{"id":89,"date":"2019-06-01T19:18:32","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T19:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/?p=89"},"modified":"2025-05-12T19:19:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T19:19:31","slug":"getting-in-shape-after-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/getting-in-shape-after-pregnancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrity Trainer Melissa Alcantara Shows Women How to Lose the Baby Weight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Melissa Alcantara was pregnant in 2011, she was sick and constantly exhausted. Her pregnancy was so difficult that she dropped out of college and began to eat \u2014 everything from doughnuts to Philly cheesesteaks to pizza. Dessert followed every meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted,\u201d she says. \u201cAt this point, I had just given up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the pregnancy, she weighed 130 pounds. During her pregnancy, Melissa\u2019s weight skyrocketed to 200 pounds. After the birth, she weighed 180 pounds and felt as if every part of her body had grown wider. Her confidence plummeted. One day, Melissa\u2019s cousin told her, \u201cWow, you look bad.\u201d The comment hit hard \u2014 \u201cIt hurt me,\u201d Melissa says \u2014 but she knew it was true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t feeling good as a mom, as a woman, as anything,\u201d she says. \u201cI thought, \u2018I can\u2019t be sad all the time with my daughter around.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She made a commitment to lose the baby weight and transform her body \u2014 but she couldn\u2019t have imagined how much it would change her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting in shape after pregnancy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mel
Melissa and her family moved from
New York to California in 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Melissa wasn\u2019t sure where to start. She experimented with weight loss supplements and a weight loss program, but nothing stuck. She decided to try using workout videos and couldn\u2019t believe how hard they were. \u201cI thought I was going to die,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But she fought through the pain, sticking with the workouts and changing her diet. Melissa (who also goes by \u201cMel\u201d) lost 40 pounds in 60 days, and her confidence returned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She landed a spot on Shaun T\u2019s Insanity Max 30 workout program, and after filming ended, she realized that fitness was her passion. She quit her job as a producer and signed up for an amateur bodybuilding competition. Her training and dieting intensified, but the work paid off: She won in two categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All that work on her body also changed the way Melissa looked at life and helped her become a stronger person<\/a> and mom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy fitness journey reminded me that, in order to love my family, I had to love myself first,\u201d she says. \u201cI learned that being consistent, trying challenging new things and being uncomfortable was not just part of working out, but that those were the same skills you need to succeed at anything worth your time. And loving myself has enabled me to open my heart to fully love other people\u2014especially my little one, Bella.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mel\u2019s tips for losing baby weight:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Get a program.<\/strong><\/a> Don\u2019t go to the gym and walk around aimlessly \u2014 enlist the help of a trainer to guide and support you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Include weight training.<\/strong> Don\u2019t just do cardio \u2014 you might lose weight that way, but you won\u2019t be toned.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Work everything.<\/strong> Don\u2019t try to build up only one part of your body. You need balance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Hydrate.<\/strong><\/a> Drink at least 100 ounces of water per day.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Eat real food.<\/strong><\/a> And eat! You\u2019re not going to lose weight if you don\u2019t eat. You\u2019ll be in starvation mode, and your body will hold on to fat.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Be patient.<\/strong> Every day that you\u2019re working toward your goal adds up. If you want something sustainable that\u2019s going to work for you, you need to give it time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Going viral <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Excited by her success in the bodybuilding competition, Melissa began sharing her workout results with the world and giving advice on fitness for moms. Today, her Instagram<\/a> is a collage of photos showcasing her sculpted arms, toned legs and killer six pack. (At last count, she had more than 800,000 followers.) Some of her posts, including transformation photos that compare her post-pregnancy body with her current physique, have gone viral. In May 2017, she attracted the attention of reality star Kim Kardashian, who hired Melissa to be her trainer \u2014 and whose results have elevated Melissa\u2019s own profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Like Kardashian, many who reach out to Melissa are moms hoping to recover their pre-pregnancy figures. Some are expectant moms-to-be, and Melissa enjoys corresponding with them as they progress through their pregnancies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cMoms need to take themselves into consideration,\u201d Melissa says. \u201cWithout kids, without a husband, without a job \u2014 I\u2019m still a person. It\u2019s not that you\u2019re being selfish if you take time for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A Gold\u2019s Gym regular<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"at<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    In July 2017, Melissa and her family moved from New York to California. She now lives a few blocks from the Gold\u2019s Gym in Venice<\/a>. When she\u2019s not at the gym working out herself, Melissa continues to help other moms get back into shape and build her brand. She trains powerlifting and compound movements\u2014exercises that work several muscle groups at once. Through fitgurlmel.com, she offers a fitness program and online training. And she\u2019s working on an inspirational fitness and nutrition book that is expected to be published in 2020. But as far as the future is concerned, she\u2019s content to take things one day at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cMy goal is improving myself every day and having more time to spend with my family,\u201d Melissa says. \u201cI\u2019m working hard now, and I enjoy everything that I do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Not a Gold\u2019s Gym Member?<\/strong> Start your journey with a FREE Pass!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    <p>When Melissa Alcantara was pregnant in 2011, she was sick and constantly exhausted. Her pregnancy was so difficult that she dropped out of college and began to eat \u2014 everything from doughnuts to Philly cheesesteaks to pizza. Dessert followed every meal. \u201cI ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted,\u201d she says. \u201cAt this point, I […]<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":6303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_subtitle":"After getting super fit following her own pregnancy, she became a trainer and now helps other women get in their best shape.","footnotes":""},"categories":[168],"tags":[120,136,160,184,118,171,95,119,155],"class_list":["post-89","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-stories","tag-build-muscle","tag-burn-fat","tag-coaching","tag-get-lean","tag-guidance","tag-golds-personal-training","tag-tips","tag-transformation","tag-weight-loss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9631,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89\/revisions\/9631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}