Everywhere you turned, 2012 was filled with Beyonce baby buzz, from alleged armed chauffeurs to $200,000 nurseries and shower gifts from the Obamas.
Now, 1-year-old Blue Ivy is taking a backseat to her mother’s post-baby body–albeit a golden, bedazzled backseat. Beyonce is Shape Magazine‘s April covergirl, flaunting her post-baby body, in case we missed it on the Super Bowl, HBO documentary or Oprah interview.
“I gained 57 pounds when I was pregnant. I didn’t have a lot of time to lose the weight, because I scheduled a show three months after I gave birth.”
Indeed, an entire casino opening was resting on her post baby body. The Revel Casino in Atlantic City used a string of Beyonce shows as the centerpiece of its opening weekend, and she did not disappoint. Although, during the first performance, she did make a nod to her sacrifice, “Ya’ll don’t know how hard I had to work,” she told the crowd, “they had me on the treadmill, eating lettuce.”
In the Shape interview, Beyonce reflects on the pressure of the AC shows, saying that sort of timeline is something she would “never do again.”
Beyonce continues, admitting staying trim does not come easily to her. “I’m not a person that is naturally very thin. I am a person that has to work at keeping my body in shape.” Judging from the photos, she has been working pretty hard. It may be time for a celebratory cheeseburger.
In addition to the Shape cover, Beyonce has another reason to celebrate. She has reportedly been tapped to sing at First Lady Michelle Obama’s 50th birthday party next year. Beyonce’s place in the lineup should come as no surprise, given her close relationship with the Obamas and involvement in the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign to combat childhood obesity.
The E! source reveals “America’s first lady will be holding a huge celebrity-packed party for her birthday at the White House next year and, as she adores Adele and Beyoncé, she has asked them both to sing.”
Beyonce also recently wrote a public birthday card to the First Lady for her 49th, gushing “Michelle, thank you so much for every single thing that [you] do for us… I am proud to have my daughter grow up in a world where she has people like you to look up to.”
No doubt, Beyonce will be taking her six pack to the White House next year–hopefully organizers will check the electrical capacity before she arrives.