Bar Refaeli reveals the secret of her figure

Top Israeli model Bar Refaeli, who strikes a suggestive pose in a string bikini on the cover of 2009's Sports Illustrated swimsuit special, has said she did nothing but eat to prepare for the magazine cover shoot.

"They tell you to eat!" Refaeli told New York Daily News. "Cheeseburgers, ice-cream, whatever — just don't lose weight. Me, I didn't even work out. I ate whatever I wanted. It was the best."

The result showed in the cover photograph, in which the skimpy bikini barely contains her full figure.

Refaeli is the first Israeli model to make it to the cover of the magazine, which will be out on February 11. The magazine is slated to reach a global audience of some 66 million readers and 350 million on the web.

Top models of the Western world vie with one another to be featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated annual swimsuit issue. Refaeli has been featured inside the issue for three years.

When it came to Valentine's Day, however, Refaeli, who was once actor Leonardo DiCaprio's lover, said, "I don't have any specific plans. I will probably be working."