Beyoncé has revealed she is not naturally slim and struggled to lose the baby weight after the birth of her little girl Blue Ivy.
Curvy Beyoncé said she gained 57lbs while carrying her daughter, and now regrets putting herself under so much pressure to shed the pregnancy pounds after Blue's birth.
Speaking to America's Shape magazine, the mum-of-one said she didn't have a lot of time to get back to her pre-pregnancy figure because she had a show scheduled for just three months after giving birth. She says that was something she would 'never do again'.
"I'm not a person that is naturally very thin. I am a person that has to work at keeping my body in shape," Beyoncé, 31, revealed, saying that she did a lot of cardio dance workouts and cut back on the carbs to slim down post-baby.
"I ate a very low-calorie diet. I stayed away from red meat and ate a lot of fish, replaced pasta and rice with quinoa," she said.
"I always have breakfast, say, scrambled egg whites, a vegetable smoothie, or whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk. For lunch and dinner, I eat a lot of fish and vegetables. And throughout the day, I try to stay hydrated."
The now-slimline star said she allowed herself a treat day each week, to keep her on the straight and narrow long term.
"I always treat myself to one meal on Sundays when I can have whatever I want. Usually it's pizza, which is my favorite indulgence," she admitted.
She said being healthy was more important than being skinny, and that everyone should find their own individual shape.
"Not everyone is supposed to be the same. Be healthy and take care of yourself, but be happy with the beautiful things that make you, you," she said.