Jada Pinkett Smith: The Secret Behind Her Sensational Body

"Food is the biggest obstacle for most of us to get to the body that we want," the actress tells PEOPLE

Photo: Karwai Tang/Wireimage

Jada Pinkett Smith stands out as one of the few females in Magic Mike XXL – but one thing she has in common with her dreamy male cast: her amazing body!

She revealed to PEOPLE her best advice for getting in killer shape and keeping the body that you want.

“We really have to understand our relationship with food,” said the 43-year-old mother of two.

“We talk about diet a lot, we talk about exercise a lot, but what we don’t talk about is our individual relationships with food,” Pinkett Smith continued. “Food is the biggest obstacle for most of us to get to the body that we want.”

While hitting the gym and keeping a workout routine is essential for staying in shape, she says that it has to start in the kitchen and understanding how food affects your body.

“We start eating because we want our muscles more toned, that’s more proteins – or eating because you want to have more energy, that means more vegetables,” she explains. “Your whole body will change.”

Pinkett Smith, soon to be 44, is adamant on not letting her age hold her back. She even says she loves herself more now than she did in her 20s.

RELATED VIDEO: Watch: Jada Pinkett Smith Sounds off on Thongs and the Kardashians

“When I look at myself in the mirror, and I see the well-written up woman that I am, I am damn proud,” she said. “I think I’m more beautiful now than I’ve ever been.”

If this was the trick she used to get ready for her role as Rome, the strip club owner in Magic Mike XXL, it definitely worked. No wonder she still likes to rock a thong on the beach every now and then!

Check out Pinkett Smith as she flaunts her figure in the film – out now.

• Reporting by JENNIFER GARCIA