Janet Jackson: People Can Relate to My Weight Struggles

Janet Jackson's fans have loved her through thick and thin!

The 45-year-old singer and Nutrisystem spokeswoman is famous for yo-yo dieting throughout her career.

"[My weight] is something I've dealt with all my life, and it's been an issue for me," she told Us Weekly. "People can relate to me because I have lived it. I truly understand what it's like to have a problem with weight loss, losing too much weight or gaining more than you desire to and becoming unhealthy."

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Although Jackson "[doesn't] want to put a number on [how many] pounds I want to lose or have lost," she says she feels good. "This is where I want to be."

"I still have a ways to go, and there's not a lot that I want to lose," she explained. "But I'll know it when I reach it."

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Part of of the reason Jackson's weight has fluctuated? She's an emotional eater, she says. "When I'm down or really stressed, I eat because that's my comfort place," she said. "I've had a problem with my body image. So that's why it's really really important to get to where you really feel comfortable. You need to look at yourself and say, 'I like this, I feel good about this. I feel healthy, I feel strong, and this is where I want to be.'"

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Jackson admitted the 2009 passing of her brother Michael had been stressful, but can "breathe a little better" now that the trial of his physician Conrad Murray is over. "It's been a difficult couple of years," she told Us. "And then I've been very, very busy on top of that."

"I have a little ways to go to get healthy and to feel the best that I know I can feel," she added. "I know I'm on my way to success."

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