Mum and fitness influencer Emily Skye has been praised by her followers for 'keeping it real' about her post-birth body. Photo / Supplied
Australian fitness guru Emily Skye has been applauded for "keeping it real" after sharing a photo of her post-baby body with her 12.5 million social media followers.
The 35-year-old, who is the creator of Emily Skye Fit, gave birth to her second child Izaac four months ago – and if there is anything her fans have learned, it's that the Gold Coast star never shies away from revealing the "truth" when it comes to her body.
She purposely posts photos showing her flaws, to prove no one is perfect – not even social media influencers.
"It's to humanise me – because people look at social media influencers and think 'she's perfect' so it shows other women I have stretchmarks on my bum and loose skin on my tummy too," she told news.com.au in an interview in 2018.
Two years on and she has continued to stay true to her words after sharing a post showing the changes to her core after giving birth to her second child in June.
"As you can see my tummy is wrinkly and still wants to come 'out' when I'm not consciously holding it 'tight'," Emily wrote alongside a photo and video on Wednesday that show her posing in different angles.
"I'm sure it will get stronger as my core gets stronger and it will take time."
Emily said that while it may never return to how it was before she fell pregnant with her first child Mia, 2, all she can do is "do my best to strengthen it".
"Having wrinkly, stretched skin, a core that's not as 'tight' and cellulite etc. are all a small price to pay to have my precious babies [as difficult as they are right now haha]".
"If I had a choice I'd probably choose not to have these things," she wrote, emphasising she doesn't like to call them flaws "because I don't see my body as flawed at all!
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"I'm not going to let these (let's call them 'changes') make me feel sh**ty about myself because I love my body – it's freakin awesome and so is yours."
Her honesty immediately resonated with her millions of Instagram and Facebook followers who thanked her for being "so real".
"Thanks for keeping it real mama! I still have wrinkly skin and stretch marks but still rock a bikini," one fellow mum wrote. "I was self conscious at first but quickly learnt to not worry about it and just have fun with the kiddies at the beach."
"Thanks for being authentic on a platform that is saturated in highlights and retouched images," another woman wrote. "You are doing amazing things for women's mental health and body image."
"I've been feeling a bit down about my tummy, although I am aware it is incredible to have given birth so well and carried my awesome baby. Thankyou for posting this video, it made me feel less self conscious and normal post baby," a third follower said.
Others described Emily's video as "inspiring", "strong" and a "terrific example for women", while others thanked her for "normalising pregnancy comebacks".
"Smashing it buddy!! You've had to tackle so many obstacles and that still hasn't slowed you down!! Proud of you," another fan added.
After giving birth to her first child, Emily said she struggled with pregnancy, particularly developing back problems and having ab separation.
It is something she also experienced after having her baby boy Izaac.
At 3.5 weeks post-partum, the only form of exercise she did was pelvic floor work and specific core work to help heal her ab separation.
It's very gentle but it's already making a difference and my abs are not far off being back together and my pelvic floor is recovering well," she wrote in a post in July.
At six weeks post-partum she began to slowly get back into training.
"I want to go hard (because I LOVE it) but I have to keep reminding myself to TAKE IT SLOW!" she said in August.
"Your body goes through a lot during pregnancy and childbirth and it takes time for it to recover. That's why we have to be patient, go easy, do appropriate exercise to help with recovery and don't expect results too fast.
"They say it takes 9 months to grow a baby so it's going to take at least that to get anything close to your pre-pregnancy body.
She said after having Mia it took almost one year for her body to return to being "close to my pre-baby body".
"And I still found it hard to keep my tummy tight before I fell pregnant with Izaac. As many of you know, I bloat a lot so that doesn't help!"
She reminded new mums that most bodies don't "snap back" and it takes "work and time".
"You've gotta be conscious of your posture as much as possible and really work on standing tall with your tummy drawn in, shoulders back, chest up and back straight.
"Remember – IT TAKES TIME & EFFORT!!"