Katharine McPhee has just welcomed a bouncy baby boy, but her pregnancy wasn’t without struggles.
The star - who has become a first-time mum with her husband, David Foster - has been open about her past battles with eating disorders, and has now bravely revealed how she feared her pregnancy would trigger a relapse.
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Speaking on an episode of Dr. Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy Podcast, the star said her "biggest challenge" during her pregnancy was body-related.
"It just suddenly came up in a way that hadn't been present in a long time," she said.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesKatharine and David recently welcomed their first child together
The 36-year-old added she had "felt really stable" in her life in the last few years and added: "My weight has been more consistent."
But when she discovered she was expecting, some of her demons reared their ugly heads.
"Feeling like there was a relapse after getting pregnant was really shocking and upsetting and concerning for me, because I was suddenly so obsessed with food, starting from this first trimester, and I had such a distortion of the way that I looked."
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© Photo: InstagramKatharine has struggled with eating disorders in the past
Katharine revealed she gained 40lbs during her pregnancy and added: "I look back at these pictures and my husband was documenting every day because I'd be like, 'Take a picture of me now. Am I showing?' " she said. "And I look back and I'm like, 'Oh my God, why was I so hard on myself?'"
Katharine sought help from a psychiatrist who revealed her feelings were not unusual for a woman who struggled with an eating disorder.
The American Idol alum admitted she was obsessed with food during her first trimester and even going into her second.
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© Photo: InstagramKatharine opened up about her pregnancy struggles
"That was probably and has been the hardest part of pregnancy for me, was just feeling like I was relaxing in some capacity with my food issues."
It was also confusing as to whether it was the pregnancy or her eating disorder issues making her feel "ravenous".
"It was definitely a feeling like I was overeating and then I had that stuffed feeling where I couldn't breathe and I couldn't figure out if [it] because there was a new thing in my body that was making me feel stuffed or if I was actually eating too much food.
"And there's just a lot of anxiety," she continued. "But I weathered it and I'm just really grateful I'm at the end of it [and] that I feel this good and that I look in the mirror and I'm like, 'Yeah, my legs, my thighs, my arms are a little bit thicker,' but I'm okay with it."
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