Cassie’s fitness journey is nothing short of inspiring.
The 33-year-old singer and model gave birth to a daughter named Frankie in December 2019 who is as cute as can be. In a recent blog post titled “What Healthy Looks Like To Me,” the new mom gives a relatable testimony about shedding the 60 pounds she gained during pregnancy and the roadblocks she encountered along the way.
“Anyone that knows me and my Virgo mind for real knows how hard it was for me to decide to post this before and after,” Cassie writes in the opening of her post. “But since becoming a mother and experiencing how amazing the female body is, I felt it necessary to share.”
Cassie reveals that after giving birth, she was able to lose the first 30 pounds gradually over the following weeks. “I started to workout when I had a goal of 30lbs to go and when my doctor cleared me to,” she continues. “I went pretty hard at first. By mid-March I was down another 15 and feeling pretty good. I had a bit of unexplained anxiety, but I was able to work through it and down another 15 meant I only had 15lbs to go to get back to my pre-baby weight.”
After Cassie had inexplicably gained 15 pounds, she visited her doctor and was diagnosed with a condition called postpartum thyroiditis – a condition in which a previously normal-functioning thyroid gland becomes inflamed and causes symptoms such as sudden weight gain, depression and lack of energy.
“Basically my thyroid was hyper for a short period (hence the anxiety and weight loss) and then slowed down causing me to gain weight back,” she explained. “From what my doctor told me it’s not super common. About 5-10% of women experience it within the first year after childbirth.”
Cassie says she also “lost her mind” feeling frustrated about her weight loss and eventually became inconsistent with her workouts. “It was discouraging,” she says. “Once I started to become more consistent, I started to see and feel the results very slowly but it was happening. I know a lot of people think, well she’s married to a personal trainer, it shouldn’t be hard for her or she should be in shape she has no excuse, but I was unhappy with myself. S— happens, I’m human.”
Ultimately, Cassie was not only able to get back to her pre-baby weight, but also relieved some back and neck pains that came from breastfeeding. She credits her husband with designing an effective workout program for her. “Today I’m in better shape than I was before the baby. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been in this good of shape,” the mom wrote. “Working out has given me a place to get rid of any negative energy and emotions that I might have, boost my serotonin and practice discipline. Every day that I workout isn’t perfect, but I show up and I push myself.”
The proud mom ends her note advising other new moms to give themselves grace when trying to get back in shape after childbirth. “Whatever your goals are, choose to be healthy. For me, this is what it looks like when I’m taking care of myself. This is what healthy looks like for me. It’s not about being thin or muscular or whatever people have in their minds as looking ‘healthy.’ Health comes in all shapes and sizes, it’s different for everyone. Health is a peace of mind.”