Former Grey's Anatomy actress Katherine Heigl may have one of the most enviable figures in Hollywood, but unlike some other celebrities, she's not pressuring herself to snap back into shape following the birth of her son Joshua Bishop Kelley, Jr. last December. Katherine gained almost 50lbs (22kg) during her pregnancy and dropped 30lbs (13kg) within 10 days of giving birth, but in a story that will be familiar to many women, she has struggled to shift the remaining 20lbs (9kg).
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"We've all heard about the gals who tone up and get right back into their skinny jeans weeks after their baby's birth but this was not me, nor was I trying for it to be," she shared in a post titled Baggage: My Postpartum Weight Loss Journey on her blog Those Heavenly Days. "I have only lost 10lbs since that first initial drop but that's O.K. because I decided from the start that I was going to lovingly but patiently reclaim my pre-baby body, and forgive the glorious imperfections that would forever grace my new post baby body."
Katherine has admitted to struggling to lose weight after giving birth
After years of counting calories and "eliminating major food groups", Katherine has shifted her perspective on body image and is allowing her body to shed the weight slowly. In terms of fitness, she is devoting no less than three days a week to exercise that suits her body type, like yoga and long hikes. And the actress' best weight loss advice for fellow new mothers is to start the day with positive mantras, which can make the task less of a painstaking process.
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"The difference I've found in doing the work with a loving and positive attitude versus an anxious, frustrated, and negative one is that the weight really does seem to just fall away with less struggle," she noted. But the most important aspect of her strategy has been to plan low-calorie meals. She will use the EatingWell website to help her plan nutritious dishes and she's also a fan of the food delivery service HelloFresh, which she uses to save time on meal planning and grocery shopping. The star prepares a lot of easy soups and smoothies too, as well as overnight oats, and counts fig and ricotta and creamy blueberry pecan as some of her favourite combinations.
"By assembling about four or five overnight oats, throwing together three or so soups at once and making sure my freezer is stocked with frozen fruit I'm able to make my healthy low-cal eating relatively painless and easy," she concluded.
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