Eat Right and Exercise for a Bounce Back Body--Or Maybe Not

The uptick in celebrities sharing after-birth photos of their bodies looks like it’s here to stay.

At first, we were mostly treated to photos of the women who snapped back into shape in what seemed like overnight.

People magazine had a photo segment called Body After Baby: Star Moms Who Bounced Right Back. The piece is introduced like this:

Check out Blake Lively, Zoë Saldana, Mila Kunis and more stars flaunting their post-pregnancy figures. There's even one famous mama who hit a red carpet 11 (!) days after giving birth.

 

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP; Stephen Lovekin/Getty

I felt buoyed up by Hilaria Baldwin’s after photo, which shows what many mothers probably recognize—the after-baby-but-still-there-bump.

@HilariaBaldwin/Instagram

Revolutionary! Show your still-there-bump loud and proud!

Yes, there are some women who definitely do return right back to their original figure, but a larger percentage of women never look the same after birth.

After three children, my body has definitely changed.

I photographed my belly after my last birth; I knew it would get better eventually and I’d be able to look back and say, thank goodness.

Hmm, why would I want to save photos of my poor, wrinkly flesh after having been stretched to the limit for nine months and then suddenly deflated? Perhaps as evidence of the  sacrifice I made for my children.

Then today I saw a quote from Baldwin, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

The yoga teacher told the DailyMail: “Giving birth to Carmen made me realize the body does go back to what it was before…If you eat healthy and treat your body well, it will go back to its original state.”

Sorry to burst any bubbles, but—Yes, your body may go back to its original state, but…it probably won’t.

Eating healthy and exercising will obviously give you the best shot at having your body look the way it did before baby, but trust me when I say, that is not necessarily true.

I have still not come to terms with how my belly looks.

I have tried to love it and celebrate it and be proud of it.

I could lie and say I love my belly wrinkles, but I do not.

I don’t know whether to hide it so as to not scare small children or display it as a feminist badge.

All I do know is that I want to love my body just as it is. And I am trying my hardest to get there.