Carrie Underwood is not only a talented country music star, she's also a mother of two boys, Isaiah and Jacob. The 36-year-old singer recently admitted that getting back in shape after having her second child wasn't as easy as she had hoped it would be.
"After having my first kid [Isaiah, 4], I felt like I bounced back fast. And then with Jake, it was like my body took a minute to get back to me," Underwood tells People. "It was frustrating, because I'm like, 'Why wasn't it like the first time?'"
While nutritional intake and physical activity were an important part of the process, Underwood ultimately realized she had to change her thought process when it came to seeing results.
"But I’m four years older. That also helped me shift my mindset," Underwood added. "I’m still working hard, wanting to be the best me possible, but cutting myself slack and just thinking, ‘Be kind to yourself.’ It’s amazing what we [women] do to ourselves. We’re probably all our toughest critics.”
The country singer also noted that she doesn't believe in "cheat days" as she prefers to simply "enjoy life" while she can.
"I don’t like to call them ‘cheat days’- you’re just enjoying life,” she says. "I feel like holiday time can be stressful when it comes to health and fitness, but it doesn’t have to be. You can just say, ‘I’m going to enjoy myself on the holidays.’"
"It’s all about friends and family and food and parties, and indulging responsibly. And when New Year’s is over, get back on the horse. It’s like, ‘Okay, I’ve had my holiday fun. Now it’s time to get back on my path.’"
This Christmas will be Underwood and husband Mike Fisher's first year as a family of four. She recently shared that she doesn't always know where she'll be spending Thanksgiving, and the same goes for Christmas.
Underwood shared, "There’s a lot of travel, but that’s kind of our tradition because we don’t have any family that actually lives near us, so it’s just go, go, go."
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