Health
Dani Guy On Her Pregnancy Body And How She Didn’t Just ‘Bounce Back’
Dani Guy is destroying myths about pregnancy and fitness, one Instagram post at a time.
A prominent member of Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guide community and mother of two, Dani has used her platform to inspire other women to own their fitness and remember that exercise and healthy eating isn’t a fad, it’s a lifestyle choice. She recently gave birth to her second son, Tao, and has been sharing her raw and honest Instagram posts ever since.
TRAIN for HER caught up with the Australian beauty to talk all things pregnancy, fitness and mental health.
TRAIN for HER: How did you find BBG?
It was my sister who recommended it to me. She had started the guide and said it was really good and hard. I had a go and instantly fell in love with it.
What was your inspiration to get healthy after your first pregnancy?
Honestly it was first it was my body image. I looked in the mirror after I had my first child and I realized just how much I didn’t care about my body before pregnancy.
I think it was a big slap to look in the mirror and see how much I had let myself go. Pregnancy is a privilege, it’s a miracle to be able to have a child. I was always told I couldn’t have kids so it was definitely a big shock when I did fall pregnant and I was so happy that I could I was very lucky.
I think we should be looking after our bodies and treating them right. Especially as, I wanted more children, so I wanted to be able to have the best body, physically and mentally, to be able to have more kids and be as happy as possible for them. I don’t drink alcohol anymore, I eat 95% clean most of the time. I try and workout 5 days a week and be the best version of myself so I can be the best mom for my kids.
Was your second pregnancy difficult on your mental health?
Absolutely. It was scary. All that hard work that I had put in to try and be the best me possible, it’s thrown off by hormones, food cravings. Your bodies changing and you’re not used to it. It took a while to really understand that ‘okay this is happening this is going to change’. I had gotten to that physically, mentally happy place before, so I can do it again.
Hormone pregnancies are crazy. They are so nuts. You have so many absurd craving, like I think in my last trimester I ate a whole tin of Milo a week! It’s definitely a mental struggle. I couldn’t just go from really fit and then continue that during pregnancy. I was so sick that I couldn’t work out. It’s like you’re in a whole different mindset from being pregnant to not being pregnant.
As soon as I had Tao, however, I was straight back into fitness. You know, walking at 3 weeks, eating really healthy and I started BBG again at 5 weeks’ post-partum and I’ve been doing it for 10 weeks now.
How did overcome that struggle?
You just have to remind yourself that you’re pregnant. You’re carrying a child. Your body’s going to change no matter what. Knowing that I’d gotten healthy and fit once before so I can do it again.
There were weeks where I’d be fine. I’d eat really healthy, my mental stability was awesome and then the next week I went into a big black hole again. That’s hormones for you and no one really warns you about that side of it. The ups and downs, one minute you can be really happy and the next minute you just fall into depression.
What was your inspiration behind putting yourself out on IG and smashing preconceptions of how you ‘should’ look after birth?
I’m so sick of seeing people on IG upload these four week post-partum pictures that aren’t real. Your bodies changed for 9 months. You can’t just pop a baby out and expect to just go back to the way you were like that. It’s unrealistic.
I’m sure there are lots of women who eat really strictly healthy throughout their whole pregnancies. But you’re not going to bounce back to the toned body that you had before.
Being able to show that my stages of post-partum to help other women was a massive thing for me. If I can make one person realize you don’t just bounce back. Or help them understand it’s okay to have cellulite, stretch marks and extra fat and be able to help them mentally, well then, it makes me happy.
Have you had any stand out messages from your followers?
All the time, honestly. I get people saying that they were in depression and watching me has helped them get out of it by training, being healthy and knowing that they are normal.
I think that’s amazing because that’s how we should be empowering and supporting women. Encouraging them to feel beautiful in their own skin.
Do you still feel nervous to post the really raw post-partum pictures?
I honestly don’t anymore. I think the first time, I was nervous, but no, not anymore. If people want to judge me, that’s their prerogative, it doesn’t bother me.
Any advice for women who are feeling down after pregnancy?
They really just need to remember that they went through a massive 9-month transformation to be able to carry a miracle.
It’s also really important to stay strong and hold onto self-love. Know that your determination will get you back to where you want to be and enjoy the journey. Health and fitness, is such a great journey to be on. Working out and smashing a goal, there’s no better feeling than getting where you wanted to get.
I just want everyone to find self-love and mental happiness and I just think that’s the number one most important thing for us to be the best people we can possible be. And kind. It’s not hard to be kind, it’s free. It doesn’t cost you anything.
