She thought her core would never feel right again

When Liz first reached out to me, she was about a year postpartum with her second child and feeling completely stuck.

From the outside, you might not have guessed it. She ate well, she was active, she was managing a demanding career as a stylist and raising two young kids. But her body didn't feel like hers anymore — and no matter what she tried, her core just wasn't responding.

What Liz didn't know yet was that some of what she was doing was actually making things worse.

What was going on

During both of her pregnancies, Liz had gained around 60 pounds — which is completely normal for many women, but her experience highlighted a problem that comes up again and again: she had been given almost no guidance on how to exercise safely during pregnancy or recover properly postpartum.

By the time we started working together, she'd been diagnosed with diastasis recti — a separation of the abdominal muscles that's extremely common after pregnancy, especially after multiple babies or significant weight gain. It can cause a persistent "pooch" that has nothing to do with body fat and everything to do with how the core is functioning. For Liz, it meant she still felt like she looked pregnant, more than a year after having her baby.

She was frustrated. Understandably so.

What we changed

The first thing we did was look at her current routine and identify the exercises that can actually aggravate diastasis recti — even well into the postpartum period. This is something a lot of women don't know, and it's not their fault. The information isn't widely shared, and most generic workout programs aren't designed with DR in mind. Things like traditional crunches, heavy sit-up variations, and certain core exercises that create a lot of intra-abdominal pressure can make the separation worse over time, not better.

Once we cleared those out, we focused on what would actually help her heal — deep core work, intentional breathing strategies, and progressive loading that rebuilt her foundation the right way.

We also made a significant shift in how she was training overall. Liz had been using very light weights, which is common among women who worry that lifting heavier will make them look bulky. I asked her to trust me on this one. Real strength training — progressively heavier weights, compound movements, consistency over time — is what changes body composition. Not endless reps with 5-pound dumbbells.

She trusted the process.

What happened

After a few months of working together, Liz healed her diastasis recti. Her core got stronger. Her body recomposed — leaner and more defined — in a way that lighter training and cardio had never produced. And maybe more than any of that, her confidence came back.

She didn't change her diet dramatically. She didn't add hours of cardio. She just started doing the right things for her body, consistently.

What I want you to take from this

Liz's story isn't unusual. I work with women in similar situations all the time — postpartum, frustrated, doing what they think they're supposed to be doing, and not seeing results. Sometimes the issue isn't effort. It's information.

Diastasis recti is incredibly common and incredibly underaddressed. If you've had a baby and your core still doesn't feel right, or you feel like you still look pregnant regardless of what you do, it's worth looking into. The right programming can make a real difference — and lifting weights will not make you bulky. I promise.

If you're ready to stop guessing and start training in a way that's actually built for your body, I'd love to help. Fill out my interest form and we can talk about what working together might look like.