Gemma Atkinson has said that it is “important” to show how her body has changed after pregnancy to other women.
The model, actress and radio host welcomed daughter Mia last year with her partner, Strictly Come Dancing’s Gorka Marquez.
Atkinson, 35, told Women’s Health magazine: “My body doesn’t look like it did before.”
The star, who took part in a photoshoot for the publication, added: “It’s changed after having a baby, but that made me more determined to do (the shoot) – my body is not better or worse, just different.
“Maybe it’s important to show that to other women?”
Atkinson said: “I was always straight up and down, like a surfboard, but now I’ve got a bit of a waist. When I put on high-waisted jeans, you can see I’ve got hips.
“I reckon I’m about 3% J-Lo now, so I’m happy with that.”
The former Hollyoaks and Emmerdale star said that her exercise regime had to dramatically change after having a caesarean section with Mia last July.
“The C-section completely floored me; I couldn’t brush my hair I was in so much pain,” she said.
“A caesarean goes through seven layers of fat, tissue and muscle, so it takes a long time to get better and, for me, it wasn’t sensible to start exercising until around 15 weeks after Mia was born.”
She said she used to strength train with her personal trainer “Evil Steve” Chambers twice a week, adding: “But I’ve only actually made it to see him three times in the past six months… now I’m a mum, I can’t really plan anything – I just go hour by hour.”
On keeping up with her fitness goals now that she is a mother, she said: “Gorka knew how much my fitness meant to me, so he built a gym in our house.
“A big part of the battle for many people is getting to the gym in the first place, so knowing it’s only two seconds away makes it a lot easier.
“(Although) I often think, ‘Why am I doing this when there’s a fridge and a comfy sofa next door?’”
Atkinson and professional dancer Marquez met on the 2017 series of Strictly, when she was partnered with Aljaz Skorjanec and he was dancing with singer Alexandra Burke.
The full interview appears in the April issue of Women’s Health, available now.
