ABC/Fred LeeIf you found yourself admiring Ellie Goulding‘s toned physique that she once flaunted on Instagram, it’s because it was a result of exercise addiction.

Speaking to UK’s The Sun, the “Close to Me” singer admitted that, at one point, she couldn’t stop herself from hitting up the gym.  

“I felt I had to go to the gym every single day,” Goulding confessed while asserting that she never had an “addictive personality” before.  As to how that gym obsession came about, she theorizes it was due to her overloaded and, at times, overbearing schedule.

Revealed the 33-year-old, “I felt as though it was a ­survival instinct to be working out all the time, making sure I was super fit, super healthy and tried to counteract having drinks on tour and perhaps not eating very well.”

At first, she didn’t even realize that she was starting to establish an unhealthy habit because “when you go to the gym or you work out, you release so many endorphins. It’s such a good feeling that you just want to have that feeling over and over again.” 

However, the addiction soon bled into her daily responsibilities, such as recording new music and writing songs.  Eventually, she started putting her career and love of music second to her gym workouts.

Thankfully, the Grammy-nominee was able to snap herself out of her obsessive spiral, saying that she had an epiphany that “it just wasn’t worth it.”

Ellie is currently working on her fourth studio album — her first in nearly five years — which is due out June 5.   Her last album, Delirium, came out in 2015.

In the meantime, Goulding just released a new single titled “Worry About Me” that features vocals from Blackbear.

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