When Isla Fisher welcomed daughter Olive in October 2007, the pressure was on to get her post-baby body back in shape. After the August 2010 arrival of daughter Elula, however, the 37-year-old redhead took her time shedding the extra pounds.
“I gained 65 pounds with my first baby and 70 with my second,” Fitness‘ May cover girl reveals. “I had severe morning sickness both times, so I mostly ate supersize bowls of white pasta with loads of butter and cheese because that was the only thing that took away the nausea.”
Fisher adds, “I had to shoot Confessions of a Shopaholic about three months after I gave birth to Olive, so the producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, hired a trainer to work with me three times a week. That was both inspirational and terrifying because I didn’t want to let the trainer down. After I had my second daughter, I slowly lost the weight by breast-feeding, hiking [L.A.’s] Runyon Canyon and working with a trainer every couple of weeks.”
Sacha Baron Cohen‘s wife now practices yoga five days a week. “When you’re really focused on your breathing, you’re able to clear your head, and all the worries of everyday life go out the window. I love that feeling of being connected with my own body,” Fisher tells the magazine. “If I’m stuck in traffic or have a bad moment in my day, I go back to my yoga practice and I breathe.”
The Australian actress says she loves how yoga has transformed her butt (“Every woman likes her tush in jeans when she’s worked on it a little more!”) but she’s most proud of her stomach. “Even though it will never be flat again, it’s still my favorite because it reminds me of my greatest achievement: my babies.”
Fisher says she doesn’t own a scale because she doesn’t want her children to become obsessed with physical appearance. “I wouldn’t want them to see me weighing myself all the time,” she explains. “I don’t think it sends the right message.”
The actress gained 15 pounds for her role in The Great Gatsby, which she claims “mainly manifested itself in my boobs, which was very exciting. Sadly, that’s gone now.”
No matter her size, Fisher says she’s made peace with her body. “For me, so much about life is acceptance. You can look in the mirror and find a million things wrong with yourself. Or you can look in the mirror and think, ‘I feel good, I have my health, and I’m so blessed.'” she tells Fitness. “That’s the way I choose to look at it. I don’t need to be perfect. I’m doing just fine.”
