Jessica Simpson shows off little Maxwell and her post-baby weight loss on Katie Couric show

Jessica Simpson showed off little Maxwell’s first swimsuit yesterday as she shared a photo of the adorable four-month-old on Katie Couric’s new chatshow.

Jessica Simpson herself kept her clothes firmly on as she made her much-hyped appearance as the very first guest on Katie.

The 32-year-old singer wore a slimming black peplum Roland Mouret dress as she revealed she had lost 40 lbs since Maxwell’s birth on May 1.

Talking to Katie Couric in her first big TV interview since becoming a mother, Jessica Simpson admitted she didn’t realize how hard it would be to lose her baby weight.

“During pregnancy, I didn’t really think about it,” she said about her weight gain.

“I thought my doctors were telling me that it was just a lot of water and whenever my water broke my whole entire stomach would go down but that did not happen.

“All the weight did not come out with the baby.”

Jessica Simpson showed off little Maxwell's first swimsuit yesterday as she shared a photo of the adorable four-month-old on Katie Couric's new chatshow

Now Jessica Simpson says she is 10 lbs away from her goal weight, and she’s using her daughter to get there.

“I basically take her with me, whether it’s strapping her on me or strolling around the neighborhood,” she said.

“My new goal is 14,000 steps a day.”

Jessica Simpson is breast feeding Maxwell, and said that sugar cravings had been an obstacle in her weight loss.

“I feel like what made me eat more is my hormones and breastfeeding,” she confided in Katie Couric.

“I’ve never wanted chocolate more in my life. I’ve had to really stay focused and focus on my diet and concentrate on what I’m putting in my body.”

Jessica Simpson says she is 10 lbs away from her goal weight

But unlike most new mothers Jessica Simpson is been paid a heady amount to shed her weight.

Jessica Simpson, who tipped the scales at more than 170 lbs during her pregnancy, is following Weight Watchers after signing a deal rumored to be worth $4 million.

She said the programme was working for her.

“You have to track every bit, and you can’t get away with the bites because they add up,” she said.

“You have to be completely honest with yourself, and I think just creating that relationship of honesty with yourself is so good.”

And she said appearing on the show had been driving her weight loss.

“I’ve just had a lot of pressure on me and today was actually one of my goals,” she said.

“Getting here in a comfortable and beautiful dress.”

With the eyes of the world on her, Jessica Simpson also said her weight loss had been somewhat stressful.

“I’ve been pregnant for three years,” she joked.

“I definitely don’t Google my name.

“I try to avoid it completely. But I still subconsciously know that the talk is going on so I think that every day that is a struggle for me.”

“I understand that it sells magazines and stuff. But I wish I could get a cut,” she said.

And she added: “There is a lot of pressure to lose weight. But I want to be healthy for my daughter.”

Talking about her fiancé, Eric Johnson, Jessica Simpson admitted that the couple had yet to set a date to walk down the aisle.

But she said of the American football player: “He’s the best dad. Even my dad says that. He changes every diaper.”

Both Eric and Maxwell Johnson accompanied her to New York from their LA home for the interview.

“She had her first flight yesterday,” Jessica Simpson said of Maxwell.

“She did not sleep. She slept the last hour but she didn’t cry.”

Jessica Simpson said that having her daughter had transformed her life.

“Motherhood is a dream it really is absolutely amazing,” she said.

“My life is very different now.”

Despite her weight loss, Jessica Simpson admitted she was worried about her appearance.

“I almost peed my pants, I’m very nervous,” she told Katie Couric.

She wasn’t the only one.

Katie Couric herself told her audience: “I feel like it’s the first day of school. It’s so nice to be here. I am so thrilled today to finally be here.”

She had plenty of support – her daughters, aged 16 and 21, were in the audience.