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JANET'S FOURPLAY

The pop star told of her struggle with her weight after she regained her svelte figure by shedding an astonishing four stone in just four months.

The petite 5ft 4in singer, whose weight ballooned to 10st 7lb, shocked fans when she was photographed with a bulging stomach.

The 40-year-old star said: "I would look in the mirror and I wouldn't recognise myself. My thighs got really hefty and I got this really big stomach.

"Getting around was tougher. My shoes were tough and my ankles would bother me — they'd ache at times.

"Certain rings would not fit my fingers and watches would not fit my wrist, so I stopped wearing jewellery.

The star insists she put on the weight for a role in the film Tennessee, and therefore, she "didn't feel bad" about herself.

And asked how she gained the weight she told American magazine US Weekly: "Oh God. Just eating whatever I desired.

"I put the weight on for a film... They wanted to see me in a different light, as a heavier woman.

"But the timing didn't quite work with trying to finish my album and unfortunately I wasn't able to do the film.

"So I found myself having to take the weight off a lot quicker."

The pop star said nutritionist David Allen helped her regain her figure.

He put her on a strict diet regime. She was allowed four meals a day totalling between 1150 and 1450 calories. Typical meals would include six egg whites or a small bowl of oatmeal for breakfast; four ounces of chicken breast or an organic mixed salad for lunch; an afternoon snack of grilled prawns or a portion of mixed vegetables.

For dinner she was allowed 4oz of filet mignon steak or 15 asparagus spears.

She was told to eat regularly and cut out so-called junk food like processed foods, white sugar and flour and alcohol and soft drinks.

She was banned from going to restaurants and had to cut out her favourite foods.

Instead she drank more than seven glasses of water a day.

Jackson she said it took about four months to shed the weight. She added: "It came off fairly quick. But I hit a plateau at two months.

"Going from being able to eat whatever you wanted to being on this regimented plan was tough. Your body's going 'we want more!' and you cannot have more.

She was also put on a gruelling exercise programme by trainer Tony Martinez six days a week.

She added: "I hate - I can't say it enough - I hate working out. It wasn't until I saw a picture of myself just recently that I thought, 'Wow , you really did lose a lot of weight!'

"Now I weigh 120lbs but I still want to do a little bit more toning. For now, it's just nice for me to get back down to where I feel more comfortable with me."