Get it, girl! Former Girls Next Door star Holly Madison revealed she finally got down to her postpartum “goal weight” — but it took her years to achieve her desired look after giving birth to son Forest.
“I’m excited that I finally reached my goal weight but I also wanted to point out that it took me four years to get here,” the 40-year-old captioned before-and-after photos of her post-baby body on Instagram on Friday, September 18. “Losing weight just wasn’t my first priority after having a baby, sorry ‘bout it. I had an easy time losing the weight after my first pregnancy, but after the second one, the extra pounds were just hanging on.”
The former Playboy bunny revealed she was working on a novel at the time and was “terrified” going on a diet would leave her “hungry, cranky, lightheaded and unable to concentrate” while trying to make strides on her project. “I tried to lose weight just by working out and moderately watching what I eat at first, but even though I was doing really challenging workouts almost every day, nothing was budging,” Holly explained. “It wasn’t until I finally went to a nutritionist a year ago that I started making any progress. I had to know what foods worked with my metabolism before a diet became effective.”
“Only recently was I able to incorporate both a diet and exercise into my day,” the Holly’s World alum noted. “For a while, it was a struggle because it seemed I only had time for one: workout OR make sure I had all the foods I need to stick to my diet.”
The Down the Rabbit Hole author concluded by letting fans know her “kind of a disclaimer to this picture” was important “because I know there are so many moms out there who feel bad because they don’t always lose the weight quickly.” Holly added, “The same methods don’t necessarily work for everyone. Just remember, if you haven’t made it to your physical goal yet, it’s because you’re a boss with a million things going on and you are probably killing it more than you think you are.”
The reality star gave birth to her first child, daughter Rainbow Aurora, with then-boyfriend Pasquale Rotella in March 2013 and married him six months later in September. The couple welcomed their second child, son Forest Leonardo, in August 2016. Holly and Pasquale, 46, separated amicably in September 2018 after five years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized in February 2019.