Lindsey Stirling, who battled anorexia, admits she 'shrunk' at start of 'Dancing with the Stars'

Lindsey Stirling competes on "Dancing with the Stars." (ABC)

"Dancing with the Stars" competitor Lindsey Stirling, who was once anorexic, has revealed her weight dropped during the first three weeks of the reality show.

But the violinist told reporters on Monday night that she quickly found a way to "eat smarter" during the strenuous rehearsal schedules and now "I've gained it back in a good way.

"I've…got the appetite of a hippo!" she said. "I feel like I'm in a really good spot right now."

Last year, as People magazine reported, Stirling talked about her past battle with anorexia. She overcame the illness.

Although the YouTube sensation hasn't mentioned her eating disorder during her "DWTS" run, earlier this year, she wrote an article in "The Telegraph" detailing her struggle.

"I’d weigh myself 10 times a day, wanting the pointer to go down another pound – and would freak out if it went up."

Stirling recovered by having "group therapy and one-on-one sessions, read books and learned about the power of positive affirmation….It took a year to get a hold on my eating."

After Stirling and partner Mark Ballas earned a place in the semifinals on Monday -- while performing a samba and a trio dance that involved visiting star Kristi Yamaguchi -- the musician admitted she'd lost eight pounds in the first three weeks of the "DWTS" season.

"I dipped lower than I've been in a long time and I was like, 'That's not good,' because I was also gaining muscle and just losing so much fat…" she told reporters.

Stirling revealed, "Every time I would go to a fitting for those first couple of weeks, [the wardrobe people] would be like, 'Lindsey, you've shrunk again' and they would tighten the dresses but now I'm maintaining. I'm good."

Stirling said, "I eat straight up peanut butter and almond butter a lot."

But Stirling confided that she also allows herself to pig out sometimes: "I’m splurging tonight, though. I'm celebrating. I'm getting pizza. We eat really healthy to keep up our energy but then on Monday, I go ham!"

The violinist who is a favorite to win this season's "DWTS," told reporters backstage, "I started to eat smarter. I'm not pounding ice cream and pizza all the time but I started to eat in a smarter way so I could get the calories I needed and I've gained [the weight] back in a good way."

Although her dancing has been polished and consistent, Stirling has had a hard time on the show. She broke up with her longtime boyfriend during the competition and last week, she suffered a serious rib injury and was in a lot of pain.

But she managed to perform with a "floating rib" and told reporters Ballas' clever choreography this week "allowed me to heal."