer, but I don’t really obsess over it. Whenever my pants start feeling a little tighter, I’ll remind myself to eat a little healthier this week.
I find Leanne to be a very likeable person, even before her recent interviews and increased media coverage after dating Wong Cho Lam. She has a graceful beauty and seems very down to earth.
Although Leanne said that she and Linda are similar, I find Leanne to be more straightforward in her interview responses and providing a certain level of detail. It sounds as if you are just listening to one of your girlfriends talk to you about her love life, dieting issues, etc.
I enjoyed reading about Leanne and hope everyone did.
This is unrelated, but I was watching a lot of basketball clips of Jeremy Lin (New York Knicks) as he is quite a sensation in basketball world right now.
Lin-sanity reached Jaynestars….haha
Masaharu,
“Lin-sanity reached Jaynestars….haha”
I think it has reached the world!
Leeanne can takeover the roles of intelligent looking modern woman (she does look that way) who is a mistress to someone, like Astrid Chan, and when she is much older, like Astrid Chan, she can play the wise older matron or whatever with child.
I used to spend a lot more time watching TV, thus I would eat snacks idly while watching TV. No much less time watching TV, thus I cut down on idle snacks.
I do not keep any kind of snacks at my work place. I try to postpone my lunch until 2 PM, so that I will not feel the urge to pick up a snack before I get home for dinner. I also eat brown rice for dinner to feel more full and it’s healthier too.
Generally, I eat what I like, since I prefer non-greasy and mainly plain Cantonese style dishes anyway.
But sticking to 3 meals per day helps me. I drink lots of water to feel fuller. Try not to sit around idly otherwise I start reaching for snacks. Btw, keep very few snacks at home, just a few crackers and lots of fruit.
It’s also been proven that when people do not sleep enough, they tend to want to eat more, body needs calories to keep going throughout the day.
I have met Leanne & WCL and I have met/known the Li family for a number of years now. They’re a great family and hopefully Leanne gets her big break soon.
As for Fala’s cantonese, if you watch MCI 04, Fala already had a decent grasp of the Cantonese language therefore she was way ahead of the curve when she and Leanne entered the entertainment industry.
I read that Fala barely knew any Cantonese when she joined MCI. She learned through one of the contestants. That’s quite an improvement. And, she’s improving.
I do recall (correct me if i’m wrong) that Fala could speak some Cantonese during the pageant. I can’t seem to find any clips though.
Really? I thought going into MCI05 it was Leanne Li who knew a little bit of Cantonese by virtue of being from Vancouver/Richmond (lots of HKers), not Fala Chen (from Chengdu by way of Atlanta). If I recall correctly, during the interview segment, Fala Chen used Mandarin and Leanne tried to use Cantonese.
The improvement to Fala Chen’s Cantonese probably has something to do with her longtime marriage/relationship with Daniel Sit/Suek. Or maybe she’s just good with languages.
Anyway, Leaane Li does seem like a great person. Wish her well.
I believe Fala may have used Mandarin in her Q&A because she would be able to answer her questions more throughly but she did know some Cantonese going into the pageant.
Fala Chen’s Cantonese was pretty bad when she was a new artiste, but I agree that she made a big improvement in recent years. She still has a light accent, but not very noticeable. Though Fala’s acting is not super yet, she is quite well-rounded for different types of characters. No wonder she is placed as one of the new top fadans.
She is really a lot better than Leanne is Cantonese and in acting.
I remember when Leanne won the crown for MCI 05 there was a huge debate on who should’ve won the crown. Fala got a significant kickstart to her career because had a bit more Cantonese knowledge than Leanne. They both started hosting food programmes on TVBI when they first entered the industry.
Although Leanne’s Cantonese was subpar for a long period of time, her Cantonese has significantly improved over the last 2 or 3 years. Typecasted into the same roles, I don’t think she’s gotten a fair shot at acting yet.
Stranger,
I find Leanne’s height to be one of the standout qualities that make her memorable. There are enough leading men that would look compatible with her, no worries.
Both Fala and Leanne have improved in their Cantonese. I don’t think it is Cantonese that set their careers apart.
Based on snippets from the news, Fala appears to possess a more of a “go-getter” personality in chasing after opportunities, such as introducing herself to the director of “Turning Point” even after preliminary decisions to cast Christine Kuo as the female lead opposite Michael Tse. Fala was able to turn this around. In addition, Fala took riskier roles with sexier exposure (wearing a bra in “Stew of Life” in one scene) and left deeper impression with media and audiences.
As Leanne admitted in this interview, she said she does not really know how to socialize. Coupled with her apparent protective upbringing, perhaps these may have limited her opportunities as well.
I also do believe that Fala does have a bit of background in performing which was a good advantage to her. Fala grew up dancing (not sure about acting classes) so it gave her some charisma and stage presence.
Not sure about how protective her parents are but Leanne is the first born child and first borns are usually and typically more protected (That was the case with me!)
Based on their performances at MCI05, I think the right person won. Leanne Li nailed her interview.
There’s still an accent, but it’s not as heavy when she first debut. Heck, even Kate still has an accent.
Appearance is important for actresses, but I think Leanne should focus on her acting. Also, I think she’s at a disadvantage with her height.
Yes! Her height is a significant disadvantage!
Kate has an accent? o_o Or is it just a lazy tone?
Maybe it’s lazy tone, lol
Ouch!!!!! sucks to be in the showbiz. You get paid sh*t and still to look like thin. Its like working 12 hour shifts, you a dead starving but still have to persist cause you need to look good for the cameras. Honestly i feel for her.
as long as u r healthy… big thin no matter…
I really hope to see her in bigger roles. She’s lovely & graceful !!!!!
she’s pretty. i’m not sure if i seen any of her acting. but i do know who she is. she should try to lead…maybe…
Agree that it has to do with their personalities …. Fala has a much stronger, aggressive and determined personality while Leanne is more passive and gentle.
Besides personality, I think Leanne has to work on her acting if she wants to act heavier roles. Fala is definitely very much better in her acting than Leanne.
i think she has good figure. didn’t know she has to put in so much effort to achieve that.
Well, we all should know that these artists were NOT born with slim figure and pretty faces. I’m sure they’ve went thru hell to achieve that.