From her days in Destiny’s Child to her breakout moment as a solo powerhouse, Beyoncé Knowles is literally blowing minds everywhere. She’s now a wife, mother, and owner of her own activewear line, and the flawless Queen Bey shows no signs of stepping down from her throne any time soon. She continues to command the world’s attention with jaw-dropping performances and chart-topping albums (let’s talk about Lemonade) — all with the eternal support of her devoted “hive,” so we have to wonder: What fuels Sasha Fierce?
Beyoncé has had her share of memorable food and drink moments, and she even boosted Red Lobster sales with a single reference in her song “Formation.” But we really want to know what Bey eats on an average day. Though she’s become increasingly more private about her life at home, she’s shared several details over the years about the diet that allows her to maintain that killer bod, plus her favorite cheat-day eats.
Beyoncé broke down her daily meals for Shape: “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.” Totally doable, right?
Beyoncé has an enviable combination of toned muscles and killer curves, but when she says, “I woke up like this,” she’s not talking about her figure. “I’m not a naturally thin person. I have to work for it,” she told Shape in a 2013 interview. Though she didn’t use calorie counting as a tool, she definitely kept goals in mind when it came to eating and exercising.
“I was at my ideal weight while working on my ‘Crazy in Love’ video… Whenever I want to amazing shape, that’s the body size I aim for.”As a triple threat, Beyoncé has had to tweak her weight for tours and on-screen roles. As she prepared to play back-up singer Deena Jones in Dream girls back in 2006, she was put under pressure to drop 20 pounds.
During an appearance on Oprah, she confessed that her weight-loss process wasn’t the healthiest. “I wanted to lose weight and make a physical transformation. And it was difficult because I love food. I love to eat,” she said. “I did a fast, a master cleanser for 14 days. Everybody was eating Krispy Kreme around me.” Yep, even Beyoncé gets hungry sometimes, and in hindsight, she’s said she wouldn’t recommend that approach. Beyoncé works hard and definitely deserves to play hard, so she makes a point of going easy on the diet regularly. “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 told Shape. Want to order your ‘za like the Queen herself? Ask for extra tomato sauce and jalapeños (even though her hubby Jay-Z judges her for it).In 2013, Bey and Jay both jumped on board with celebrity trainer Marco Borges’ 22 Days Nutrition program. She helped promote the book and meal delivery service to go along with the plan, which includes 22 days of plant-based meals.
The power couple eliminated processed foods and upped their servings of leafy greens, fresh berries, and other healthy items like vegan pizza. And Beyoncé apparently loved the results. During a Good Morning America appearance, she said, “I felt like my skin was really firm; a lot tighter when I deprived myself of food. And the weight stayed off.