Blake Lively is proud of herself for getting off the couch
Actor and mum-of-two Blake Lively has taken to Instagram to reveal she’s worked very hard to get her body back to Hollywood-approved shape.
The struggle was real
Blake’s job requires her to be form-fit and sample-sized, and she says it took her fourteen months of hard work to get into optimal shape, after the birth of her daughter Ines. Now that she’s achieved her goal, she says she’s feeling “very proud”.
Blake shared her “after shot” and joked that it took her a while to get motivated because she’d been quite busy scrolling through Instagram in those early days, postpartum.
“Turns out you can’t lose the 61 lbs (27.6 kg) you gained during pregnancy by just scrolling through Instragram and wondering why you don’t look like all the bikini models,” Blake posted. “Thanks @donsaladino for kickin’ my A double S into shape. 10 months to gain, 14 months to lose. Feeling very proud.”
Hollywood pressure
Blake – who is mum to one-year-old Ines and three-year-old James – obviously has nannies, maybe a chef and definitely a personal trainer at her disposal, so she’s way ahead of many regular mums in terms of creating time and mobilising support.
While most new mums aren’t under the kind of scrutiny Blake is – thanks to her acting career and the unfair pressure for women to look a certain way on screen – many will relate to her post. The goal of feeling comfortable in your own skin postpartum, after your body has managed the amazing feat of growing and birthing a human, is a fairly universal one.
Happy, strong, healthy
We like that Blake spoke out about it taking 14 months of gruelling work with her trainer for her to achieve the transformation she wanted. Very often we’re hearing that dreaded “bounce back” term thrown alongside unhelpful suggestions that women should look like they were never pregnant, days or weeks after giving birth.
It’s a great idea to focus on happy and strong and healthy – rather than a particular body size or shape. For many women, their body will never be the way it was before they gave birth, because pregnancy brings all kinds of physical (and mental) changes.
Growing a human being and delivering it into the world is a truly epic achievement, no matter how long it takes to make peace with your body again.
If it takes you 14 years – instead of 14 months (or even longer) postpartum – to feel proud of your body, remember what an amazing thing it’s already achieved.
Maybe you can start feeling proud of yourself right this second!? Without firming up a single muscle?! Maybe you already do?
