“Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” diva Beyoncé Knowles has a unique weight-loss method: the 27-year-old singer/actress buys clothes that are too small for her, in order to keep herself motivated when it comes to losing weight.

Famous for her curvaceous figure, the wife of hip-hop mogul Jay-Z says she needs a lot of motivation when it comes to staying fit. “I buy something too small and then say, ‘I have a reason,’” she explains. “I need to wear these jeans or this hot dress.” Beyoncé also has a painting in her gym featuring an Academy Award – her dream award – to keep her going. “I look at it, and I’m like, ‘OK, I have to stay in shape,’” she says.

Beyoncé also says she wasn’t happy when she had to lose five kilos to play Deena Jones in the film Dreamgirls.

“I felt very chic, like a model,” she admits. “But it didn’t look natural for me. I didn’t feel very sexy or feminine, and I didn’t have much confidence because I didn’t feel like myself.”