January 6, 2011 3:05PM EDT

Former Child Star Candace Cameron Bure Opens Up About Her Battle With Bulimia

The Full House darling admits that she used to binge and purge. “I was comforting myself with food,” says Candace.

Growing up on a hit sitcom wasn’t easy for Candice Cameron Bure, who landed the role of D.J. Tanner on Full House at the age of 11. By the time she turned 16, she couldn’t stand watching herself on the show. “I just saw the fullness in my face and I didn’t like what I saw,” the now 34-year-old tells People magazine. She began hiding her body under baggy, long shirts, which were trendy during the early ’90s. “I felt crummy,” she admits. But by the time she turned 20, Candace found herself newly married to hockey player Valeri Bure and living away from her family in Montreal, Canada. It was there she developed an eating disorder.

“I couldn’t quite handle all of the changes at once,” she recalls. “Food became my comfort.” And she began binging on salty and sweet snacks like chips and ice cream until she’d develop a stomach ache. “I’d feel bad and physically be very full, and [I’d purge],” she tells People.

She keeps in touch with the ‘Full House’ cast, except the Olsens

Luckily, her parents caught on to what she was doing to herself, once during a visit. “My dad confronted me,” says Candace. “It was the most embarrassment and shame I ever felt. I promised him I wouldn’t do it again.”

But she did have a relapse a few years later, after moving her family, which by then included three children — Natasha, 12, Lev, 10, and Mak, 8 — to Florida. She says that her religious faith and the help she received from her church helped her to kick the binging and purging habit once and for all. “Being a mom and wife are the most important things in my life,” she says.

Candace’s co-star Jodie Sweetin reveals her post-baby body

Now, the star is back on TV, playing Summer, on the ABC Family series Make It or Break It, and is the slimmest and healthiest she’s ever been. “I don’t want to be a ‘skinny person,'” says Candice, who now weighs 108 pounds, which is 25 less than she weighed when she was a teen! “I want to be fit. I like an athletic look.”

We give Candace a lot of credit for coming forward and being so open and honest about her eating disorder. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. And we’re so happy that she has conquered her food demons.