How Coleen Garcia Got Her Abs Back 2 Months After Giving Birth

It’s no secret that Coleen Garcia has always been diligent about working out and conscientious with what she eats. The new mom just posted a photo in her workout gear on Instagram, and you can clearly make out the lines of her abdominal muscles.

“Doing things 30 minuites at a time while keeping my eyes glued to the baby monitor—all part of my new normal,” Coleen wrote in her caption.

It’s hard to believe she gave birth to son Amari just two months ago. She also revealed that this was the first time she managed to slip into a pair of leggings since her first trimester of pregnancy.

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Coleen Garcia looking strong on the outside, but not yet on the inside

Preview.ph reached out to Coleen to ask how she was working her way back to fitness. While her abs are visible—“except the ones hiding under my new pooch,” she says with a laugh—she shares that it’s not an indication that her core is strong.

To avoid getting diastasis recti, a condition wherein the abdominal muscles separate along the middle due to pregnancy, Coleen skipped the core workouts when she was pregnant.

However, it also meant that her tummy area isn’t as strong as it used to be. She had to wear a postpartum binder to really give her some much needed support.

Coleen Garcia on getting back to working out

The actress did her research and found that after six weeks, it was safe to slowly start a workout routine, with clearance from her doctor, of course.

“I was up and fully recover way before then, but I wanted to wait anyway and be safe because I didn’t feel strong yet, and even though I feel fine on the outside, my body’s still recovering on the inside,” she said.

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Getting any alone time is difficult with a newborn to care for, but Coleen says she finds time to squeeze in a workout when Amari is asleep, provided she has enough extra energy also.

She explains, “Sometimes it’s a bit of rowing, sometimes indoor cycling, sometimes it’s a bit of light abs, but it’s never anything heavy. I do it to de-stress, so I don’t let it get to the point wherein it’s already stressful.

"I don’t believe in overdoing workouts because it’s counterproductive. I want to be fit and healthy, and pushing myself too hard will only make me tired, drained, and maybe even sick.”

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Apart from that, she’s actually very active as she tends to her responsibilities as a mom to a growing baby boy. “My baby is so heavy. Have you seen his thighs?” Coleen says in jest.

Coleen Garcia on eating well and eating right

Coleen hasn’t introduced the bottle to her son yet, but she feeds him directly on-demand. Because she’s exclusively breastfeeding Amari, Coleen is actually been eating more.

"At the start, I felt so drained and depleted. I had no energy, and I felt so weak. It was hard for me to make it a habit to eat heavier, more nutritious meals because I wasn’t used to eating this much,"he admitted.

Breastfeeding mothers burn an additional 500 to 700 calories per day as their bodies produce milk. It dawned on her that she needed to eat more now than when I was pregnant. She also drinks a lot more water now, too.

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"The more calories I burn, the more I need to replenish,” she said. Of course, she doesn’t stop herself from enjoying a favorite treat, suhc as a a small slice of sansrival, every day just to keep her sane! "I just tell myself it has a lot of cashews,” she quips.

So while muscle definition is appearing on her post-pregnancy belly, Coleen is taking it day by day, giving her body time to heal and grow strong again.

“When you have the best of intentions and strong motivation, it’s easier to be disciplined,” she says. “For now, I just want to do what I can to keep both my baby and myself as healthy as possible, and a better physique just the fruit of that!”

This story originally appeared on Preview.ph.

*Edits have been made by the SmartParenting.com.ph editors.

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