Kali Uchis’ Empowering Message About Her Postpartum Body: ‘Nobody Can Bully Me Into Abusing Diabetic Medication’
If anyone knows how to tell it like it is, it’s Kali Uchis. The Latina R&B singer said in an Instagram story over the weekend, “Fck a trend. I love my baby weight.”
Uchis welcomed her son into the world with partner Don Toliver last March. “Giving birth to you was the greatest day of my life,” the “Telepathy” singer said.
Two months later, Uchis posted an image in which she is wearing a mauve sequinned dress cinched to her figure. It was her dress for the Latin Music Awards in April, which she is wearing just over a month after giving birth.
Kali Uchis’ message to those who judge postpartum bodies
As is bound to happen, the Latina singer’s body has changed. But before being intimidated, Kali Uchis assured, “[I] used to hate being skinny, so I don’t plan to be that again & if I lose too much of this weight, ima be sad!”
“Have whatever body type u want,” she added. “I promise nobody can bully me into abusing diabetic medication or altering myself, respectfully!”
A message to Ozempic supporters?
Over the past year, the type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic and the semaglutide Wegovy have been on everyone’s lips. The drugs are “nutrient-stimulated, hormone-based medications” that target the brain, Dr. Ania Jastreboff told PEOPLE magazine. It’s a “disturbing trend” that has undermined Hollywood, with personalities like Rebel Wilson, Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Kelly Osbourne openly discussing its purported benefits.
Although officially Ozempic is not a slimming drug, new research suggests that people using the injectable medication can lose modest amounts of weight, Forbes explained.
However, because the weight-loss effects of these drugs have gone viral on social media, people who actually need them to survive, such as people suffering from type 2 diabetes, have faced a shortage in the market.
That’s why Kali Uchis’ body positivity message has been so powerful, especially for women who have just become mothers
The so-called “postpartum body” is an important issue for many mothers. As Baby Center explains, the “bounce back” culture puts a lot of pressure on women who, in addition to caring for a tiny human being, beat themselves up for gaining weight.
Most women lose about 13 pounds during childbirth (including the baby, placenta, and amniotic fluid). In fact, it can take six months to a year to return to their pre-pregnancy size.
Moreover, postpartum weight retention can be completely normal. Six months after giving birth, women retain an average of 11.8 pounds. This means they weigh almost 12 pounds more than before they were pregnant. In fact, about half of moms were retaining more than 10 pounds at six months postpartum, while a quarter of moms were still 20 pounds heavier than they were before pregnancy.
But beyond that, and before thinking about using drastic methods to lose weight, it’s important to remember that, in the words of Kali Uchis, you can “have whatever body type you want,” and the standards that exist out there are not real.
