Laura Adlington has revealed she's 'heavier now than when she was pregnant' as she shared a candid post about her postpartum appearance on Tuesday.
The Great British Bake Off star, 36, revealed in October she'd given birth to a 'miracle' son named George after undergoing IVF following nine years of infertility.
Sharing a series of snaps documenting her first months of motherhood, Laura revealed that she doesn't feel like she's 'bounced back' compared to other parents.
The baker said she 'doesn't feel great' about the changes to her body, and she's spent the last few months 'in survival mode' while battling sleepless nights looking after her baby boy.
Laura said that after 'living on biscuits' since her son was born, she's started to make 'healthier choices,' but also insisted she isn't being 'too hard on herself' when it comes to her body.
I gained weight AFTER having a baby... let's talk about it... Everyone says the weight will ''fall off'' especially when you're breastfeeding. That wasn't my experience...
Laura Adlington has revealed she's 'heavier now than when she was pregnant' as she shared a candid post about her postpartum appearance on Tuesday
The Great British Bake Off star revealed in October she'd given birth to a 'miracle' son named George after undergoing IVF following nine years of infertility
Sharing a series of snaps documenting her first months of motherhood, Laura revealed that she doesn't feel like she's 'bounced back' compared to other parents
'Judging by how my clothes fit, I think I'm actually heavier now than when I was pregnant. And I won't lie, I don't feel great about it...
'For the past few months I've been in survival mode - running off very little sleep and a lot of biscuits...
'Does that make me lazy and lacking willpower? Maybe. Maybe not, maybe it just makes me human...
'Maybe my body was doing its best to keep me going and feed my baby...
'So while I am now trying to make healthier choices, I'm also trying to be kind to myself, and remind myself that I don't need ''fixing''...
'Because not everyone ''bounces back''... and because the way I look has always been, and will always be, the least interesting thing about me.'
She captioned her post: 'Hoping this helps anyone else who didn't ''bounce back''.'
In October, Laura revealed she'd given birth to her 'miracle' son George after nine years of infertility and being told to lose 14st before she could get pregnant.
The baker said she 'doesn't feel great' about the changes to her body, and she's spent the last few months 'in survival mode'
Laura said that after 'living on biscuits' since her son was born, she's started to make 'healthier choices' after battling sleepless nights
The size 26 body positivity model previously gave up her hopes up of having a baby after she was told by doctors that her only chance to get pregnant was to try IVF
Continuing her post, Laura insisted that she isn't being 'too hard on herself' when it comes to her body
Laura added: 'Because not everyone ''bounces back''... and because the way I look has always been, and will always be, the least interesting thing about me'
She captioned her post: 'Hoping this helps anyone else who didn't ''bounce back'''
Laura first shared she was pregnant in an Instagram post in April after 'quietly deciding to give IVF a try' over a year ago
To share the new arrival the couple posted a series of snaps from the birth, alongside the caption: 'After 9 years of wishing and 9 months of growing and waiting - our little miracle is finally here, safe in our arms.
'Everyone, meet George. George, meet this community of amazing women who have championed you long before you arrived.
'We're all doing really well and are happily disappearing into the newborn bubble for a bit. But I just wanted to let you know that he's here and say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all the love and support. I've felt it every step of the way.'
Laura first shared she was pregnant in an Instagram post in April after 'quietly deciding to give IVF a try' over a year ago.
The size 26 body positivity model previously gave up her hopes up of having a baby after she was told by doctors that her only chance to get pregnant was to try IVF and she would have to lose weight first to qualify.
Sharing her happy news, she wrote: 'After 9 years of infertility, we are very excited (and still a bit in shock) to be expecting our little IVF miracle in October ✨
'I know announcements like this can be really painful, especially if you're in the thick of waiting or grieving, so please feel free to mute or unfollow if you need to and know I'm sending so much love your way.
'It's been such a really long, and to be honest lonely road to get here - something many of you will know if you've followed me for a while or listened to the podcast.
'We'd honestly made peace with the idea that having children might not happen for us. But about a year and a half ago, we quietly decided to give IVF a try.
'We kept it to ourselves and decided not to share online (or even with family) just so we didn't put more pressure on ourselves.
'We had an unsuccessful round and a cancelled round, and then found out a couple of months ago that I was finally pregnant.
'I'll be sharing a bit more over the coming weeks about our journey to get here but for now we're just really excited to share our news with you all. We honestly can't believe our luck.'
In 2022, Laura detailed it was always a dream of hers to become a mother after admitting she decided against starting a family.
Speaking to Fabulous magazine, she said: 'Unless you've gone through infertility and that heartache of really wanting it and it not happening . . . it's the hardest thing I've ever gone through.'
The star, who appeared on the 2020 series of the Channel 4 show, told how she had always wanted to be a mother and thought, 'what's the point?' if she couldn't have a child.
She said: 'I've never thought, "I want to take my own life", but I definitely have had thoughts that I didn't want to be here any more. And I have phoned Samaritans on a few occasions and really benefitted from it.'
Laura said she tried to lose weight after speaking to her doctors and even considered bariatric surgery before deciding it wasn't for her.
The star, who has struggled with her weight since she was eight, found it difficult to lose so much to have the IVF.
She said: 'It was such a lot to lose -- about 14st and I just struggled to do that. I wonder if that will always play on my mind particularly as I get older.'
Laura recently opened up about the contradicting thoughts she battles when it comes to her weight as she said 'it's important to be honest' while she admitted she was tempted by the concept of weight loss injections like Ozempic.
In a lengthy caption in a post on Instagram, Laura penned: 'My name's Laura and I'm a walking contradiction. I accept myself and my body as it is now...
'But there's still not a single day that goes by that I don't think about being smaller. I believe all bodies are good bodies, but I still sometimes feel like mine is "wrong".
'I want to live a life free from diet culture, but I also wonder if losing weight would make things easier. I don't judge other people for changing their bodies, but I feel disappointed in myself for wanting to...
'I like how I dress for my curves, but I also wonder what it would be like to not struggle so much to buy clothes...
'I advocate for body confidence, but I still have days where I can't stand my reflection. I tell people they don't need to shrink to be worthy, but I sometimes wonder if my life would be easier if I took up less space...
'I know weight loss injections aren't a magic fix, but with all the noise in the media about them and so many people on them, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted. I want to rebel against beauty standards, but I also want to feel beautiful within them...
She announced she was expecting her first child with her husband Matt after being told to lose 14st before she could get pregnant
She continued: 'Within these contradictions I sometimes feel quite lost. My relationship with my body (and food) is messy and complicated, and sharing this makes me feel quite vulnerable. But I think it's important to be honest.'
Last year, the GBBO favourite revealed she spent a long time wanting to 'slim down' in order to have 'better sex' before she found self-confidence.
Laura said that she often found herself 'putting things off' due to her weight, thinking she would enjoy things more, like sex, adventures and holidays, if she was 'slimmer'.
But now, after finding inner-confidence Laura has admitted she will never put her life on hold again because 'life is too short'.
In a candid interview, Laura said: 'I spent a long time not doing things or putting things off, and reserving things for when I was smaller...
‘I'd always say "Laura version 2.0 is going to go on more adventures, more holidays, have better sex, greater friendships", but actually, you are just putting your life on hold. If Covid taught us anything, It's that life is short.
‘You don't need to have a small life just because you're in a bigger body, or if you have insecurities. Life is for living.’