Shania Twain Says Trying to Stay Thin Left Her Malnourished

Shania Twain is looking back on a time when her pursuit of thinness came at a steep cost.

The country icon recently opened up about the unhealthy habits she developed while trying to maintain a certain appearance, admitting that she pushed her body much harder than she should have.

In a candid interview with The Times, Twain revealed that her desire to stay thin eventually left her malnourished.

Taking Things Too Far

Looking back, Twain admits she wasn’t giving her body what it needed. “I was malnourished,” she said. “To be thinner.”

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At one point, she combined a rigorous exercise routine with cutting sugar and fats from her diet, all in an effort to maintain a certain image.

“I was doing very unhealthy things,” Twain admitted. “And I was working my body more than I was feeding it, to keep up with the strain.”

While those 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.

In menopause, you lose control of your body. So all of a sudden I’m bloating, and I’m definitely not in control. I can’t just lose five pounds.

For someone who had spent years trying to manage every aspect of her appearance, the experience was difficult to accept and sparked a crisis of confidence.

“I stopped looking at myself in the mirror,” Twain recalled. “I hated my body. I’m like, ‘Oh, I cannot stand this changing body.’ But that was so unhealthy. Who cannot look at themselves in the mirror?”

Finding a New Perspective

What once felt devastating ultimately became a lesson in self-acceptance.

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Instead of fighting the changes, Twain says she learned to embrace them and stop obsessing over things she couldn’t control.

“Now I’m like, bring on the mirrors, I’m going 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 cannot control.”

She’s Not Slowing Down

At 60, Twain says she’s still focused on what’s ahead rather than what’s behind her.

More than three decades into a career that has produced more than 100 million records sold worldwide, the “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’ve got a genuine explorer’s heart, and I haven’t run out of things to explore.

Then, after briefly suggesting she might someday run out of adventures, 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, that outlook extends to her relationship with herself, too, embracing change instead of trying to control every part of it.