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Post-"Bump" Celebs a Bummer for the Rest of Us
I'm not sure who started this trend, but over the past few years it seems that we have all become celebrity baby crazy. Absolutely bonkers. Forget when their next blockbuster debuts, we're more obsessed with when they're going to give birth, what sort of designer clothes will be in their layette, and of course, what the name of the little tyke will be. While we wait for the latest cover shot of the uber-famous newborns and their perfect parents, the reality for most moms is that the post-baby body isn't always what we hope it would be. Most every mom I know has struggled with losing pregnancy weight, not to mention coming to terms with fun stuff like stretch marks or that little pouch of belly that never seems to go away. I know you know what I'm talking about. Even though these issues (and the feelings that swirl around them) are common and normal, all of the public hype around celebrity pregnancies and the quick recovery of their superstar bodies may be creating an even bigger perception of not measuring up.
Post-pregnancy body image and losing the baby weight is a big topic in the iVillage community. rachnriley from the June 2008 Playgroup likely speaks for many new moms when she writes:
"Obviously, I am not exercising and I am eating too much and not the right things. So, it's not that I don't know why, it's just depressing because I know I won't be doing anything about it for awhile! With three kids and trying to work part time, I am just tired and hungry and don't have the mental capacity to try to either exercise or eat better."
As someone who works in front of a camera, nervous1sttimer2007 offers her fears:
"I really will have to lose this weight before I go back to work, though. I'm a television reporter, and my bosses will freak. I'm serious -- one of my colleagues came back overweight after pregnancy, and viewers actually called to chastise her about her weight gain! Seriously -- they'd tell her she needed to lose a lot of weight, and ask her how "she could have let herself go" so much. It's horrifying, so I feel a lot of pressure."
Member newlamom is close to the Hollywood action in Los Angeles and sounds off on the unrealistic expectations celeb moms and the media are putting forth. ...
"I am also super bothered by the 'hot celebrity mom' thing. I mean, hello - you have the kid, barely gain any weight, and then hire nannies, personal trainers, chefs, etc. to take care of you and the baby and they look AWESOME in like 4 weeks. It makes me want to puke considering I work full time, my DH works full time, we both try to work out, and I still have 7 pounds of pregnancy weight to lose, and 15 pounds total. I guess I would be skinny too if I had 4 hours a day to work out and someone cooking my meals."
Fed up with the constant coverage, folkloremom agrees, but thinks there is a price to pay:
"... it seems like stories about how fast celebs lose their baby weight are all over the place these days. And I do find it annoying! I mean, if I had a personal trainer, 24/7 nanny, and personal chef, I could probably do it, too. But then I wouldn't have the life I love and would give up privacy, etc."
Most in the community agree that without the perks of being ultra-rich, it's often unrealistic -- and possibly dangerous -- to expect new moms to snap right back into shape. cl-ikat04 gives her opinion on our Closely-Spaced Siblings board:
"I think expecting moms to be in tip-top shape weeks after having a baby is absolutely ridiculous. Seriously! Now, if I had 24 hour baby care, a personal chef who planned and prepared deliciously healthy meals for me as well as a personal trainer every single day (not to mention a personal assistant or two) ... then MAYBE it would be possible. But even if I had all of those things, is it really even physically healthy to do that much exercise and/or dieting right after having a baby?"
Recently the Today Show reported on how post-partum celebs are bouncing back so fast. Not everyone was buying it, though. Our moms on the Pregnant After a Loss message board didn't feel like this held any resemblance to reality:
"If I had a personal trainer, millions of dollars, a chef, and a nanny, I'd have a flat stomach too! But in the real world - it takes a lot more than what they make it look like! It's SO irritating! I've heard of some celebrities getting tummy tucks during their c-sections. I wonder if that's real... but still - I wish I was a celebrity so I could be a size 0, five days after giving birth!!"
cl-azow from our Post-Baby Weight Loss community isn't letting the celebrity hype get to her ... but is feeling pressure of a different sort:
"It does not bother me at all. If I were a celebrity (or just rich) I could hire the people to make me look like that too. It bothers me a lot more to see my friends and other moms I know IN REAL LIFE drop all their baby weight in a few months. They are real women just like I am, and they look GREAT and fit while I am struggling to lose weight."
On the First Time Moms board nadias_mom isn't taking it personally either, and says maturity has given her additional perspective:
"For me, I don't think it affects how I feel about my weight. I know it will take a while to get rid of it since I don't have a personal trainer, dietician, cook, etc. on staff. I do think it sets up ridiculous expectations of what women should look like right after having a baby, though. I think if I were younger, I might feel more pressure, but being older, I have gained some perspective."
Finally, flmegs2007 from the October 2007 Playgroup echoes the sentiments of others, but is finding a bit of humor in it all:
"I know that all of these celebrity women get right back on the treadmill and do the pilates for hours a day to get back into shape, but how do they come away without the stretch marks and the flapjack boobs? Some women have great skin, but do ALL celebs? There are just so few celebs who look to have the typical post-pregnancy bodies."
She goes on to share a fantasy (and my favorite quote so far):
"What I really want is for People magazine to report whether they pee when they sneeze. If that still happens to celebs, then I would feel a little better."
Just imagine those headlines.
What do you think about the obsession with celebrity pregnancies and their post-baby bodies? Just good gossip fodder or more unrealistic images set forth by the media? Have you struggled with losing baby weight or body image issues? How are you getting through it? Share your thoughts with us here!
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Healthy eating and exercising my rear end! It's common knowledge that most of the celebrities have C sections with their plastic surgeon standing there to do tummy tucks. I can't believe that everyone is buying into the super human celebrity thing!
I'm sick and tired of how the cult of celebrity is used to make women feel badly about themselves. I pity the celebs who feel that after having a baby they need to be a size 0 and I am sick of all the incredible, beautiful, strong, gorgeous, intelligent women in the world who allow their self worth to be measured against these celluloid fantasies.
Look, it took you nine months to get to that size, let's be reasonable and give ourselves a minimum of 18 months to lose it. After all, now you're dealing with being a new mom, working(all women work, period)dealing with hormonal issues and dealing with your significant others. I know men who still haven't lost the grief weight they gained since their sports team lost the national championship TWENTY years ago.
Ladies, the next time you find yourself looking in envy at a new celebrity mom, let me remind you about an old celebrity mom, Joan Crawford.
Forget cake, let ladies eat period.
Seriously, you cannot expect to "eat for two" your entire pregnancy, eating junk and not exercising and expect your body to just pop back into your post-pregnancy shape. But if you eat healthy and stay active your entire pregnancy, you can come out looking just like the celebrities do. I did and proud of it! And my daughter was born as healthy as can be.
You Just Gotta Want It and Do It!
I have 3 kids and have a flat stomach no I didnt excersice all I did was wear a girdle for 4 weeks after having my babies and It put everything back in its place. I wish I could send you Pictures. Anyways women from other countries do this and they drink up to 4 cups of hot tea every day to get rid of the retained water. I lost all my pregnancy weight after just 2 weeks doing this without having to starve myself. Dont drink anything cold no soda and no fast food. Eat lots of veggies, protein, and white rice and trust me all you women out there you will lose all that weight. Even if you had your baby months ago its not to late. If you need more info on this email me banuelos23m@yahoo.com I will show you everything that was shown to me to lose all the weight. Its easier than you think. I have not set foot in a gym.
I'm one of those mom's who lost her baby weight in two weeks...During my pregnancy I ate 6 small, healthy meals a day, walked constantly and drank tons of water (I refuse to "eat for two"). Now, with that being said...yes I did lose the weight and I did fit back into my clothes after 2 weeks, but I do not have the same body I had before I was pregnant. My stomach is NO WHERE near where it was before, and my boobs....well we'll just leave those alone. So I understand how some celebs do it, but I'm wondering how in the hell they get their stomachs back like that? It's been almost 4 years and thousands of crunches later and mine's still all poochy.
i like the website The Shape of a Mother. It shows photos of real women who are pregnant or have recently given birth. it makes you feel better and more normal.
http://theshapeofamother.com/
i'm six months pregnant and i'm terrified of having horrible stretch marks and having a sagging stomach that is impossible to get rid of i no i'm going to try to dedicate at least 30 minutes to workout everyday but i can say that now but what's really gonna happen after i have my little boy i'm up and down about this subject but it's hard seeing your husbands perfect body and you know yours isn't going to be so perfect that's the hardest thing for me
I didn't have a personal trainer, chef, i have never even left my child with a babysitter and I lost all of the baby weight within 12 weeks. I think it really depends on the shape you are in before you get pregnant, while you are pregnant, and how well you eat afterwards. It's not fair to chastise those who are able to quickly lose the weight, just as it is not fair to chastise those who struggle to lose the weight.
I agree that the only reason celebrities can attain perfect bodies so soon after giving birth is because they have a host of people to help them (i.e. personal trainers, chefs, assistants, etc.)
However, do women honestly think that they will be able to be a size 0 after pregnancy, when they were't even a size 0 before pregnancy?? You will only be as fit and healthy as you were before you had your baby. If you didn't look like a celebrity before that, you aren't going to now either.
Celebrities do receive a lot of help at getting their bodies back, but it probably wasn't that hard for them, because most of them were already thin and in shape to begin with.
I gave birth on September 6, 2008 and I thought I was going to have to struggle too, mainly because in my family all women after they give birth stayed big, on both sides. Well, a week later I found that I fit into all my pre-pregnancy clothes. However, I do have the flapjack boobs and hate it...Overall, now 11 months later I'm smaller than I have ever been. Growing up I wore a size 9 to 11, depending on the brand of jeans. I had talked to the doctor about my rapid weight loss, cause it wasn't healthy and I was underweight again. He told me to add more protein into my everyday meals and my weight has evened out, but I still seem to be getting smaller and I found out a few days ago that I'm now a size 5. (Which I never have been before, even in high school.) I know people are jealous about losing the pregnancy weight, but I actually wish I had some of it back because I'm TOO small now and it scares me. Sure, I was underweight when I found I was pregnant, but this weight loss is wrong on so many levels. Trust me, losing the weight isn't all is cracked up to be...It can be very scary and worrisome.
I think it's depressing for normal people to be compared to celebrity moms. I can't forget the image of Sarah Jessica Parker with her 6 pack abbs less tha 6 month of birth. Even if we know that it's not the norm, but it raises the bar for everyone, and it's not fair.
I am not a celebrity and I work full time. When I went to my doctor for my 6 week checkup after having my last son, I weighed less then I did pre-pregnancy. My "secret" is that I really watched what I ate and I walked my new baby 4 - 5 times a week for one hour in the evenings. I was physically fit before I had my children and I continue to work out regularly. I'm 5' 6" and after three children, I weigh a healthy 128 lbs and am proud to be a size 4. Having children is not an excuse to become unfit; we all have control over our body and what we are eating. No, I don't have a personal chef but I couldn't even tell you the last time I ate a large order of fries. It's all about common sense and taking care of yourself!
I don't pay attention to celebrities and could care less how much they weigh, or what their waist size is.
erika, thats just silly. a size 9 and a size 5 is far from being too skinny. unless of course you are HUGE BONED.
I also droppped my weight right off after my pregnancies, all 4 of them...and in fact got thinner after my pregnancies than any time. It was strange. because every pound shows on me, Im small boned and used to being in a size 0 to 1 or 2/3 and I have fibromyalgia and perncious anemia and the DR put me on meds to gain and i am in a size 5/6 to 7/8 and it makes me look bigger. WHY?? body structure!!!
on me that size is big. so you cant go by size ..
Also they seem to be making clothe sizes much bigger these days. i dunno, to pacify women? lol
What you should go by is how you feel, not the scale or size of the clothes.
best wishes.
to those trying to melt off the weight.
When you get up in the morning DRINK CoFFEE. or TEA. exercise or at least do someTHing, like stick clothes in the wash, etc. DONT lay back down on the couch for about an hour stay busy, getting your kids meals ready, etc. This is a very crucial point in losing that baby weight!!!! and the coffee speeds metabolism and reduces your appetite.
After about 45 minutes to an hour feel free to lay down, just dont pile the couch hi with snacks
ANOTHER thing: ITS OKAY to have your house a little hotter. DONT crank the air up!!! SERIOUSLY, women, If you will keep your air conditioning to a minimum you not only save weight but save fat from your tummy!!!