Keke Palmer shares thoughtful advice for fellow new moms: 'Do what you can when you can'

Keke Palmer has always been open about her struggles after becoming a mother. The actor recently shared in an interview with PEOPLE that since she had her first son, Leodis, in February, she has been learning to listen to her body. Palmer also shared a piece of advice for all the new moms who are trying to "bounce back" to their pre-pregnancy weight.

"There's always this thing of, 'How'd they do it?' And I think for me, the main thing I would say to any new mom is to do what you can when you can, whatever it is that makes you feel good," she said.

"If it's important to you, then hell yeah, put in the work miss girl. Get you whatever diet you want to do or whatever workout regimen works for you. And if that's not what you're worried about, then don't worry about it," said Palmer. However, she added that it is essential that each person does what they think is necessary to "feel good."

Sharing her experience from the initial weeks of motherhood, she said, "I didn't want to do nothing. I didn't want to talk to nobody. Then I was like, 'I need to talk to somebody. I need to do something.' Then I was like, 'Now I want to get active.' It changes, so go at your own pace."

Palmer wants new moms to "keep it real" and not "get caught in the hype of it all." "Anytime you see a celebrity doing a snap back or whatever like that, it's part of the damn gig," she explained. "A part of our jobs is to look good and to look the part. So don't think it's this thing where it's like, 'We doing it because we got it like that.' No, the job is on the line. If we want the checks to get signed, we got to be what we got to be."

She also spoke about her health journey and what her prime focus has been. "I've gone on my own personal journey with how I feel about my physical appearance. And I think the main thing I've learned through my experience is to do what makes me feel happy," Palmer shared. "If I feel like I need to hold it back and I need to do a little bit more work, or [if] I want to feel better about myself, I just do it."

She continued, "Other times I'm like, 'Yo, pull up in the drive-through. I want the number five, large.' You know what I mean? I do what I feel when I need to because sometimes taking it easy, that is what you need."

The actor posted a video on Instagram on April 7 celebrating the body she got after having her child. Palmer told her fans that her skin has improved since the birth of her son, Leodis Andrellton Jackson. “Body down!” she said as she moved her chest and admired her curves. “Get into it.” She captioned the post, "Hips? NEVER HAD EM’! Boobs? Never had em’! Booty? BARELY. Thanks, son."

Besides motherhood, Palmer is looking forward to releasing her new album, "Big Boss" and an accompanying visual film on KeyTV with the same name.