America Ferrara gave birth to her son, Sebastian (they call him Baz) in May. America also cofounded Harness, and organization who wants to ensure, ”human rights are protected by the power of the people,” edited a book, American Like Me, and continues to star, produce and occasionally direct her hit show, Superstore. With all that going on, who has time to worry about their postpartum figure? Apparently, not America. She has given up her scale in lieu of an oxygen machine so she can keep up with her life. Just kidding. America said she doesn’t worry so much about the the scale as she does making sure she feels her best.
Post-pregnancy, where are you in the journey of how you feel about your body? Being pregnant, I felt really powerful and healthy. You create life. I found so much power in that. In terms of my relationship to my body, I’m still breastfeeding, so it’s still very much in service of my son. There are parts of it that I love and also parts of it that are super challenging. I’m just now starting to feel like I want to feel strong in my body again. I didn’t work out as much as I imagined I would during my pregnancy. I was in triathlon shape when I got pregnant. I had so much on my plate and something had to give.
And when it comes to eating healthfully? I have changed my relationship to food. I swore off scales a long time ago. More than anything, I just try to be aware of how does what I eat make me feel. Do I feel better? Do I feel energized? Does this make me tired and not feel great? I try to go easy on myself. I think that’s been one of the mantras for me in all of motherhood—to try and not be so hard on myself. Which is a challenge because, like so many women, I demand so much more of myself than I would ever demand of someone else.
You returned to work fairly soon after giving birth. Was it tough? I took time off at the end of my pregnancy and shut out social media and kind of went off the grid. I needed that for myself. There was a part of me that was terrified that I might never care about anything else ever again. I got scared. I was like, “What if I’m not as driven?” But as I gave birth…it was the beginning of the family separation coming to public attention. When Baz was 2 or 3 weeks old, my friend started organizing. I spent the whole day topless in my apartment feeding my newborn, but had to be on the phone and help in whatever way I could. It was a relief to know that who I am at my core was not altered. Actually, that’s not true. It’s not accurate that I wasn’t altered. In a way, having him made everything more important.
I was not in triathlon shape when I got pregnant (truthfully, I’ve never been anywhere near triathlon shape at any point in my life) but I had all these ideas that I would work out and be incredibly fit during my pregnancies. Yeah, not so much. I was healthy enough, but talking yourself out of a workout is even easier when you’re carrying a 10 pound bowling ball in your gut. So I feel America on that. I can’t swear off the scale, though. I wish I could. I wish I could not step on one or not care what it said but I can’t. I have a very unhealthy attachment to scales and they practically dictate how I feel about myself. Good for America for finding that balance.
To her last point, about getting back on the grid, America was in Miami with fellow new mom Eva Longoria, Gina Rodriguez, Rosario Dawson and Zoe Saldana, campaigning up a storm over the weekend. Not only were they out there doing the good work, they looked like they had a blast doing it:
Photo credit: Avalon and Instagram
I wish more listened and voted. So sad for Florida 🙁
P.S. She is adorable!
I love her and Ugly Betty will be one of my favorite shows for ever.
This isn’t a comment against her, but I feel like that kind of approach that can lead people to gain more weight than they realize. That said, I don’t think you should weigh yourself daily or live your life according to the scale. And anyone breastfeeding should not prioritize that over weight loss!
I’e never ever owned the scale, but has been in the roughly the same shape for the past twenty years. I just keep two pairs of jeans from my twenties – as long as I manage to squeeze my butt into them, all is well in the world, if not, then i have a bit more attention to what i eat and workout a bit more.
I love what she said about demanding so much more of herself than she would demand of anyone else- I feel like so many people, myself included, feel that way. We need to be more compassionate to ourselves!