No witchcraft here! Seven months after giving birth to daughter Everly, Witches of East End star Jenna Dewan Tatum is looking hotter than ever and showing off her incredible post-baby body on the cover of Us Weekly. Her secret to those washboard abs and toned legs? Good old-fashioned hard work.
In this exclusive behind-the-scenes video from her photo shoot for Us, the 33-year-old actress proudly struts her stuff in a series of sexy outfits, from a bikini top and cutoffs to a second-skin red dress. She has more than reclaimed her pre-pregnancy size-0 figure — but it didn’t happen overnight.
After giving birth on May 31, 2013, the former backup dancer had six weeks to get in shape before heading to Vancouver to film her new Lifetime TV show. “I wasn’t one of those girls who’s obsessed with losing the weight, but that was a pretty good motivator!” she told Us Weekly‘s Jennifer Peros. “I thought, I’ve got to fit in the clothes I wore before!”
Fortunately, the new mom had stayed active throughout her pregnancy. “I wanted to keep the muscles alive,” she explained to Us. “Plus, I felt so much better. Working out kept me sane. I would feel a burst of energy and all my hormones would regulate.”
Even during her third trimester, Dewan Tatum did yoga regularly and walked all over London, where her husband, Channing Tatum, was filming Jupiter Ascending. And though she indulged occasionally in fries — her “Kryptonite,” she says — she tried to keep her diet on track, too.
“I think a lot of women find out they’re pregnant and are like, ‘Let’s go crazy and eat ice cream every day!'” the longtime vegetarian told Us. “To me, it was, ‘I’m growing a human being, and I want to give this little soul the best nutrition I can.'”
Once she gave birth, her focus was on spending time with her new daughter. But she found ways to combine that with exercise. “When I’m rocking Everly to sleep, I do lunges across the nursery, squats, or calf raises,” the Step Up actress revealed. “Suddenly 45 minutes have gone by, she’s asleep, and I got a little workout!”
