Some women gain weight during pregnancy and never seem to be able to shake it — because pregnancy literally restructures your body, some more than others, all depending on your biological predispositions.
And then there’s Sarah Stage, the “Six Pack Mom” herself, a fitness model who looks the part — even 31 weeks into her pregnancy.
Would you care to guess how much she weighs while pregnant? Because you don’t actually have to guess.
Sarah Stage isn’t the only “fit mom” out there.
What we have to remember is that genetic predispositions from both parents are at play with pregnancies.
In many ways, how a pregnant person’s body is impacted by pregnancy has less to do with their own fitness and more to do with the demands that their fetus makes upon their body.
(Seriously, human pregnancies give way more power to the fetus than the pregnancies of many other mammals, but that’s a whole other conversation)
Some people swell up, gaining a huge amount of weight in their torsos and faces.
That weight may or may not go away after they give birth.
(Sometimes, even with exercise, it doesn’t go away — some physical changes that take place during pregnnacy are basically permanent)
Others barely see any changes in their bodies, and just look like they’re smuggling a basketball under their clothes.
And then there’s Sarah Stage and her tiny baby bump.
She’s in a whole other league of women who are typically fitness models.
She’s so physically fit that she’s been body-shamed, in 2015 and also this year with this pregnancy, over her visible abs and how little she’s “showing” of her pregnancy.
To be clear, just as a woman who puts on dozens and dozens and dozens of pounds while pregnant doesn’t deserve to be body-shamed, a woman who gains only a little weight doesn’t, either.
Different bodies work in different ways, folks.
(And those same women gaining or not gaining weight without being pregnant should also be free from criticism because their weight is none of anyone’s business, of course)
But we can still be amazed and perhaps a little shocked at this report on Sarah Stage’s weight, shared over Instagram:
Don’t worry, she’s not going to make you do math — she’s not a monster.
Sarah Stage weighs 137 pounds, which is not much at all, especially for such a muscular woman.
Especially for a pregnant muscular woman.
So far, throughout this entire pregnancy, the Six Pack Mom has only gained 18 pounds.
That’s only three pounds for each of her six abs, though obviously the weight is a little more, you know, baby-oriented.
Honestly, some people have mild pregnancies like that.
(Off of the top of my head, I know that my grandmother’s pregnancies were almost that mild)
Some look at this and worry if she’s malnourishing her baby or something, but … that’s a huge leap to make.
18 pounds is enough for a baby of a healthy weight, plus a placenta and amniotic fluid.
It doesn’t leave a lot of room for error or whatever, but unlike humanity’s ancestors, people in modern times don’t need to pack on weight in case food suddenly becomes scarce.
We’re not dependent upon the migration patterns of bison for our meals. Grocery stores exist.
We’re not suggesting that anybody try to emulate Sarah Stage’s physique, pregnant or otherwise.
Like most things, it’s not for everyone.
But please don’t freak out or, worse, mom-shame someone for looking like themselves even when they’re about to pop out a tiny human.