Pregnancy was not easy for Jessica Simpson.
For her third child, Jessica gained over 100 pounds. She shared her journey on Instagram, from breaking toilets (literally) to trying to lose weight after her daughter’s birth.
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The key to it all? Being healthy, and easy on herself. Let’s see how it all went down!
So, Jessica announced she was pregnant in 2018.
She announced it on social media in a super sweet way!
She posted pictures of Maxwell Drew and Ace Knute playing with balloons, which turned out to be a gender reveal for their little sister!
Everything started out great.
“This little baby girl will make us a family of five. We couldn’t be happier to announce this precious blessing of life,” she wrote on Instagram .
Things were going so well!
She did have some struggles, however.
And she made a joke out of them the entire time. We love a woman who knows how to lighten the mood!
We love a relatable queen.
“I’m surprised I look like I’ve got it together after getting up to go to the bathroom 40 times on my flight [crying laughing emoji],” she captioned this selfie.
Man, I go that many times on planes, and I’m not even pregnant. Drink your water, y’all.
And then came…the Feet.
Jessica clearly was retaining a huge amount of fluid, which swelled her feet up like crazy. She was so distressed that she took to Instagram to ask for any advice.
She finally settled on cupping to bring the swelling down.
Of course she found time to crack some jokes.
At the height of the #tenyearchallenge, Jessica posted this side by side of her past ankles and her still-swollen ones.
She captioned it “#tenyearchallenge” and nothing else, which is just so friggin’ funny to me.
Towards the end of her pregnancy, things got even harder.
“Severe pregnancy acid reflux has led to the purchase of my very own sleep recliner,” she wrote on Instagram.
I did not know pregnancy acid reflux was a thing. Women are strong as hell.
She also claimed a porcelain victim.
RIP to that toilet. Jessica said: “Warning…Don’t lean back on the toilet when pregnant”
I love the fact that she stopped and had someone take her picture while she held the seat up as proof.
At her highest, she weighed 240 pounds.
Hey, she was carrying another human life, and having a hard time of it.
No shame in putting on weight while her body worked that hard to make a whole new life.
After the birth of her daughter, Birdie, she began a new journey.
For the record, I fully support any mom doing whatever she wants with her post-baby body!
Jessica chose to turn to her personal trainer not to shed the weight, but to completely change her lifestyle habits.
The results speak for themselves.
Jessica posted about her journey on Instagram :
“6 months. 100 pounds down (Yes, I tipped the scales at 240 ) My first trip away from #BIRDIEMAE and emotional for many reasons.”
Jessica was clearly proud of herself and for good reason!
“But so proud to feel like myself again. Even when it felt impossible, I chose to work harder,” her post continued.
Her personal trainer gave some insight.
“It had to be more than just getting back from her baby weight, but how do I keep whatever I am doing now forever,” Harley Pasternak told E! News.
“That’s why we are not a big fan of doing any extreme diet or radical forms of exercise.”
That’s what Harley, Jessica, and I all have in common. I am also not a big fan of doing any diet or exercise, but maybe for a different reason.
He didn’t want Jessica to strain herself.
So they introduced easy, achievable exercise that consisted almost exclusively of walking outdoors, or on the treadmill.
His goal was to keep her from doing anything “too difficult, painful, hard or arduous.”
She eventually got up to 14,000 steps a day.
That is, for the record, approximately seven miles a day — that’s nothing to sneeze at. I’m definitely not walking seven miles a day.
She walked it off.
Quite literally!
Harley started Jessica out walking 6,000 steps a day. As her body adjusted, they increased the number of steps she would work towards.
He also worked on changing her diet habits, as well.
He didn’t ban indulging, however — he just encouraged it to be done in moderation!
“You don’t have to have all of your indulges in one day. It tends to be a little extreme if you do that,” he said.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t eat what she wanted!
Harley put Jessica on a three meal a day plan, with two snacks a day that usually consisted of parmesan green beans and almonds.
Jessica’s trainer had nothing but kind things to say about her.
He said, “She never complains and always has an amazing attitude. I wish all of our clients were as positive and hard-working as her.”
Jessica’s dramatic weight loss has inspired some of her famous friends… sort of.
Amy Schumer shared this photo on her Instagram with the caption, “Ok Simpson! Well ive lost 10 pounds and 100 dollars to my sister playing poker.”
Jessica obviously responded, and it was hilarious.
Leaving a playful emoji that matched the face she was making in her icon, Jessica commented saying that “size only matters when it comes to men.”
Also, great news!
She has ankles again!
