How Body-Shame Made Kelly Rowland Embrace the Cellulite and Stretch Marks On Her Butt

On top of being an award-winning singer, actress, and author, Kelly Rowland is always down for some real-talk. Her book, Whoa, Baby! A Guide for New Moms Who Feel Overwhelmed and Freaked Out (and Wonder What the #*@& Just Happened), which came out earlier this year, is a #realtalk tell-all about pregnancy and her own body struggles, even now that her son Titan is 2. "I wanted to tell women about my challenge with diastasis recti and the fact that I still have it," Rowland previously told us. "Every day I work hard to try to pull my abs together, and I actually have some back problems now because I didn't know my core wasn't as tight as it was before I had the baby."

We caught up with her again to chat about her latest workouts, diet routine, thoughts on the ridiculous expectation that women (like her friend Bey) "bounce back" immediately after having a baby, and how being body-shamed drove her to love her body even more.

How she stays motivated to stick to her intense workouts: "A typical weekly workout routine for me consists of sprint-based training combined with strength moves, two days a week balanced out with total-body workouts that challenge my core and tone and shape my body the other two days. Sounds intense, but you need to stay motivated and have a set of goals so that you can achieve something at the end of everything. That's why I partnered up with BAND-AID brand recently for their 'Stick With It' campaign. No matter what challenge you face in front of you, if you stick with it, you can achieve it."

How diastasis recti affects her ab workouts: "I do a series of exercises that combine micro restorative, integrative moves that intensely challenge my core. These micro moves are complemented by macro moves that strengthen my abs for higher-level workouts. I repeat this routine four days a week with my new trainers, Marcela and David Washington."

The new thing she's been trying lately: "Recently, I have incorporated some vegan meals and it's working out pretty well. I still crave meat since I'm slowly 'crossing over,' but I must say-my body feels pretty good when I don't eat meat. We'll see how it goes!"

Why she loves her cellulite and stretch marks: "I used to be very self-conscious about the cellulite and stretch marks on my butt. When I was overseas, a picture came out showing my imperfections and someone tried to body-shame me. That moment made me embrace my derrière."

Her thoughts on the (ridiculous) expectation for women to "bounce back" immediately after pregnancy: "When it comes to bouncing back, I've learned that everyone has a different timeline and bodies and instant success/results don't happen overnight! We all have our setbacks, but it's getting back up that matters most. We as women need to remember to not compare our bodies with other women. Please pace yourself!"