Blake Lively recently posted a photograph showing off her post-baby body. But refreshingly, there was no humble bragging here: Blake used her post to get real about how she did it the healthy way.
Uploading a picture of herself in a crop top and gym leggings alongside personal trainer Don Saldino, the Gossip Girl actress appears to have reverted to her toned self almost a-year-and-a-half after having her second daughter, Ines, back in September 2016.
‘Turns out you can’t lose the 61lbs [27 kgs] you gained during pregnancy by just scrolling through Instragram and wondering why you don’t look like all the bikini models,’ she wrote, being her usual humorous self.
‘Thanks @donsaladino for kickin my A double S into shape. 10 months to gain, 14 months to lose. Feeling very proud 💪😁💪,’ the mother of two added.
And trainer Don also posted a picture of Blake’s hard work to his own Instagram account.
‘Couldn’t be more proud,’ he wrote, adding: ‘Doesn’t she look awesome?’
What’s so great about Blake’s post is that she’s been honest about how she didn’t just ‘snap back into shape’ post-baby.
With all the pressure for women to revert to their pre-pregnancy body, it’s an important reminder that it takes work to look anything like you did before you grew a human child inside you for the best part of a year.
After having her first child with husband Ryan Reynolds, Blake was required to lose her baby weight more urgently due to filming commitments for The Shallows, where she had to wear a bikini for mostof the movie. But she was refreshingly truthful about how she managed that.
‘It took two different trainers and a nutritionist to help me get into that sort of shape because it’s not normal to look like that eight months after having a kid,’ she told The Sun at the time.
‘Women put pressure on themselves to look like a Victoria’s Secret model after having a baby. It’s absolutely absurd. It was my job to look that way,’ she continued.
This time round, however, it was different. Blake could spend time ensuring she lost the weight in a way that was healthy and right for her. And so that’s what she did. As her post reveals, Blake spent fourteen months training with Don, and her results are well-deserved.
So let’s hope this serves as a reminder to any new mums who look in the mirror and feel less-than-confident about their bodies: nobody is expecting miracles. Nobody is actually expecting anything. So take your time, and if you choose to lose the weight then do it in a way that’s safe, healthy, and right for you.
