Sanja Vucic Lost 12 Kilos Due to Autoimmune Disease

Singer Sanja Vucic has revealed that over roughly a year and a half she lost 12.5 kilograms because of Hashimoto’s disease, an incurable autoimmune thyroid condition, and that she decided to speak about it publicly to help others struggling with the same illness.

Vucic explained that the weight loss was not a cosmetic choice but a consequence of the disease and the grueling process many people with thyroid problems go through. “I lost 12 and a half kilos. Sadly, I was starving. People who have thyroid problems know how arduous it can be,” the singer said.

She added that over time she had to change her eating habits. “I started eating smaller portions, and this process has lasted about a year and a half,” she said. With a touch of humor, she also revealed what is hardest for her. “The hardest thing is resisting bread. Bread is my poison, my drug. I’m not much of a sweets lover,” Vucic said.

How was the disease discovered?

The road to the correct diagnosis, as she described it, was neither short nor simple. For a time the singer believed she was dealing with a mental health problem and was treated accordingly. “I went to a psychiatrist and thought it was some form of depression,” Vucic said, describing the period before doctors, after a series of examinations, determined that it was an autoimmune thyroid disease.

Hashimoto’s is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the thyroid gland, gradually disrupting its function. Although it cannot be cured, the condition is managed with lifelong therapy and regular monitoring. That is exactly the point Vucic emphasizes. “The most unpleasant fact is that you have to take therapy for the rest of your life,” she says, but she stresses that with the right approach one lives a completely normal life.

Why did she decide to speak out?

The singer stressed that sharing details from her private life is not easy, but that openness is precisely what can help others going through similar uncertainty. Many people battle symptoms for years without knowing the cause, just as she at first believed it was something entirely different.

“I’m sorry that Hashimoto’s is presented as a bogeyman, when in fact it’s a condition you can live with quite well,” Vucic said, adding that she wants to lift the fear and taboo around the diagnosis. Her account comes at a time when more and more public figures are choosing to speak openly about their health battles, encouraging audiences to seek help in time.

Vucic, known to Serbian audiences through the group Hurricane and her appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest, now says the most important thing is to listen to your body and not ignore persistent symptoms. Behind the smiling face on stage, she says, lies a struggle that is rarely discussed, yet shared by a great many people.

Can public figures, through their honesty, change how audiences view illnesses that usually go unspoken?