Sylvester Stallone achieved peak fitness during his “Rocky” years and beyond, but at a price paid in steroid use and an eating disorder, he revealed in a new interview.

What started as a desire to “design” his body to reflect the characters he was playing “became an obsession” that led to bulimia, the 80-year-old performer revealed to The New York Times in an interview published Saturday.

“I got down to 2.6 percent body fat when I was doing ‘Rocky III,’ and I couldn’t hold anything down,” Stallone told The New York Times’ Lulu Garcia-Navarro. “Or I didn’t want to keep it down because I became so obsessed with staying at that point of fitness, literally an obsessive body-worship kind of thing.”

He admitted he’d used steroids, which he said was the only way anyone achieves and maintains that level of fitness.

“Nobody does it without additives and drugs, period. I don’t care what they say,” Stallone said. “It isn’t as though you’re a junkie, but if you’re going to work out and try to stay in shape for six months straight, and you’re eating yogurt and pudding, it’s not happening. You have to.”

Sensible use notwithstanding, steroids and action stunts “took a terrible toll” on his body, Stallone revealed.

“I’ve had nine back operations, two shoulder operations, three neck fusions,” he said. “Everything is held together with baling wire, but I still want to stay in good shape.”

Nowadays “I’m sort of fit,” he added, “but I take a lot of pills to keep going.”

Stallone spoke to The Times ahead of the release Tuesday of his memoir, “The Steps,” which alludes to the Philadelphia Museum of Art stairs his character Rocky Balboa triumphantly ascends in “Rocky.” The book covers the years leading up to his skyrocket to stardom in the 1976 film, starting with a childhood marked by abuse and neglect. He won three Academy Awards for “Rocky,” but his parents were no-shows at the ceremony.

His childhood experiences colored his path through life, and gave him insight into another famous character, John Rambo in 1982’s “First Blood,” because he could identify “with this dismissive attitude that I grew up with,” he said.

Also on the horizon is Anthony Ippiloto’s portrayal of him in “I Play Rocky,” due in theaters in November. It’s titled after his oft-uttered dealbreaker phrase in insisting he needed to star in “Rocky” back when the producers wanted a big name in the title role.

At 80, Stallone has become introspective, looking honestly and unsparingly at the effects of his movies, deeds and perceived missteps over his 50-year career.

“I built a castle with thousands of stones made of regrets,” he told The Times. “I’m trying to make up for it in my own petty way, and I don’t know if there’s enough time. There is not enough time.”

Self-forgiveness is not possible, he said.

“No, you just regret,” Stallone said. “You denied people your love, but you also did worse to yourself.”

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