Candace Cameron Bure Says She Was Always the 'Chubby-Cheeked Girl,' Calls “Full House” Episode About Her Weight 'Awkward'

The actress looks back on her childhood in the spotlight, sharing that her real-life weight loss of 20 lbs. was written into the show

• Candace Cameron Bure looked back on her childhood on Full House, sharing how her character D.J.'s weight struggles were handled on- and off-screen

• Appearing on Pod Meets World, Bure told hosts Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle that it was "awkward" to film the now-iconic episode of Full House where D.J. goes on a crash diet

• Bure shared that when she lost 20 lbs., it was addressed in the show's opening credits by adding footage of her character working out

Candace Cameron Bure is looking back on a very special, and now infamous, episode of Full House — one that focused on her character D.J.’s body image struggles — calling it “awkward.”

The actress, who played D.J. Tanner for Full House’s original 1987-1995 run, and then reprised her role in the sequel series Fuller House — discussed how her real-life weight loss was written into the sitcom during the August 12 episode of Pod Meets World.

“I was always the chubby-cheeked girl, and a lot of people loved that I was. And I can look back and go, like, ‘I was just a normal, average girl.’ And you meet people and they're always like, ‘You're so much thinner in person.’ “

“You're just like, ’Is that all people see?’ “ Bure, 48, asked the podcast's hosts, Boy Meets Worldalums Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle. “Do they just see my chubby cheeks?”

Bure looked back on the episode where D.J. limits her food intake for an upcoming pool party — and how it was handled off-camera.

“Kimmy [Andrea Barber] and I were going to a pool party, and I didn’t want to put a bathing suit on. So, I did a crash diet to try to lose weight in a week so I wouldn’t feel bad about myself in a bathing suit, and then passed out at the gym.”

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Bure shared that the episode wasn’t a surprise: “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?’ And I was like, ’Yeah, sure.’ But when you're in it and doing it, it feels a little awkward.”

That prompted Fishel to share that she and Friedle weren’t asked before their weight was written into an episode of Boy Meets World.

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“They called me into the office to tell me they were going to [do it]," Fishel said. "It wasn't really like they asked. They just kind of said, ‘We just want you to know…obviously you guys have gained a little bit of weight. So we're going to write an episode about it.‘ “

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“My jaw is on the floor,” Bure said, who shared that she was consulted before addressing her weight loss in the show’s intro in subsequent seasons.

“I had lost, like, 20 lbs. from the end of one season to another,” she said. “I came in losing 20 lbs., but they thought it was so great and they were like, 'Oh, on the opening titles, why don't we have you on an exercise bike, like just to promote that?' "

"And looking back, I don't think that was bad. I mean, I really put a lot of hard work and effort into losing 20 lbs.”

But, Bure shared, growing up in the limelight wasn’t easy — especially during puberty — and said that she said no to filming an episode about her period.

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“As a teenager, you feel that insecurity, whether you're on television or not,” she said. “Those ages were a little bit more awkward for me. I just want to always go back — I just want to hug 15-year-old Candace and go, ‘Okay, don't listen to anyone.’ “

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