Just seven months after having her first child, Dannii Minogue was back in shape and looking great, but the new mum says she always knew something wasn’t quite right.
Although she was losing weight she had no energy to exercise and now admits she could hardly lift her new born baby Ethan saying: “I was finding it hard to pick Ethan up and I was thinking “I’m a new mum, I know I’m tired, but surely it can’t be this hard?”
The singer, who turns 40 this month, has now revealed that her weight loss and her declining energy are due to a thyroid condition the UK’s Daily Mail reported.
“My thyroid stopped working and I had appendicitis,” she said.
“Leading up to that I was getting thinner and thinner, and stressing because I didn’t know what it was. Normally you put on weight if you have an under-active thyroid.
“But there is a percentage of people that have it reversed. It was very hard to concentrate, you can’t sleep and I got very weak. They explain it to you as running a car without petrol.”
The condition not only took a toll her Dannii’s weight, but on her work life and relationship with partner Kris Smith as well.
The former UK X-Factor judge initially said she quit the show to concentrate on motherhood, however she now reveals the stress of it all was too much for her to handle.
“When you’ve just had a baby you think it must be normal tiredness. But it got to the point where I thought, ‘This cannot be normal’,” she said.
“Poor Kris. He was thinking after getting through the pregnancy and the baby that everything would be just fine and he couldn’t work out why I wasn’t well. It was bloody difficult.”
Despite rumours of a split, the couple worked through the tough time together and say they are now back on track.
“We have a bond that’s incredible,” she said.
Dannii and Kris have now set themselves up in Melbourne where Dannii is resting in an effort to get her strength back.
“I feel as if I’m on a curve upwards, but it takes time. My body’s been through a lot in the past two years,” she said.
“The workload alone would make anyone tired. But factor in jet lag, X Factor, the baby, being ill… But I’m getting there. I can’t wait to have the energy to work out again.”
Despite her lack of energy, Dannii says she still has her appetite, but can’t seem to put on weight despite her diet of cupcakes which she became fond of during her pregnancy.
“People get angry with me because I’m thinner than before I had a baby and I’m eating cupcakes,” she said.
Despite her numerous successes over the past two years including her the launch of her fashion line Project D, Danii says the focus is on getting well again.
“Being well… I’ve had so many amazing things that I feel lucky about, but being well and enjoying it — that’s the most important thing.”
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