Carrie Underwood: I want to feel like myself again, my body has not belonged to me

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Carrie Underwood welcomed her second child, son Jacob, not even two months ago, on January 29. She has a tour coming up in May and events to prepare for along with a four-year-old at home, Isaiah. She’s got to be feeling the pressure to prepare and along with that comes body image issues. Carrie posted an Instagram from the gym along with a message about how she’s not going to be as hard on herself for not snapping back as quickly as she did with her first baby.

Here’s the photo and I’ve pasted the caption below so that it’s easier to read:

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I’m going to be honest, “bouncing back” after having Jacob has been much more difficult than after I had Isaiah and I’ve been pretty hard on myself lately. I go into the gym and I can’t run as fast or as far. I can’t lift as much weight or do as many reps as I could a year ago. I just want to feel like myself again…for my body to feel the way that I know it can. As I was working out today, I realized that for the past 11(ish) months, my body has not belonged to me. It was a perfect home for Jacob. And even now it belongs to him every time he drinks his milk. As I prepare for red carpets and for life on tour, right now I make a promise to myself to start appreciating what my body CAN do and stop focusing on what it can’t. I promise to stop analyzing every angle and every curve and every pound and every meal. I’m going to keep staying the path because it is a journey and as long as I’m always working towards my goals, one day I’ll reach them. I’m going to take it day by day, smile at the girl in the mirror, and work out because I love this body and all it has done and will continue to do! #bodyafterbaby #fitmom #healthy #staythepath @caliabycarrie

A post shared by Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) on

I’m going to be honest, “bouncing back” after having Jacob has been much more difficult than after I had Isaiah and I’ve been pretty hard on myself lately. I go into the gym and I can’t run as fast or as far. I can’t lift as much weight or do as many reps as I could a year ago. I just want to feel like myself again…for my body to feel the way that I know it can. As I was working out today, I realized that for the past 11(ish) months, my body has not belonged to me. It was a perfect home for Jacob. And even now it belongs to him every time he drinks his milk. As I prepare for red carpets and for life on tour, right now I make a promise to myself to start appreciating what my body CAN do and stop focusing on what it can’t. I promise to stop analyzing every angle and every curve and every pound and every meal. I’m going to keep staying the path because it is a journey and as long as I’m always working towards my goals, one day I’ll reach them. I’m going to take it day by day, smile at the girl in the mirror, and work out because I love this body and all it has done and will continue to do!

She just had a baby at the end of January! I didn’t work out for about six months after I had my baby, although I realize that I’m not a performer and that I’m lazy. Of course you’re not going to be able to do as much after having a baby. Notice that she’s comparing her abilities now to where she was a year ago, which wasn’t exactly postpartum with her first baby. I’m also hard on myself though and I get it. We can be our own worst enemy and we need to go easy on ourselves. Carrie isn’t about to postpone her tour or skip some red carpets, not that she would need to. She looks incredible now.

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photos credit: WENN. These are from November 14th that’s not that long ago.

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34 Responses to “Carrie Underwood: I want to feel like myself again, my body has not belonged to me”

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  1. MattyLove says:

    I may get lambasted for saying this but she annoys me SO much.

    • Lama Bean says:

      Me too.

      Side q: has she been messing with her face?

      • Kittycat says:

        Me three.

      • fifee says:

        Pregnancy does weird stuff to your face & body. Things swell and take time to go down and that includes the face, I developed a moon face with a case of melasma which took about 4 months to clear. She also had plastic surgery to correct the cut between her lip & nose, that has been well documented within the past year I believe.

    • minx says:

      Oh, me too.

    • Diana says:

      Lol me too

    • Deedee says:

      She is tiresome. People go to hear her sing, not check out her figure or her face. I would think the worst part of going on tour would be leaving your family or having to spend less time with them even if they’re in the road with you.

    • escondista says:

      She had three miscarriages in a row, then was pregnant for 9 months. As a fellow triple miscarriage sufferer I am so glad she talks about this stuff. I also feel like i have had a hijacked body because i’ve been first trimester pregnant for 7 months now trying to have a baby. I get annoyed too but, with her, i have a lot of sympathy and empathy.

      • Hoot says:

        escondista… Good luck to you and hang in there. People can be cruel. Ignore them and their judgements. Ignorance is bliss, so they can feel happy with themselves.

    • billypilgrim says:

      Me four

    • Victoria says:

      Same!!! She’s a whiner

  2. Winnie Cooper's Mom says:

    I can’t begin to imagine the pressures of being a star, always having to look “perfect” and camera-ready… even at the grocery store. That being said, she clearly looks amazing. It’s a shame that women who look like a million bucks can’t see that about themselves bc they compare to their bodies from a younger/more fit phase of life. She seems super uptight about her appearance, so I hope she can truly become more comfortable and confident in her (amazing) body with time.

  3. Christy J says:

    I actually feel sorry for her because performer or not, her outlook isn’t healthy in my opinion and I think her comments go beyond someone being run of the mill hard on themselves.

    • oh-dear says:

      I agree Christy – she’s pushed this image of perfection (morally, aesthetically, and in her life choices) her whole career. That is an incredibly high standard to maintain and it must be hard on the psyche when it isn’t as easy to keep it up. I don’t enjoy her at all, but I do hope she is able to adjust to changes.

  4. DS9 says:

    She has such an odd sense of self image.

  5. lucy2 says:

    She looks fine. Posts like this always feel like someone is grabbing for compliments though.

    • LivePlantsCleanAir says:

      I know, right?!! Bugs me, too. In terms of messing with her face, she had some kind of accident, and is permanently scarred around her lower nose and upper lip, so of course she’s been messing with her face. She’s been forced to have cosmetic surgery to repair the damage from the accident. A second surgery, possibly, to minimize the repair.

      • Heather says:

        Unless there was actual functional damage, she was not “Forced” to have plastic surgery.

    • minx says:

      Yep!

  6. Livethelifeaquatic says:

    She definitely has been messing with her face. She looks like Kim and her daughters from earlier post today. Some might say, at, those are pregnancy lips. Hmm.no.

  7. pantalones en fuego says:

    My son is 10 and I’ve still got about 20 pounds of baby weight lol.

  8. Anastasia says:

    I’m going to recommend some light therapy/counseling for her. I used to have that “analyzing every ounce I ate/every bit of my body” mindset and it was so hard to live that way. I finally gave it up through some self-help books and counseling. It’s so freeing.

    • lucy2 says:

      I think that would be a good idea too! People in the spotlight, especially women, face much harsher scrutiny than most of us could imagine, plus she had trauma with her accident a while back.

  9. Nikki says:

    I don’t see the hate for her comments, other than she seems so desperate to fit the ideal.. But when you’ve been pregnant, delivered, AND are breastfeeding, your body ISN’T your own. Your hormones can still be upended and your boobs can leak, and you may still have some unpredictable sleepless nights if baby’s teething or ill. I hate to tell her, but unless you are a very strong woman, your life kind of remans not your own for a few decades. Your kids’ needs can very easily derail your planned life. Advice from an older woman: do whatever little steps you can to hold on to your own identity and dreams through the years, because it’s far too easy to lose track of yourself taking care of others…

  10. HeyThere! says:

    My ‘bounce back’ game is strong for about 12 weeks after baby(I’m not trying). All the weight falls off(never gained more than 20) and then guess what?! All the sleepless nights, stress, anxiety, caring for newborn, and weight just creeps back! I’m one year out from having a newborn and I have about 15-20 pounds to drop. Oh well. I’m trying-sometimes! My hormones are all over the place, I’m running after a 1 and 3 year old. If I have a spare second, I’m sitting down/doing laundry/cooking/cleaning/insert 1,000 other random things I do all day, I’m not at the point I have the time or luxury to spend a few hours in the gym, somedayyyyy. I do little workouts here and there at home but honestly, it’s not helping. LOL I need energy, and I need to stay dedicated to a workout plan. Sounds simple but I’m just so damn tired all the time. Looking forward to Spring. I’m always cold and it’s always gray outside. Blah.

    • minx says:

      My kids are adults…my advice is to let things go. Enjoy your kids and get your sleep. My house was messy but I just couldn’t keep up, I had to make peace with it. Good luck!

      • Livethelifeaquatic says:

        Yes! Fellow messy house dweller (most of the time). My mom told me that when we were growing up as kids my dad said he didn’t care if the house was clean or not and to just have fun and enjoy life. This kinda stuck with me, because I basically had the best childhood ever. And because my mom died last October so I try and remember her advice often.

  11. Rhys says:

    Maybe she is just having a postpartum? It doesn’t have to be something severe to be identified as depression but it obviously is affecting her sense of self.

    • Pandy says:

      You have to wonder. I feel sorry for her having to worry about how she looks a month or so after giving birth.

    • DS9 says:

      I think this goes beyond postpartum. It’s clear her self worth is derived from her looks and that it’s pathologically damaging to her whenever something happens that deviates from the way she believes her body should look.

      I actually wonder if she isn’t struggling with a dysmorphia.

      Consider how she reacted and behaved after her facial injury. And I believe even more strongly than I did before that she did have an injury. But I think her perception of the difference it made and how bad the injury was is remarkably different than the truth of it.

      I think that’s clearly evidenced by this very post where no one would be able to tell she had a baby recently if we didn’t know.

      She looks really good. Most of us would consider how she looks now to be a great bounce back. That she does not speaks more to her perception than anything else.

      And I know celebrities are under a ton of pressure to fit an ideal but she’s a singer with a strong voice and a great work ethic. Her career would not come to an end if she’d gained 70lbs and took the rest of her career to lose it.

  12. Loca says:

    I think Carrie looks great. And very beautiful pregant as well. I’m sure it will take more time.

  13. sunshine gold says:

    She looks great in that photo. Most women would kill for that body, and that’s her dejected state??! She seems like such a sad person to post that.