Jennette McCurdy says it was 'difficult' to act as if she loved food on 'iCarly' while she had an eating disorder: 'It felt like my life was mocking me'

• "iCarly" star Jennette McCurdy appeared on the latest episode of "Red Table Talk" on Facebook Watch.
• McCurdy discussed her New York Times-bestselling memoir, "I'm Glad My Mom Died."
• She said that it was "difficult" playing Sam on "iCarly" because of her real-life eating disorder.

"iCarly" star Jennette McCurdy said that it was challenging portraying the food-loving character Sam Puckett on the hit sitcom because of her real-life eating disorder. 

"It was so confusing at the time, being caught up in anorexia or binge-eating disorder or bulimia while playing this character who's slinging a fried chicken leg, beating people with a ham sandwich," McCurdy said during an appearance on the latest episode of "Red Table Talk," released on Wednesday on Facebook Watch.

"It felt like my life was mocking me in a lot of ways and it was really difficult," she added. 

Throughout the six-season run of "iCarly" on Nickelodeon between 2007 and 2012, McCurdy's character was often found eating food like fried chicken and desserts like Fat Cakes. This continued on the spin-off show "Sam & Cat," which costarred Ariana Grande as Cat Valentine. 

In her New York Times-bestselling memoir, "I'm Glad My Mom Died," McCurdy said that her overbearing mother taught her to become anorexic at 11 years old.

McCurdy said that anorexia "robbed me of my joy and any amount of free-spiritedness that I had."

The actress wrote that she also experienced stages of binge eating and bulimia. In her 20s, she began seeing an eating disorder specialist, who helped her to "take some control of my relationship with food."

McCurdy said that "iCarly" costar Miranda Cosgrove was one of the few people she confided in about her "food issues" and the actress was "very supportive" of her recovery. 

Watch the full "Red Table Talk" episode below.