Janet Jackson believes her weight struggles make her relatable.

The 45-year-old self-confessed 'emotional eater' has had a life-long battle with her waistline, and tipped the scales at 180lbs in 2006.

But having joined the Nutrisystem diet programme late last year, Janet has achieved the body she always dreamed of and hopes her journey will inspire others.

She said: "People can relate to me because I have lived it. I truly understand what it's like to have a problem with weight loss, losing too much weight or gaining more than you desire.

"It's about keeping it off. We can all lose weight, but learning how to keep it off - maintaining it - is what's difficult. Nutrisystem teaches you how to do that."

Janet has yet to reveal the exact amount of weight she has lost, but says she still has all the treats she desires on the food plan.

She told US Weekly: "The snacks are incredible. The cookies, the cakes, the brownies - I love the chips!"

"You don't have to deprive yourself of things that you love, and that's what's so great about Nutrisystem. I eat the some of these things and you think to yourself, 'Oh, I shouldn't be having this', because it's so good!"

Meanwhile, she has employed the services of personal trainer Tony Martinez to help keep her trim figure in shape.

She added: "Right now I love running, so I've been doing a lot of running. I can't take someone yelling in my ear bootcamp style. He knows he needs to mix it up and make it different every day. He makes sure it's not boring because then I won't want to do it."