Snooki reveals 1,300 calories a day diet which helped her lose 42 lbs after giving birth

Snooki has revealed the secrets of her weight loss success, which led to the pint-sized reality star shedding 42 pounds after giving birth to her first baby Lorenzo just six months ago.

Snooki, 25, shows off the impressive results on the cover of Us Weekly, by slipping her newly svelte figure into a leopard print halterneck bikini.

The reality star says after initially losing weight from breastfeeding two months after Lorenzo was born, she began a 1,300 calorie a day diet and four day a week workout regime with her personal trainer.

Snooki says that while she wanted to slim down for herself, she also wanted to show her fiancé Jionni LaValle that she could still “be hot as a mom”.

“I lost the first 20 [pounds] in two months, just from breastfeeding. And then right when I was able to work out – after six weeks – I went into the gym with a new trainer Anthony Michael,” she explains.

“I was so excited because I hadn’t worked out in six months. When I go there, I was like <<Let’s do this!>>.”

Snooki, who is currently living in New Jersey with Jionni LaValle in his parent’s basement, says snapping back into her fitness regime wasn’t as hard as she thought it was despite having a long break whilst she was pregnant.

“I don’t like doing legs – that’s the worst. But I like when he works my arms. Now, when I hold Lorenzo, you can see my arm muscles. I’ve been trying go every day, but it’s usually four days a week,” Snooki explains.

“I feel great. I have a lot energy because I work out so much and the endorphins put me in a good mood. And when you’re skinnier, you feel so much better about yourself.”

Snooki admits that during the final stages of her pregnancy she gorged herself with junk food in preparation for the diet she would be embarking on following Lorenzo’s arrived.

“The last three months of my pregnancy, I was like <<F*** it, I’ll eat what I want>>. So I ate everything: brownies, cookies, pasta and a lot of cheese,” she explains.

“But when I started working with Anthony, he put me on his Express Home Meals. I eat things like a burger wrapped in lettuce or a salad with strawberries and chicken.”

Snooki, who became notorious for her hard partying ways during her stint on her hit show Jersey Shore, has spoken out several times about turning over a new leaf when it comes to her wild ways.

The Jersey Shore star, who was once arrested for drunk and disorderly behavior, says these days she doesn’t “need to drink to have fun”.

“When you have a baby everything changes,” she explains.

“Instead of wanting to go out all the time to drink, I just want to stay at home and be with the baby.”