Every few weeks, another new celebrity mom appears on the red carpet and helps to set a dangerous standard for postpartum weight loss. Whether it’s Heidi Klum modeling for the Victoria’s Secret fashion show weeks after giving birth, or Claire Danes showing off her toned physique on the red carpet one month postpartum, it’s easy for new moms to feel some anxiety about how quickly they are taking off the baby weight. But here are five reasons why you shouldn’t compare yourself to these new celebrity moms!
- A celebrity may have various qualities such as drive, talent, and focus. But many of them have another attribute in common: they are beautiful and they are thin. In order to score the screen tests, auditions, and roles that make them famous, celebrities must adhere to a nearly impossible standard that usually combines a small build with natural tone and a high metabolism. A woman who is genetically predisposed toward thinness will always have an easier time taking off weight than we mortals will.
- Celebrities have trainers. And not only do they train postpartum, but many of them employ the use of a personal trainer throughout their pregnancy to make sure their muscle mass stays consistent, their metabolism stays high, and they remain within a certain weight range. Weeks after giving birth, most of them will continue to train, spending sometimes hours a day working out with an expert whose job it is to return them to their former svelte shape.
- Celebrities have nutritionists. Many of them work with a nutritionist during pregnancy to keep their weight under control, and will work with a nutritionist postpartum to make sure that they are eating an optimal diet for weight loss, steady blood sugar, and good metabolism. And the ones who have a huge event or a big movie coming up? They hire personal chefs.
- Celebrities have more access to childcare than you do. They have bigger houses and room for staff. They may have a baby nurse, a live-in nanny, and any number of professionals handling the ins and outs of running their households and their careers. It’s a little easier to spend hours at the gym and time preparing and eating healthful meals when you’re not juggling a newborn with only the help of your exhausted spouse and the occasional visit from mom.
- Staying “red-carpet ready” is, literally, a celebrity’s job. While no one cares that you’re still wearing your maternity yoga pants to the grocery store two months after delivery, a celebrity has cameras trained on her as she runs out for coffee, when she shows up on the set of her television show, and when she needs to accept an award just after having a baby. Our culture has a punishing idea of what a celebrity must look like, and being thin and fitting into designer clothing is part of that image. It’s little wonder that celebrities go to the great lengths that they do to bounce back to their former body.
So while you should certainly work on eating healthily and developing a realistic fitness regimen that fits into your life, focus on that word: realistic. You may lose all of the baby weight and regain your former shape. Or you may find yourself living healthily, but with slightly different curves than before baby. The most important thing is your health and the wellbeing of you and your new family, so count those as blessings and be thankful that it’s not your job to fit into skintight gowns on a moment’s notice. Sometimes it’s nice to be a normal women who doesn’t need to conform to extraordinary standards of size for her career.
