Shania Twain looking back at a time when her pursuit of slimness came at a high price.
The country icon recently opened up about the unhealthy habits she developed while trying to maintain a certain look, admitting she pushed her body a lot harder than she should have.
In a candid interview with The Timesrevealed Twain that her desire to stay thin eventually left her malnourished.
Taking things too far
Looking back, Twain admits she didn’t give her body what it needed. “I was malnourished,” she said. “To be thinner.”
Read more: These 14 country singers are living with serious chronic illness
At one point, she combined a rigorous exercise routine with cutting sugar and fat from her diet, all in an effort to maintain a certain image.
“I did very unhealthy things,” Twain admitted. “And I worked my body more than I fed it to keep up with the load.”
While these habits may have helped her stay thin, they ultimately came at the expense of her overall health.
Menopause changed everything
Twain said she was eventually forced to rethink her relationship with her body when menopause brought changes she could no longer control.
During menopause, you lose control over your body. Then suddenly I’m bloated and I’m definitely not in control. I can’t just lose five pounds.
For someone who had spent years trying to control every aspect of her appearance, the experience was difficult to accept and triggered a crisis of confidence.
“I stopped looking at myself in the mirror,” Twain recalled. “I hated my body. I’m like, ‘Oh, I can’t stand this changing body.’ But it was so unhealthy. Who can’t look at themselves in the mirror?”
Finding a new perspective
What once felt devastating ultimately became a lesson in self-acceptance.
Read more: Shania Twain’s new album ‘Little Miss Twain’ is a tribute to her late mother
Instead of fighting the changes, Twain says she learned to embrace them and stop obsessing over things she couldn’t control.
“Now I’m thinking, bring on the mirrors, I want to look at myself all day long!” she said.
She even credits menopause with helping her reach a healthier mindset. “Menopause has been very good for me because I’ve learned that some things you can’t control.”
She doesn’t slow down
At 60, Twain says she’s still focused on what’s in front of her rather than what’s behind her.
More than three decades into a career that has produced more than 100 million records sold worldwide, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” singer says she continues to find new things that excite and inspire her.
I’m not slowing down and I’ll tell you why. I just keep finding new things that I love to do. I have a true explorer’s heart and I haven’t run out of things to explore.
Then, after briefly hinting that she might one day run out of adventure, she quickly changed her mind.
“No! I never will,” she said. “I mean, come on, there’s always a new flower, new recipe, new horse—there’s always something new.”
These days, this outlook extends to her relationship with herself as well, embracing change rather than trying to control every part of it.
The Most Amazing Country Music Body Transformations
Healthy diet and sobriety are in for 2025. Here are 11 big-name stars who have chosen a cleaner lifestyle as a way to better serve personal and professional goals.
These country singers have lost weight, toned up and bought a whole new wardrobe! But it’s not as much about how you look as it is about how you feel, and each of these artists will say they feel good.
Gallery credit: Billy Dukes
