In Homecoming, Beyoncé opened up about the epic journey she underwent to prepare for her historic Coachella 2018 performance 10 months after giving birth to twins via emergency C-section. While she made many sacrifices in preparing for the show, it became clear that one of the most extreme was in her restrictive diet.
“In order for me to meet my goals, I’m limiting myself to no bread, no carbs, no sugar, no dairy, no meat, no fish, no alcohol,” she said in the documentary, which began streaming on Netflix on Wednesday, April 17. “I’m hungry.”
In the past, she and her husband, Jay-Z — who share children Blue Ivy, 7, and twins Rumi and Sir, now 22 months — challenged fans to go vegan in the forward for nutritionist Marco Borges’ book, The Greenprint: Plant-Based Diet, Best Body, Better World.
While following her strict pre-Coachella meal plan, the 37-year-old star was also undertaking a fitness regimen, doing her beloved SoulCycle, working with a trainer and going through dance routines.
The Grammy winner had a long way to go in order to be physically prepared for her show. “I was 218 pounds the day I gave birth,” she shared. “I had to rebuild my body from cut muscles. What people don’t see is the sacrifice.”
“Just trying to figure out how to balance being a mother of a six-year-old and of twins that need me, and giving myself creativity and physically, there’s a lot to juggle,” she continued. “It’s not like before when I could rehearse 15 hours straight. I have children. I have a husband. I have to take care of my body.”
However, the Lemonade creator revealed she now realizes it was too much on her body. “I definitely pushed myself further than I knew I could and I’ve learned a very valuable lesson,” she said. “I will never, never push myself that far again.”
She continued, “I feel like I’m just a new woman in a new chapter of my life and I’m not even trying to be who I was. It’s just so beautiful that children do that to you.”
