Why did this mum go viral in her "badass" undies?

Mum shares defiant selfie after being told by her personal trainer that she ‘obviously’ must want to lose her baby weight.

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South Australian mother, Mel Rymill turned to Facebook wearing nothing but a nursing bra and nana undies after her first visit to a personal trainer left her infuriated.

The personal trainer suggested to her that she “obviously wanted to get back to pre-baby weight”.

Read what Mel had to say…

badass

“So I had my first session with a PT today and the first thing she said to me was “Obviously you want to get back to your pre-baby weight”. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement.

And it pissed. Me. Off.

I corrected her nicely by simply saying “my goal is to regain my core strength and endurance…I’m not worried by how my body looks, only how it functions…it can be pretty badass”.

But it got me thinking. Post pregnant women are told they look good if they return to their pre-baby body quickly leading to the assumption that they look bad if the keep the extra weight. Skinny people are envied for their lack of fat or shamed for apparently starving themselves. Voluptuous women are either labelled fat and shamed or they’re labelled brave for being comfortable in their own skin. There is always pressure.

No one is comfortable in their own skin 100% of the time. Constantly labelling people and piling expectations associated with these labels on them is harmful to everyone…including those doing the labelling.

What we should be worrying about is if people are ok, not what they look like.

So here I am. I may not be magazine ready, my nana undies and bedtime nursing bra are certainly not going to be rocking a runway anytime soon, my hair is greasy, I have no makeup on, my body is squishy and plentiful, I’m not even sure I’m totally ok.

But I am strong. My body is healthy.

Hell, I am badass as fuck!

Screw what society wants from me. This is what’s on offer.

Join me if you will #badassundies”

mel r

You go, Mel! Good on her for standing up for all mum’s. Someone has to do it.

Note: It appears Mel’s image was reported and her page seems to be now removed. Not fair!

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23 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 22 Dec 2021
    12:00 pm
Good for her.
I remember posting a photo of myself on a forum once. It was a mixed sex forum and someone said we should post photos so we could all put faces to the names. A guy posted and said that he didnt understand why most of the females wouldnt post photos and that they should look at me. He pointed out how I had been brave and posted a photo even though I was a larger woman. I was stunned…..I had never considered myself to be a larger woman

- - jodiev1980 said
  - 19 Jun 2016
    10:05 am
She is one brave lady and I hope her selfie has helped other mums!

- - ella12 said
  - 10 Feb 2016
    4:27 pm
Mel you are one hot mama and you rock!

- - Lori-Anne said
  - 26 Jan 2016
    10:15 pm
She is awesome… I love that she was able to correct the personal trainers attitude/assumptions…

- - aprilb1 said
  - 18 Jan 2016
    11:01 am
Great job mum, people need to stop stressing about how they look

- - rachelvk said
  - 30 Dec 2015
    8:59 pm
Good on you! A brave and bold statement that will mean a lot to a lot of women.

- - Mummytoabeautifulprincess said
  - 05 Dec 2015
    11:45 pm
Good on you Mel! I think you look amazing!

- - mom91861 said
  - 04 Dec 2015
    7:12 pm
good on you for putting yourself out there.

- - Nas01 said
  - 04 Dec 2015
    2:05 pm
Well done!! It’s funny how people always have something to say about pregnant and post pregnant women and their bodies, actually all women in general. I always got ‘oh your so small’ while pregnant and then ‘oh, you must be so busy exercising’ after baby was born. It’s funny that the people making the judgment have no clue about what’s really important to someone who’s just had baby.

- - mom134803 said
  - 01 Dec 2015
    11:18 am
AMEN on what you say Mel !

- - mom161840 said
  - 28 Nov 2015
    8:33 pm
Such a brave woman

- - mom91861 said
  - 28 Nov 2015
    11:44 am
great to see. we all need to be as confident in how we look not how we are expected to look.

- - delleeham said
  - 27 Nov 2015
    12:27 am
Well done Mel. Years ago, before being a mum, I used to be in the fitness industry. I have diagnosed myself with a body image issue early on in life and holding me back from just being me, not caring what others think. But, I did care, 100% of what anyone thought of me due to low self esteem. I am now at about 60% of what people think and will continue to work on lowering it. I could never show anyone what I look like in bra and undies. I had my son Ten years ago, emergency surgery last year and another op this year, all changing my abdominal region. My head says “you go girl” but then it says “Nah, you can’t let people see any fat on you”. I look after myself in a balanced way but my thinking isn’t. I really appreciated seeing and reading your post. You are a strong woman. Thank you. It helps to keep going on the same path.

- - mom160421 said
  - 26 Nov 2015
    10:00 pm
I think she looks pretty good. I’m carrying far more weight, but I’m still happy with my body because it works.
- mom93821 replied
  
  30 Nov 2015 , 11:02 pm
  Good point – having a body that works is more important than looks.
- - mom101628 said
  - 26 Nov 2015
    8:54 pm
Well, Mel, I personally don’t think your body looks too bad at all considering you are still breastfeeding. Your tummy and waist look as though they are going back into shape pretty well much on their own. Do think the ‘f’ word would have been the reason your page may have been taken down. Just get another PT if you feel you need one but get on with life and enjoying your lovely child. Best wishes to you
- june11 replied
  
  01 Jan 2016 , 9:43 pm
  I agree with you about the “F” word. Maybe somebody reported it.
  Recently a friend of mine was asked when her baby is due. It is a bad case of fluid retention that she is being treated for.