Mother to Be Nicole Richie Gets Serious About Her Pregnancy Diet  8/4/07

Pregnancy has prompted Nicole Richie to get healthy after fighting eating disorder charges for years.

The famously skinny star has always insisted she isn't anorexic, despite claims to the contrary and photographs of her looking dangerously underweight.

But the socialite insists she's taking her diet very seriously now she's with child - and she's distressed when she looks at old pictures of herself.

She says, "I see a girl that is obviously going through something - (she's) much too skinny.

"I've never had an eating disorder - ever. It's anxiety, it's stress, it's just not being careful."

Speaking on U.S. breakfast show Good Morning America, the Simple Life star admits her past drug intake could explain some of her weight issues: "I think that it could've played a part."

But now Richie, who is four months pregnant with rocker Joel Madden's child, insists she's on a much healthier course.

She adds, "Do I eat is kinda like an understatement; I eat all the time, especially now. I'm constantly hungry; I'm eating at least every hour.

"Just like any mother, you want to take the best care of yourself while you're pregnant and I'm definitely eating healthier now."

The socialite daughter of soul star Lionel Richie also declares she's "playing by the rules", and has given up caffeine, sushi, alcohol and drugs - and she has asked her family and friends not to smoke around her.

Boyfriend Madden has quit smoking altogether. He reveals, "I had to quit smoking. I was a smoker - a pack and a half a day. That was hard. That was a rough week."