Jessica Simpson Talks Baby Weight: 'My Body Is Not Bouncing Back Like a Supermodel'

Jessica Simpson: 'My Body Is Not Bouncing Back Like a Supermodel'

Jessica Simpson packed on the pounds during her pregnancy with daughter Maxwell Drew, by indulging in whatever she wanted -- a decision that many critics found unacceptable.

Now, four months after giving birth, the 31-year-old singer and Weight Watchers spokeswoman is working hard to shed the baby weight, but she's not having the easiest time.

"I let myself indulge in everything I wanted because it was the first time I was ever pregnant, and I wanted to enjoy it," Simpson told USA Today. "I wanted to be happy and eat what I wanted."

And that's not an understatement. "I had a buttered Pop Tart this morning," Simpson told "Extra" in January. "I'm eating a lot of stuff that I ate in my childhood. Kraft Mac n' Cheese, Pop Tarts, Cap'n Crunch. Everything's filled with sugar."

Ever since Simpson began gaining weight on the (estimated) 98 pound body she literally worked her ass off for to play Daisy Duke in 2005's "The Dukes of Hazzard," she's been a target for critics who snark on her changing physique. It's not easy to gain weight in Hollywood, but this time it seems Simpson is choosing to play dumb, telling USA Today that she "didn't realize it (the weight) didn't all come off with the baby."

When Simpson gave birth on May 1, she instantly lost 9 pounds, 13 ounces, of the 40 pounds she said she gained while pregnant (though others have estimated she gained about 50 to 60 pounds), but that leaves about 30 pounds left to go.

Almost as soon as Simpson announced her pregnancy, came reports she would sign on to become a Weight Watchers spokeswoman, snagging a $3 million contract to lose the pounds. In June, some outlets speculated that Simpson was starting to feel the pressure to meet a 50-pound weight loss goal, but the singer denied the reports:

"Just so everyone knows...Weight Watchers hasn't put ANY pressure on me! I'm trying to be as healthy as I can be for myself and I feel great!" she wrote on Twitter.

Next week, Simpson's first commercial for Weight Watchers hits the airwaves, and not surprisingly she has only glowing things to say about the company. The singer has said they haven't given her a goal or percentage she has to lose -- but it's worth noting that the company considers 117 – 146 pounds to be a healthy range for a 5-foot, 4 inch woman.

"They want me to be healthy. I've lost weight every single week" Simpson told the paper, though she wouldn't reveal exactly how much weight she's lost so far.

Simpson had nine months to indulge and now she's eating less and exercising more. The singer told the paper she's doing 60 minutes of cardio a day, but her breasts have posed a bit of a problem.

"My boobs are way too big to run at this point. I'm just walking," she explained.

Even if Simpson says she isn't feeling pressured to drop the weight, the pressure still exists for moms in Hollywood and the real world.

Celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson recently criticized mothers who "use pregnancy as an excuse to let their bodies go."

Simpson clearly does not want to be one of those women, and told the paper that losing the baby weight is challenging, but important.

"I feel like everybody can do what I am doing. I'm not a supermodel. My body is not bouncing back like a supermodel. I'm just your everyday woman who is trying to feel good and be healthy for her daughter, her fiancé and herself," she explained.

Simpson will reveal her hard work and her post-baby body on Katie Couric's new show, "Katie," on Sept. 10, but it's important to remember that Simpson is a celebrity and not the everyday woman she claims to be.

More magazine editor-in-chief Lesley Jane Seymour recently told "Good Morning America" that women need to remember celebrity moms might drop weight quickly, but they have resources that most people don't.

“[Celebrities] have $40,000 exercising gurus. You’re not being paid for that. That is not your job. They have to get in shape in two weeks because they’ve got to go on the set. That is not the normal human being," she explained.

For more with Jessica Simpson, click over to USA Today.

Malin Akerman

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