Beyonce: 'Women put too much emphasis on looks'

Beyonce has talked about the pressure to look good and says her mother, Tina Knowles, and her stylists let her know when she needs to cut down on her eating.

The singer said she runs around two and-a-half miles every day, but discussed the monotony of dieting with Cosmopolitan magazine.

She was asked if anyone has ever told her to eat less.

“My stylists mention it when the clothes aren’t fitting any more!” she said. And my mum tells me, yeah... I go through phases.

“Right now I’m eating veg and drinking water... it’s boring. Usually when I get 5-8lb heavier than my ideal weight, I’ll start eating healthily and make an effort to exercise more.”

She continued: “At the moment if I snack it’ll be fruit. Or I have these yoghurt-covered almonds.

“But this is when I’m being good. When I’m being bad, I’m bad. All the way. Burgers, pizzas, French fries, the lot...”

Speaking about exercise, Beyonce said: “When I was in my best shape I got up at 6am, so I’m trying to do that again – but I’m not there yet... I do a lot of things with my trainer, but I don’t enjoy working out.”

Beyonce’s figure may be the envy of women around the world, but there are parts of her body she would like to change.

“I wish my arms and thighs were tighter, and I wish my feet were different,” she told the magazine.

“I used to love them until I started dancing around in stilettos... (and) my ears are pointy.”

On why women give themselves such a hard time, she said: “I think it’s tough being a woman – we’re so critical of each other and we put too much emphasis on the way we look.

“We accept men, but we’re not as forgiving with ourselves.”

The singer, who tied the knot with hip hop hero Jay-Z last April, explained why she removes her wedding ring for interviews.

She said: “I usually take it off for interviews because I don’t want anyone to write about it.

“There’s a tattoo underneath (the ring)... It’s of the number four, but the significance is private – it’s between me and my guy.”

Asked if motherhood was on the cards, she said: “I do eventually want all of that (children) but I’ve seen the reality of having a kid through my nephew, Jules, and I know I’m not ready for it!

“Although, you know, if something happened ... People always say when it’s your kid it’s different.”

She said her career could have been completely different.

“I probably would have been a psychologist – I love talking and listening to people, and understanding why they do certain things, especially in relationships. Even with myself I analyse things like: ’Why did I do that?’ or: ’Why do I like that.”’

R&B legend Etta James recently slammed Beyonce for singing “her song” at Barack Obama’s inauguration.

During a show at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre, the 71-year-old singer told the audience “I can’t stand Beyonce”, adding: “She gonna get her ass whopped”.

The tirade follows Beyonce’s rendition of 'At Last' at an inauguration ball following the swearing-in of the US president. The song had originally been a hit for James in 1961.

:: The full interview with Beyonce appears in the March issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, on sale on Monday.