MY BODY, MY RULES
I’m a fit mum – trolls slam me for working out just WEEKS after giving birth but I don’t care…I love getting a sweat on
A FITNESS influencer has hit back at trolls after being mum-shamed for returning to the gym just weeks after welcoming her first child.
Danae Mercer Ricci, 36, has been easing herself back into working out while navigating motherhood, but not everyone approves.
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Cruel critics have bombarded the body-positive star with their opinions on her exercise regime, questioning why she was "rushing back" into it.
She gave birth to her daughter Aurora in January, but her baby bubble has been burst by trolls targeting her.
Danae, who boasts a whopping 2.3million Instagram followers, was left stunned that people thought she was trying to "shrink" her body rather than building her physical and mental strength.
After becoming fed up with the constant criticism, she took to the social media platform to educate trolls on her post-partum workouts.
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Sharing a clip of her looking incredible in a variety of gym sets while working out - and cradling her beloved daughter - Danae let rip.
She wrote in a lengthy caption: "A few weeks after I had baby, and with the guidance of my doctor, I started to gently easing back into fitness.
"It was mostly really soft things, like pelvic breathing, or just activating my core, but it helped me feel more balanced and more like myself, since fitness is such a big passion of mine.
"I shared it on social media, and got some really unexpectedly awful DMs basically accusing me of trying to lose the 'baby weight' and saying I wasn't 'body positive' because I was clearly 'rushing back' into working out.
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"It surprised me. I thought about it a lot, and realised we have seriously warped our understanding of fitness.
"So often we view fitness as a way to shrink or 'fix' our bodies - but it's so much more than that.
"For me, exercise is really mental. It helps me feel strong and energised and empowered. Especially now, when my whole world has changed, it's helped me find 10 minutes to ground myself.
"There is no shame in any of that - and we shouldn't shame mothers for making decisions that feel right to them."
The mum, who is originally from California but now lives in Florence, wanted to emphasise that her baby comes before her body - but exercising will always be an important part of her life.
Her post seemed to strongly resonate with thousands of mums, seeing it quickly rack up over 40,000 likes.
Danae also shared an example of the kind of nasty messages she has received since sharing her journey as a new mum with a passion for fitness.
The influencer said: "I got a DM the other day: ‘Why are you training postpartum? Are you that desperate to lose weight? You’re supposed to be about body positivity. Such a fake.’
In the caption, she explained how exercise was beneficial across the board - saying: "It's mental and emotional and social and physical all wrapped in one sometimes-sweaty package.
"And it made me so sad that we’ve somehow reduced exercise into an unpleasant chore done simply to shrink or ‘fix’ our bodies.
"For me, fitness helps me stay balanced. I’ve struggled this last month - more than I’ve felt strong enough to share.
"I’ve been a bit angry with my body. Not for how it looks, but for what it couldn’t, what it wouldn’t do.
"Exercise has allowed me to find my feet again. And I am so sad that diet culture has somehow corrupted our idea of movement, which is at its core such a varied and joyful thing.
"So today, if I could give one bit of advice, it would be this: Don’t listen to the narrative of ‘no pain no gain’.
"Instead, create goals that feel right for you. Your fitness should feel like ‘I get to’ instead of ‘I have to’.
"Allow yourself the joy of intentional movement - however big or small or soft it might be. And I’ll keep doing the same."
But Danae hasn't been scared off of keeping it real online and has continued to share posts of her post-pregnancy body.
We previously told how she proudly showed off her cellulite in an unedited bikini photo that exposed how angles and lighting can transform selfies.
The mum shared two snaps taken within a few minutes of each other that showed off the huge difference people's poses make.
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The fitness buff admitted that she "popped her hips back";, kept her core tight and "deliberately angled" her bum in the first snap.
While in the other, she was "casually squatting" while sunlight shone on her hips and thighs, leaving her "lumps and bumps on show."
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