Throughout Dancing with the stars season 33, pro Witney Carson went mega-viral thanks to some of her jaw-dropping moves. But for Witney, who deleted seasons of DWTS in 2021 and 2023, respectively, to welcome her children with husband Carson McAllister — regaining that confidence hasn’t always been easy.

After giving birth to her first son Kevin in January 2021, Witney felt “so much pressure to bounce back,” she exclusively shares. Women’s health.

“As a dancer, our bodies are always set apart,” she says. “We’ve been constantly looking in the mirror since we were three, and so we’re very critical of ourselves. It was very stressful coming out of postpartum and getting back into dancing.”

But after opening about her struggles on social media, Witney said she felt “an army of women” reminding her how amazing it is to give birth.

It helped her a second time in May 2023.

“(These women) taught me to give myself grace for any changes that might come, so with my second, I remembered the essence of what I just did, which was- say becoming a human and giving birth to a human,” she said. “I wasn’t really focusing on how I looked, but how I felt.”

So what exactly does Witney do to take care of herself and get back into shape? Here’s what you need to know.

For Witney, “movement is medicine.”

During Dancing with the starsWitney is constantly going in and out of rehearsals. But out of season, she trains “every day” except Sunday.

“I almost feel worse when I take more time off,” she says. “So even if I don’t have a rehearsal, I’m still moving.”

Witney’s favorites include Pilates, hot yogaAnd run outside. Even on Sundays, her days off, she loves to have a long walk“just to make something happen.”

She focuses on her heart.

To get Witney’s rock hard abs (which are totally necessary to make her now viral leg liftBTW), the 31-year-old has a simple hack: boards.

“People hate it, but planks are so good because they get everything: the obliques, the main abdominal muscles,” she says. “So whenever I do a workout, I always end it with a plank. My secret would be to try to do a plank for as long as possible at the end of your workout.”

She follows a high-protein diet.

To support all this training, Witney eats a lot of proteinwhich helps him maintain his energy level.

“When I’m in rehearsal and I’m as busy as I am, if I’m not getting enough protein, then I don’t have enough energy for anything,” she says. “I really try to make every meal high in protein and then make it as healthy as possible. I put in a vegetable and a carb, like quinoa Or Ezekiel Bread“.

Typically, her family, which includes sons Leo, 3, and Jet, 1, eats the same meals, hoping that their children don’t develop picky habits. And while she tries to make dinners as nutritious as possible, of course, “there are days when we only eat mac and cheese, hot dogs and fries.”

During rehearsals, Witney makes sure to eat every two hours, snacking beef sticks And protein drinks. She also likes a green juice for vitamins.

“It’s a lot about preparation and making sure you have the right things with you, so you don’t starve and then eat something that makes you feel horrible,” she says.

Her family punishes her.

When things get too busy in Witney’s schedule, she loves to keep a journal, which helps her organize her thoughts.

But above all, she turns to those close to her for comfort. For her, family time occurs every Sunday, when she makes sure she doesn’t work so they can all go to church.

“At the end of the day, that’s why I do what I do. I love what I do, but I also do it for a reason bigger than myself,” she says. “If you go back to those core values ​​of why you work and do what you do, it’s very helpful.”

For other moms navigating life after giving birth, she says it’s very important to feel good on the inside before focusing on the outside.

“Really listen to your body and make sure it feels the best it can. For me, that’s my motivation to work out and stay healthy,” she says. “I want to be the best I can be every day for my kids, for my husband, just for myself. Give yourself grace, as much as you can, and try not to listen to those outside voices.”

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