janet jackson: diet malfunction, janet jackson is big but not in a good way

Diet malfunction: Janet Jackson is big, but not in a good way

Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at Super Bowl 2004 is soooo over. Now the pop diva is turning heads with a major "wardrobe expansion" after she packed on more than 40 pounds.

Its not the first time the 39-year-old songbird has blown up like a balloon only to slim down with a drastic diet and exercise regimen, a family source says.

She has battled this problem since she was a kid. She'll go months eating whatever she can get her hands on, and then she'll go months eating just salads and fruits and drinking Evian water," said a family source.

"She's had this feast-or-famine eating disorder for years and has gotten up to 200 pounds or more at times."
The singer has already taken steps to turn the tonnage tide and so far has dropped 15 to 20 pounds from her peak weight of about 160, the source said.

In preparation for the planned release of her next album this spring, she's resumed workouts with her longtime personal trainer Tony Martinez. Janet jogged, power-walked and pushed through grueling lunges and squats during a recent slimming session on an L.A. beach.

"She's working with Tony again and he has always worked for her in the past. By the time her record is released, she'll be thin again," the source said.
Janet's publicist Patty Webster did not return a call for comment.

Martinez is responsible for the chiseled abs and a wasp-sized waistline the half-naked singer sported on the covers of her 2004 "Damita Jo" album and video.
She remained a shapely 118 pounds through the start of brother Michael's child-molestation trial early last year.

But by June, Janet's face was pudgy and her pants were straining at the rear and thighs.
In the next six months, Janet's scale continued to climb to about 160, fueled by her "uninhibited" consumption of "fried chicken and soul food," including macaroni and cheese, candied yams, pork ribs and buttered corn bread.

In addition to a life-long "all-or-nothing" eating disorder, stress may have contributed to Janet's latest scale-up.

Last October, her world was rocked when a paparazzi's video of her sunbathing in the nude (and looking chubby) was posted on the Internet and her former brother-in-law, Young DeBarge, said she had a "secret" 18-year-old daughter who was being raised by her sister Rebbie.
Janet and her family denied that charge.

Then, with Michael Jackson facing serious financial woes, he has stopped supplying money to his family, leaving Janet as the go-to girl for less wealthy members of the once-thriving musical clan.

"She recently told (one of her brothers) she would only pay his apartment rent for one more year. Janet said she's tired of supporting people and in the future she would only support her mother," said the source.
At least she can still afford to eat well - and have a personal trainer.