Kim Kardashian Talks Body Image Post-Pregnancy and Setting a Good Example for Her Daughter

She may be ready to flaunt her figure in nude selfies now, but Kim Kardashian West’s been on a long journey toward accepting the changes that pregnancy has put her body through. She explains in a new post on her app that she, like many women, had body-image issues during and after both of her pregnancies.

During her first pregnancy, with daughter North, who’s now three, Kim gained about 50 pounds, according to the Daily Mail. And with her baby boy, Saint, she lamented on Twitter about her weight gain, which ultimately reached 70 pounds — well above the 35-pound mark that a healthy woman should gain while pregnant, according to WebMD. “There was a moment after [son Saint was born last December] when my body was mush,” she told People. “I felt like Gumby. There was definitely a moment when I looked in the mirror and I was like, ‘I am never going to be the same.‘”

Determined to restore her body to its former glory (she does make her living off of her look, after all), she closely tracked — and publicized — the shedding of her baby weight this year. When she needed motivation, she drew strength from her support system — most notably her doting husband, Kanye West.

“I’m my own biggest critic, and Kanye is my biggest supporter,” Kim wrote on the app, according to ET Online. “He always encourages me, and makes me feel confident about owning all my curves and showing them off.” Armed with a healthier attitude, an intense workout routine, and a devotion to the Atkins diet, she wound up dropping 60 pounds — surpassing her goal — and posing for GQ to celebrate the loss.

But for Kim, setting goals for herself — which she did after giving birth to Saint, having learned her lesson after struggling to lose the weight from her first pregnancy — is important for a variety of reasons. Sure, she wants to look and feel her best. But she says it’s also important to her to set a positive example for her daughter.

“As North gets older, she’ll start to be more aware of herself and her body,” she wrote on her app. “Her attitude toward her body is directly related to my own, so it’s my responsibility to make sure she understands that positive body image comes from having a healthy self-esteem.”

Technically, she’s right. “Moms are probably the most important influence on a daughter’s body image,” Dr. Leslie Sim, clinical director of Mayo Clinic’s eating disorders program and a child psychologist, told USA Today. “Even if a mom says to the daughter, ‘You look so beautiful, but I’m so fat,’ it can be detrimental.”

According to research cited by Live Science, between 40 and 60 percent of pregnant women gain more weight than official guidelines recommend, and 25 percent retain 11 pounds or more a year after giving birth. Women should aim to lose about one pound per week after giving birth, as a rule of thumb, and should be able to lose their extra weight within six months, according to Cheryl Lovelady, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro — though other experts claim 12 month is more realistic, according to Live Science.

For Kim, the struggle to deal with body changes and lose baby weight is a learning experience and a blessing. “We all have our hang-ups and things we might want to change, but my curves make me who I am,” she said on her app. “So I embrace my body and the changes I’ve gone through. If anything, those changes remind me of what I’m able to create with my body: two little angels that I love beyond words.”

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