Bianca Gonzalez Reminds Postpartum Moms, 'You Are So Much More Than Your Weight'

Mom of two Bianca Gonzalez spoke no truer words when she talked about postpartum weight loss through an Instagram post on September 19.

Although she is lucky to have already shed off the pounds less than a year after giving birth to her second daughter Carmen in October 2018, Bianca says it’s really just that – “I have no ‘secret,’ I always say I am just SWERTE, and that I know this is NOT the norm.”

To be clear, Bianca does put in effort to stay healthy and maintain her ideal body weight, whether pregnant or not. 

“It could be also that I have been taking pilates for over 10 years now, and continued to take pilates during both my pregnancies (with my OB’s approval). It could be because I breastfed/feed both my daughters and that burns lots of calories. It could be because I eat a lot of gulay.”

Her genes could be a factor too, she says. But, also, “It could be all these, it could be none of these,” she says.

Bianca, who is also a mom to three-year-old Lucia, emphasized that weight loss is different for everyone after giving birth, and that while she often gets comments like “Parang ‘di nanganak!,” moms should not compare their weight loss progress with hers, or others’.

“Every mom is different, every body is different! Moms should not be shamed for being ‘ay, ang laki niya!’ because that ‘laki’ is what helped grow and nurture a human being inside her. A human being!!!” she wrote.

Every now and then, it is important that moms be reminded of this, especially since, as Bianca puts it, “photos like these may contribute to the unrealistic expectation on mothers who just gave birth.”

Instead, she enjoins moms to look beyond that which is bothering them. “Know that your child loves you whether or not you shed those ‘extra 10 pounds’”. 

“And to the mom reading this who might be frustrated that she isn’t losing the baby weight, know that you are so much more than your size or weight. That you should work out or diet when you feel you are ready, not because others are pressuring you to do so.”

And rather than feeling anxious about how different their bodies now are, she tells fellow moms:   

“Ang dami natin who struggle with our bodies after giving birth, how it will ‘never be the same’. But if we think about it, we have a child! Our lives will never be the same.”