Janet Jackson Talks Weight Loss, Health Scares

PR NewswireIt's clear from Janet Jackson's Nutrisystem commercials that she's shed some pounds, but the singer tells Prevention magazine that she doesn't even know what size she wears.  "Now it's about looking in the mirror and saying, I feel good. I feel healthy," Janet tells the magazine.

Janet says that carrying extra weight was risky business.  "When I gained weight in 2005, my nutritionist was very worried," Janet tells Prevention.  "I was close to having diabetes.  Even when I lost it [and] then gained quite a bit back, there was always the thought of heart disease."

Emotional eating has been a longtime problem for Janet, who admits, "Chocolate, cake, caramel apples -- there aren't many things I don't love."  Janet also tells Prevention that she doesn't like to work out, so she's happy to have a trainer who comes up with creative routines.

The singer, who's had struggles with self-acceptance, tells Prevention that while the pounds have been melting off, she's careful to not overdo it.  "Knowing I have these problems with body image, I ask my friends and family to tell me when I've lost too much too.  Because I will continue to pick on myself, like all women do, and say, You need to [lose] more here, more there."

Elsewhere in the Prevention article, Janet explains why she believes people connect with her weight loss story.  She also talks about what advice she's given her niece Paris, the late Michael Jackson's 14-year-old daughter.

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