Tracy Anderson: New Moms 'Use Pregnancy as an Excuse' for Weight Gain, Impulsive Eating
Celebrity Trainer's DVD Shows Moms How to Lose Baby Weight
Tracy Anderson, celebrity trainer and mom to 4-month-old Penelope and 14-year old Sam, has spoken about her struggle to lose the baby weight in a new interview. She has also made controversial comments about women who "use pregnancy as an excuse to let their bodies go."
"I've seen so many women who come to me right after [having children] with disaster bodies that have gone through hell, or they come to me years later and say, 'Oh, my body is like this because I had three kids.' A lot of women use pregnancy as an excuse to let their bodies go, and that's the worst thing," Anderson told DuJour magazine.
She herself has had two children, Sam and Penelope, and she has filmed an entire series of instructional DVDs for pregnant women titled "The Pregnancy Project." Anderson put on 30 pounds during her second pregnancy but admitted to putting on nearly 60 pounds with her first.
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"I feel like I've lived an entire lifetime since then," she explained. And that's the reason why she was so determined to shed the baby weight after the birth of Penelope in May. "I know that the journey of getting back to your best level of performance physically is very hard, but it's an incredibly empowering place to be."
Anderson has worked with celebrity clients including Molly Sims, Courteney Cox, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Gwyneth Paltrow, all of whom are moms. For Paltrow, Anderson revealed, losing the baby weight was extremely difficult.
"When I first met her, she was stuck. She had to film the first 'Iron Man' and she still had 25 to 30 extra pounds after [giving birth to] Moses and he was already five months old. She had tried everything and couldn't get them off," Anderson noted.
The two worked together and eventually Paltrow did lose the weight and has managed to keep her svelte shape ever since. Anderson still has 10 pounds to lose before she hits her goal of being at pre-baby weight.
While many women have taken to Anderson's story and have seen her words as inspiration, an equal number see them as discouraging for many women.
"So she piles even more pressure on new mums who have not got the time, money or support to achieve the improbable. What about just eating sensibly, getting fresh air and exercise by taking your baby out for a walk in the park and enjoying the really special time in your new baby's life that is going to whizz by?" asked Daily Mail reader Moondolly.
"See girls, it's possible. Stop the excuses," JT responded.
