OK! Interview: Melissa Joan Hart
Ti-Shay
July 17, 2008
Melissa Joan Hart is living a pretty charmed life -- happily married, to
Course of Nature rocker Mark Wilkerson, with two boys, Mason, 2, and
newborn Brady, and a pretty busy career. If that's not enough, the former
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch star is now just a mere five pounds from her
pre-pregnancy weight four months after giving birth to Brady. Now, the
newly svelte 32-year-old reveals to OK! how she's getting her body back and
which celebrity's body she covets!
You look great! How long have you been working out?
Its been just over three months. Ive been working hard. I really wanted it
this time. Last time I didnt care if I lost the weight. This time, I felt
better. I was thinner during the pregnancy. I had a natural delivery. I
dont know if because he was my second or because he was a natural delivery,
but I just felt so much better right away.
What have you been doing to get back into shape?
I have been working out at Pulse [Fitness Studio]. I go three days a week,
because I’m also breastfeeding. So there’s a really fine balance of being a
good mom, and breastfeeding my child and making sure he’s as healthy as can
be, and losing the weight for me and my career and my husband!
What's your workout like?
My trainer is a good friend, but he’s an amazing trainer, and he really
pushes me. Even when I was like, "I don’t want to be pushed too much. I’m
not going to come back if you keep pushing me, he pushed me." He loves
treadmill stuff, but I don’t like treadmill, so he had me do spinning about
30 minutes a day, and then for [another] 30 minutes, we'd do some floor
exercises and abs and stuff. And, of course, it took me a while to get
started on the abs.
How about your diet? Have you made any changes?
I was on this Fresh Mommies Delivery for a while, but I can only do that
for so long. I just feel like when you dont get to choose your food for the
day, its a little difficult. So I would cheat a lot.
What are the bad foods you’ve refused to give up?
What I will allow myself is ice cream and chips and guacamole. Those are
the things that I cannot put a restriction on myself with, because if I cut
those out I just feel angry [laughs]. So I allow myself those two things
twice a week. But it depends on what my goal is. This week I had a goal.
Now, I’m going off to shoot a movie, so I really want to look good for
that. But the thing is I’m also breastfeeding. That’s an important thing to
include here, because I’m at my weight goal for right now. Im not looking
to get super skinny right now because I can't. If I do that I'll lose my
milk, and I don't want that for my son. So I am where I want to be right
now until I'm done breastfeeding. I'll keep losing. My body will just
naturally losing weight, and Ill keep working out and eating well.
What are your current diet rules?
I have a nutritionist and stuff, so I really try to watch [what I eat]. I
have certain rules for myself, so no refined sugars. I try to stay away
from white starches -- not carbs, necessarily, because I’ll eat pitas and
corn tortillas, that kind of thing. But I try to avoid regular breads and
pastas -- not really pastas, but I try not to eat it too often. I try to
just make sure I have protein with every meal.
How much extra weight did you put on when you were pregnant?
I probably put on about 35 pounds. Maybe by the end of it, it was close to
40. Whereas with Mason, my first pregnancy, I put on like 55. So it was a
big difference.
How much do you have left to lose?
I’m about five [pounds] off from where I started. But I want to drop
another 10. So I have 10 more pounds, and I'll do that over the rest of the
year. But see, weight's tricky too, because I’m putting on muscle. When I
had Mason, I was the lightest weight I’ve ever been, but I wasn’t working
out. So I looked skinny, and the scale was reading skinny, but I had no
muscle tone to me. This time I want to have muscles, so I’m probably going
to weight a little more than I did.
Did you go through stages of feeling "unsexy" while you were carrying the
baby weight?
Oh god, I did not like being pregnant. I was just reading a magazine where
there were a group of celebrities that loved being pregnant, so they never
wanted to stop. And then there was a group of women that were just like, I
hated it. And I just hated it.
Why did you hate it?
I think it might be because my mom enjoyed it so much that I thought it was
going to be such a fun experience. My whole life I said, I can’t wait to be
pregnant. I thought that would feel so feminine and beautiful and wonderful
and I could eat whatever I wanted and Id enjoy it. It is so uncomfortable
and you just feel so out of sorts. I don't know if it's because my mom set
me up to think it was going to be this most wonderful [experience]. She
loved being pregnant. She was pregnant seven times. Thats almost seven
years of your life! And that’s before she was 40. That’s a large chunk of
your life. And then seven years of breastfeeding too. I was like, Wow, how
did she do that? It’s not for me. I mean, I love being a mom, but I don’t
like being pregnant. I did enjoy this pregnancy more because I didn’t freak
out as much.
Do you prefer having curves or being skinny?
I think everyone wants to be skinny. That tends to be what society draws us
to. But I've got thighs on me and I've got hips. I used to have boobs
[laughs], and I do when I'm pregnant or breastfeeding. But I like curvy.
Ive always liked my butt. I have a bubble butt, and Ive always liked that.
Is there a celebrity's body you really admire?
The woman who plays Dr. Cuddy [Lisa Edelstein] on House. She has such a
kickin' body. Shes kind of built like Sarah Jessica Parker. She has great
boobs, flat belly, great butt, hips. She wears those pencil skirts that are
so flattering. I guess Sarah Jessica Parkers body is pretty solid. I like
that. I dont think Ill ever be that hard. I think Im definitely be softer,
and Im not as disciplined. But shes got a pretty rockin' body!
How is motherhood the second time around?
I'm sad for the phases as they leave, whereas before I was looking forward
to what comes next. He outgrew his newborn diapers, and now he's about to
outgrow his number ones. I'm so sad! But with Mason I'm like, "Hurry, potty
train!" But with Brady I'm like, "Dont get bigger, stay small!" Im just so
enjoying his little moments.
What characteristics are your boys showing?
Brady is just a little smiley happy angel. I call him my little love bug.
And Mason is a complete crazy man! I call him my monkey. Hes so into
jumping and running around in circles. I feel like he's a little OCD right
now, because he repeats patterns. If he's in the pool, he has to go all the
way around the pool, get out run over kiss somebody, and put his head under
the waterfall. Everything he does when he plays its like circles or
patterns. And I think its because our lives are so chaotic. No day is the
same.
How many more children do you want to have?
I would like to have two more later in my thirties. I'd like to have two
little girls, because I'd like to have a girl, and I'd like for her to have
a sister. It's so funny, because every time I do an interview and someone
asks me that, it always comes off sounding like I'm desperate to have one
right away. But I'm not. I'm totally happy with my two little monkeys!
For more on Melissa, check out her gallery and pick up the latest issue of
OK!, on newsstands now!
http://www.okmagazine.com/news/view/7933
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