Too many of us feel that we have to be perfect, in order to be loved.

My body has changed and it will continue change in the future — that is natural for anyone. What matters to me most is that even though external change is inevitable, my passion for encouraging women to love themselves at any size and to live, thrive, and to go after their dreams is a part of my permanent nature. Even though my body and mind may evolve through life and experience, my values on this matter have not.

Enough time had passed that I was ready to write the book Hungry. Was it absolutely difficult? Completely. I had to go back and relive one of the more traumatic things in my life. I destroyed my body for three years and I nearly killed myself for a passion that I had. But I was finally able to close the door on that part of my life. It also allowed me to have a voice. And that's something I've wanted since I was a young girl, to be able to be heard.

Pascal Wager invented the calculator and he also said you can apply mathematics to faith in God so I thought that was pretty interesting.

Ninety-nine percent of girls want to be models because they believe it will mean that they are the most beautiful women in the world. They think that they will wear expensive clothes, makes loads of money, travel a lot and have a rock star for a boyfriend. This never interested me. I didn't want anyone to scream out my name. I wanted to make art, to create an image with a photographer. And yes, I wanted to get out of Clinton, Mississippi - a small town that was so closed-minded you can't even imagine.

I absolutely believe that when one goes on vacation, it should be pure decadence.

I just couldn't have people thinking that I only believe thin is beautiful. Thin is beautiful, but it's not the only kind of beautiful. I didn't want people to get the wrong message because of some retouching.