Carrie Underwood Got Real About the ‘Frustrating’ Part of Her Post-Baby Body

From Country Living

• Carrie Underwood recently opened up about how hard it was to get back in shape after the birth of her second son.

• The "Cry Pretty" singer shared her thoughts in an interview with People.

• She also opened up about the difficult pressures faced by all women.

Between hosting the CMAs, singing her hit songs to sold-out arenas, and winning multiple trophies at this year's American Music Awards, you'd think Carrie Underwood would already have quite enough on her plate. But true fans know that the 36-year-old mega-star is also a mom of two—and that that job just might be her biggest challenge of all.

In a recent interview with People, Carrie opened up about the difficulties of "bouncing back" after the birth of her second son, Jacob Bryan, this past January.

“After having my first kid [Isaiah, 4], I felt like I bounced back fast," she shared with the outlet. "And then with Jake, it was like my body took a minute to get back to me. It was frustrating, because I’m like, 'Why wasn’t it like the first time?'"

Over the course of the year though, she's changed her perspective. Now, Carrie's giving herself a break, both mentally and physically—and hoping other mothers will do the same.

“I’m four years older," she continued. "That also helped me shift my mindset—I'm still working hard, wanting to be the best me possible, but cutting myself slack and just thinking, 'Be kind to yourself.' It’s amazing what we [women] do to ourselves. We’re probably all our toughest critics.”

Carrie also pointed out that it's easy for women to be self-critical when they feel like they could be admonished simply for enjoying themselves. As an example, she pointed to "guilty pleasure" jargon and phrases, like "cheat day."

"I don’t like to call them 'cheat days,'" she admitted. "You’re just enjoying life. I feel like holiday time can be stressful when it comes to health and fitness, but it doesn’t have to be. You can just say, 'I’m going to enjoy myself on the holidays.'"

We're with you, Carrie. Here's to healthy, positive thinking!

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