Grammy-nominated country singer Kelsea Ballerini has been vocal about her past struggles with eating disorder and her body image. She talked about it in her book, Feel You Way Through, and detailed her battle with bulimia in her teenage years.
Bulimia is a serious eating disorder where a person engages in binge eating and then afterward purges the food they consumed via laxatives or vomiting. Per the Mayo Clinic, there isn’t a specific cause for the condition, but it may present itself due to societal pressures and wanting to achieve the “perfect” body or emotional issues, but it may also be due to genes and a family history of the disorder.
For Ballerini, it was a way of taking control after her parents divorced, as she revealed in her book. The singer also talked about her body, recalling a specific time when a boy nicknamed her “Kangaroo” because of her “belly and little legs” when she was just a high school freshman. Ballerini resorted to taking diet pills and working out excessively to the point of collapsing several times, and when that happened, she knew she needed help. She battled her eating disorder until she was 18 years old, but thankfully, the singer is now healthy, although she says, “It’s a journey, and it’s never-ending.”
How does Kelsea Ballerini maintain her healthy lifestyle?
Making the ultimate confession, Ballerini admitted that being a famous singer can sometimes aggravate her body image issues. One of the downsides of being in the spotlight is the scathing remarks about one’s physical appearance. In one instance, she recalled reading an article describing her as having a baby bump. However, she’s in a much better headspace to deal with those types of comments.
“I reverted back to that 12-year-old version of me but thought: Either you’re going to get triggered by this all the time, or you’re going to get to a point where you’re okay enough to look past it.”
Now, Ballerini works out and eats better, but not because she wants to be thin. Instead, she does it to be healthy. In an interview with Eating Well, the singer said she practices pilates three times a week and starts her day with a healthy breakfast that includes a green smoothie as well as a protein-rich meal. She also has a much better relationship with food and said that she eats well enough to be able to have the energy she needs to keep up with her daily activities.
In her 20s, Ballerini had a personal trainer but after five years, she decided to remove the strenuous workout sessions from her routine and stopped working out for some time. She said it felt like she was punishing herself to achieve a certain look she thought she needed to achieve in order to be in the entertainment industry. Now, she practices the Lagree Method, which incorporates high-intensity, low-impact workouts to increase core strength, muscular strength, and muscular endurance. “I love how it makes me feel doing it — I feel strong,” she told Women’s Health.
When she is on tour, Ballerini said that her food intake changes, and she eats like an athlete. She ensures that consumes a lot of protein and is caffeinated enough to endure performing hours on stage. While she doesn’t have a big meal before her performance, she said she eats a dish consisting of carbohydrates afterward. “I’m like a monster when I get off stage. I’m like ‘Where’s the pasta?’” she said. She’s also been exploring her Italian roots and has been practicing to perfect Italian dishes.
In short? When not touring, Ballerini likes to cook for herself, and instead of sticking to a diet plan, she listens to her body.