Beyonce is nearly back to her pre-baby weight after giving birth to Blue Ivy Carter in January, though she’s notably “softer” than before! The new mom recently spoke to People about her 50 pound pregnancy weight gain, and the role breastfeeding had in helping her get back in shape.

Divulging that she gained 50 pounds while pregnant with Blue Ivy, 20 of that in the last month alone, Beyonce said, “I lost most of my weight from breastfeeding and I encourage women to do it; it’s just so good for the baby and good for yourself.”

About a month after baby girl’s arrival the first-time mom got on a diet plan and started exercising. “I counted calories. I worked out maybe three to four times a week,” she shared. “I did a lot of walking in the beginning and now I’m running. But I had to work my way up. I couldn’t just go right from being pregnant to running.”

“I’m proud that my waist came back so fast,” said Beyonce, who nursed her daughter for 10 weeks. “I’m proud of that and happy, but that was mostly from the breastfeeding.”

Now just “three to four pounds” away from her pre-pregnancy weight, Beyonce admits her body still isn’t the same — but not in a bad way.

“My hormones are still in my body. Your body produces the hormones that make your body soft,” she said. “It’s just magical. It makes me so proud to be a woman because it’s just unexplainable what happens to your body – it’s incredible.”

photo: Fameflynet