Disclaimer: Weight loss may be good. But not at the expense of self-love and confidence.
Ask any new mom and she will tell you how stressed she is raising a brand-new human, and how it is no walk in the park.
So, as a society why can’t we just avoid the insane pressure put on new moms about getting their bodies to “bounce back” after giving birth? Some new moms undergo a lot of struggle and depression because of post-pregnancy weight.
But, they hardly gather the courage to open up or share with someone how they feel – inadequate about their bodies and the weight gain.
Recently, one brave soul came forward to share how she felt about the weight gain that captures the pain of many Indian women. And, she is none other than Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai fame actress, Rupali Ganguly.
Rupali, who touched our hearts in Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai as Monisha, got married in the year 2013. After 2 years of her marriage, Rupali hopped on the journey of motherhood. In the midst of her motherhood journey, her acting career took a backseat. But now, she is all set to make a comeback on television with her show, Anupamaa.
While talking about her show with Pinkvilla, she opened about her 7-year-long sabbatical. She also shared how motherhood changed her body, which pushed her into the ugly cycle of self-doubt and self-hate.
While talking about her struggle, the inspiring actress shared:
“Seven years back after I gave birth, I gained weight. My body changed and I couldn’t look at myself. I would not step out of the house afraid of what people would say.
If I couldn’t look at myself, why would people want to look at me? Self-doubt started seeping in.
So, when Sarabhai 2.0 happened, I somehow managed to get out but then I realised I don’t want to leave my child alone. Hence, when an offer would come up, I would quote ridiculous figures.”
And, now while thanking her husband, Rupali shared how he encouraged her to make a comeback:
“When I told my husband about it, he was the one who pushed me to take up the offer. He said, ‘Go, live your dream.’ Such roles come in a lifetime and you must definitely take it up.”
But sadly, Rupali isn’t the only one who felt shame for her post-partum body. Some time back, even Sameera Reddy took to Instagram to share her post-pregnancy weight gain struggle.
Sameera shared how her confidence was shattered with the weight-gain:
“I touched 102 Kgs in May 2015, the month Hans was born and I’m not scared to admit it. It took me to the deepest darkest places in my head. My confidence shattered.”
Further adding how she took 2 years to lose weight, Sameera shared:
“Took me 2 years more to lose the weight and to step out and face the world again but I wish I had the courage then. I did it naturally with no fad diets, no easy way out.
Only with a dedicated workout, yoga, pilates and strength training. It’s important for me to post this now because I need women to know the struggle is real. The mood swings, hormonal changes and losing your body shape can mess with your mind.
It’s a superficial world and people can be hurtful if you don’t keep up. But the key is to be fearless. Only you can get out of that rut. It’s yours to change. Be brave. You can move mountains if you just will it.”
To Sameera’s inspiring post, many new mothers came forward to share similar stories.It is high time that our society helps new mothers in finding self-love after the embarked on the journey of motherhood. We wish people around new moms, especially the husbands, don’t let the new moms get caught into the cycle of hate as they struggle with body-image issues.
At IFORHER, we do believe that Fitness should be a priority. But we also believe that fitness doesn’t mean fitting in society’s standards of how one should look. And, fitness is not just about body weight, it is about mental peace and calm.
We hope the bold voices like Sameera and Rupali will inspire the new moms to find their own voice, to shun the negative voices of society and sometimes of their own.
If you are one such mother who is fighting body image issues or overcome your body image issues, please share your inspiring story to motivate other mothers.