Kaley Cuoco covers the new issue of Shape Magazine. It’s a cute/sexy cover and she honestly looks really good here. Like, there’s been some discussion of whether she has a resting bitchface (RBF), but I don’t think she has RBF. I think she has resting Smugface, much like Natalie Dormer. Their default expression is set to “haughty.” In any case, Shape effectively tamped down the smug. Good for them. Plus, Kaley’s hair has finally grown out of that really awkward, unflattering stage. She looks worlds better. In the interview with Shape, Kaley chats about how hard she works on her body, her diet, and how six pounds = one jeans size? Some highlights:

Working hard on her body: “I’ve never worked so hard to look good for something in my entire career. But I didn’t starve or kill myself with exercise. I went slowly, and it paid off.”

Learning what works for her: “It took years for me to figure out what my body needs and that what works for my friends doesn’t necessarily work for me. Doing yoga five times a week has transformed my body. I love being toned and having muscle; it’s so sexy and beautiful. And I owe it 100 percent to yoga. I go to a place called CorePower Yoga. One morning I’ll take the Hot Power Fusion class, which is an amazing calorie burner. Or I’ll take a Yoga Sculpt class, where we wear three-pound weights during yoga moves. The sculpt classes include 20 seconds of mountain climbing or jumping jacks between the poses, so I get cardio, too.”

Being 29, learning how to eat: “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve had to change my food intake. My husband, Ryan eats so much. When we first got married, it was so much fun to eat like him. We got into this habit we called the bedtime snack. The drawers next to the bed were filled with candy. Eventually, I realized it was mindless eating. I was just doing it because he was doing it, and it was adding hundreds of calories I didn’t even think about. So I cut that out. Our refrigerator and pantry have completely changed, because we don’t eat crap anymore. No more soda, chips, cereal; we had boxes of stuff that only a 4-year-old would eat.”

On the importance of cheat days: “I have to have a cheat day. I know when I’m being good all week long that come Sunday, I’m going to lie by the pool, have a drink, and eat some pizza. Then I wake up on Monday morning and I’m all ready to start the week again. I’m just going to be in a bad mood all the time if there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.”

On the personal payoff: “It doesn’t sound like a lot, but I lost six pounds in the last three months. That’s a whole jeans size, and we all know how good that feels! I’m the type of girl who’s always had to buy jeans in three sizes because I never know what my body is going to do from one day to the next. Everything, from the inside out, has completely changed for me. And now, when I look into the mirror and see the positive changes, I don’t want to go back to what I was doing. Especially when my husband is like, ‘You look amazing!’”

[From Shape]

Is six pounds really a difference in jeans size? Really? Wouldn’t it depend more of the brand and how the brand sizes? Like, if we’re going by Kardashian Rules, I could see how Kaley losing six pounds would drop her down to a size 2… in Kardashian vanity sizing. Anyway, Kaley does work hard, and we know that because she’s constantly getting pap’d outside the gym. She really does go and she really does the work. If I did that much yoga though… I would lose my mind. Different strokes, etc.

Here are some pics of Kaley and her husband at the Beverly Hilton 60th ‘Diamond’ Anniversary Celebration several weeks ago. She looks like she’s wearing a Mrs. Roper costume.

Photos courtesy of WENN, cover courtesy of Shape.