Reclaiming your body after a pregnancy is extremely challenging, so imagine what Megan O’Donovan faced after two back-to-back pregnancies.
Well, after three years of hard work and consistency, Megan proved that it is possible to get your body back and finally feel comfortable in your skin again.
A solid starting point
Megan was always on the leaner side as a kid and was in pretty good shape when she fell pregnant with her first child. She also trained throughout her first trimester to avoid gaining too much weight, but to no avail.
“After my first baby I thought the weight would just drop off because I was breastfeeding. Unfortunately, much to my dismay, it didn’t.”
Then Megan fell pregnant again a mere six months after her first child arrived, which meant she didn’t have time to get her body back into shape between pregnancies.
Megan also found it difficult to train during her second pregnancy because she had a one-year-old who demanded her attention. Unsurprisingly, she put on even more weight.
“I was extremely uncomfortable in my skin. I tried to avoid social occasions because I felt like I couldn’t cover up enough. And I never wanted my husband to see me naked because I was just so embarrassed. It felt like this new body wasn’t mine.”
The turning point
Feeling down, heavy and unhealthy, Megan says all she wanted to do was cry. A family holiday to the coast simply deepened her depression.
“Looking at other girls in their costumes was devastating! I decided then and there that I couldn’t let my insecurities deprive me of making important memories because I’d never get them back.”
During this lightbulb moment, Megan promised herself that she would make a change. “I had to stop hating my body. It’s so tiring and draining being unhappy with yourself. I was done wallowing in self-pity. I was only 30 and didn’t want to spend the rest of my days unhealthy and unhappy.”
And as a new mother, she also wanted to teach her daughter the importance of loving yourself and taking care of your body by being healthy and active. “I didn’t want my daughter to grow up with the same body insecurities I had.”
We feature Megan’s transformation story in the December-February 2021 edition of Fitness magazine. Pick up your copy from selected retail outlets to find out how Megan lost the weight an transformed her lifestyle.
Author: Pedro van Gaalen
When he’s not writing about sport or health and fitness, Pedro is probably out training for his next marathon or ultra-marathon. He’s worked as a fitness professional and as a marketing and comms expert. He now combines his passions in his role as managing editor at Fitness magazine.
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