Kick Kass Body (2026)

10/05/2020

I recently read a post from that the compliment “you don’t even look like you’ve had kids” insinuates that physical signs of motherhood are not as beautiful. This hit straight home because I remember wanting and hoping to hear this compliment after I had Ziggy. I wanted people to tell me that I looked great for having had a baby, that I had gotten my body back. But my body would never be the same. How could it be? Why should I want to hide the greatest thing it has done? Why would I want to cover up any sign that I am a mother? This Mother’s Day, I want to take a moment to do what I neglect to do on a daily basis, be thankful for my body and all of it’s softness and strength. Cherish how it gives Ziggy a place to rest, to play, to poke and kiss. I am grateful for this body. I am blessed. 🤍

27/04/2020

It’s hard to come back to this account. It’s hard because I know the restrictive thoughts that exist in my head can come back. It’s difficult most days for me to see people exercising and not feel angry. Angry that I’m not in that place. Sad that I’m not where I thought I would be. Social distancing/quarantine has only heightened all of these feelings I have around body image, body neutrality, self acceptance - whatever you want to call it. I find myself doubting the progress I’ve made. Debating whether I could just revert to my old ways.

The biggest obstacle for me right now has been adjusting my intention around exercise. Yes, exercise is good for you and healthy for you and as a physical therapist I highly recommend it. However, I had used exercise as a way to control my body. I had grown accustomed to people complimenting me on how I looked, especially when I was fitter or thinner and it felt good! I was scared that I had relied so much on my appearance that there was nothing more to me than that. Even as I typed this out, I know this is not true. But just coming to this realization was crushing. I’m not looking for sympathy or pity, I’m just highlighting the fact that even with the progress I have made - the old thoughts are still there and they will be for a long time. This is a way of thinking that has been ingrained for YEARS. The only difference now is that I know they exist. But that’s all. They exist. I won’t let them control me.

I still have a long way to go. I am still struggling to redefine my intentions going into exercise and continuing to learn to be gentle with myself. It’s hard. Really hard. But I’m working on it.

22/01/2020

Took some time to move my body today. It wasn’t a lot and it won’t happen everyday, but it was something I wanted to do. I’m starting off 2020 by being more cognizant of my intentions. I’m finding that in the past I was hiding my disordered relationship with food and my body behind the guise of health and wellness. My body and mind are still healing in many ways and I’m still learning to spot the differences in the choices I make and why I make them. Realizing the balance between eating whatever I want because of years of restricted and disordered eating is different than eating to nourish my body and give it what it needs. Moving my body when and how I want to because it makes me feel good vs working out to look a certain way. It’s hard to see and know the difference sometimes and even harder to let go of that old mindset. This isn’t a resolution for the new year, this is something I’ve been working on and will need to continue to work on for a long time. Know the difference. Realize your intentions. Heal.

20/08/2019

Over a year ago - my Transformation Tuesday post would be some sort of before and after picture of me flexing (and holding my breath and using the exact light that made my muscles look TONED AF). I’ve decided recently that I no longer want to post before and after pictures like that. I used to use my own pictures and other people’s before and after pictures as motivation. But I now realize that it made me focus on only the physical/ superficial changes my body was making. I ended up constantly checking myself in the mirror, flexing, sucking in, noticing every little fluctuation in tone, worrying about every carb or calorie. Today, I’ve made the decision that this is not the way I want to spend my time. Instead, I want to enjoy my growing and changing family, improving my relationship with my body and my overall happiness. I’m more interested in the transformations that you can’t see in a mirror. How about you?

16/08/2019

That feeling when you’re walking out of work on a Friday and you’re off the weekend! Working at a hospital and wearing scrubs every day makes it hard to feel stylish and cute when you’re basically in pajamas. Enter FIGS! I’ve worn scrub pants for a while, but this is my first scrub top I’ve gotten from them! I usually wear basic tees to work, but I may have to be a scrub top person now!

14/08/2019

For today’s walk I decided to trade in the stroller for the cutest weighted vest I’ve ever seen! 🥰🤣 @ Chicago, Illinois

31/07/2019

Thanks and for the new fit!!! You really know how to make a mama feel good! Good thing these leggings are moisture wicking because that’s a lot of baby drool 🤤 🤣. Check out my stories to get in on a fun event in Lincoln Park complete with workout, DJ and maybe even some giveaways!

28/07/2019

Decided to join this week to try and add some routine to my workouts again. I chose the Post-Pregnancy Program and to be honest, when I looked at the first week I was disappointed that it was mostly stretching, walking and really simple movements. In my head I was expecting the usual high intensity, burpee filled workouts I was used to seeing - so when I saw this I almost laughed. Now having finished the first week, I’m grateful for this slow transition into movement again. This program was a great way for me to set achievable goals without getting discouraged and overwhelmed right out the gate. Even just scheduling 30min aside each day as a new mom was a challenge - but it felt great to move my body again - even just a little bit. I even treated myself to a class today with my fave and got to sweat it out to the magic of Beyoncé ✨Happy Sunday, friends!

18/06/2019

It’s been exactly a year, 1 month and 15 days since my last class. I could barely stay out of the saddle and stay on beat, but it felt good to be back today. A lot has changed in the past year, specifically my mindset and how I’m deciding to approach “wellness” this time around. (Link in bio about how wellness has become such a machine). This time around, I’m going to workout when I feel excited to do it. It’s not going to be a chore and it’s not going to be 5-6x/week. It’s going to be something that makes me feel good and may not even involve exercising. Today I was excited to tap it back again, tomorrow may be a different story.

25/05/2019

🔹CURRENTLY: enjoying my present body🔹As I got dressed today, I tried on countless outfits trying to find the perfect thing to hide all the things I want to hide these days: my wider hips, my less toned arms, my softer middle. I settled on this particular outfit even though it exposed my arms because in that moment I felt content in my body. Fast forward to walking past my reflection in the window and the alarm in the back of my head goes off telling me “Hey! Whoa! What’s going on here? Cover up those arms - you haven’t been working out and it shows!” The duality that exists in my mind between accepting the strength in my body for what it’s been through this past year and then at the same time tearing it down for not being where I was a year ago has been quite the battle. Learning to catch myself when the negative thoughts come out and not letting them run away with me is hard. I know that it’s going to be an adjustment, a cognitive and verbal shift in how I talk about myself in my head and out loud. I need to be better about living in my body in its present state and not how it was in the past or how it could be in the future. So I’ve decided that TODAY I like the outfit that I chose, I actually did my hair, I put on makeup and in this moment I am content in this body.

26/04/2019

I am overwhelmed with all the LOVE and SUPPORT I got from my last post. I am so thankful for this community for allowing me to learn and grow as an athlete, a woman and now a mom. Thank you. 📸:

24/04/2019

Hi my name is Kassie and I’m a working mom struggling to find balance. When I started this Instagram - it was about accountability, getting to be as fit as I could and the IG fitness community. I was in it for the validation and was notorious for “doing it for the gram.” I had to post every day and I had to get the perfect shot. Since the day I found out I was pregnant, there was a noticeable shift in how I posted on here. I tried to post as often as I could and tried to show that I was staying active because I didn’t want to let down this community that I’ve grown with. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t keep up anymore and it discouraged me. I felt discouraged because fitness was such a huge part of my life, my IG account was such a huge part of my life. I felt like an imposter and a hypocrite because everything that I was about - i.e staying active, no excuses, a fit pregnancy - no longer seemed to fit into my life and I felt lost. I debated for a while deleting this account all together because I couldn’t put it to use the same way I had been. Being a newly working mom, it’s been hard finding any sort of balance to an active lifestyle I used to have. It’s not even that I want time to go to the gym - I’m not ready for that. My body and mind are torn between wanting to move and sweat but also sit and cuddle with my son. Now that I’m back to work - any “free time” that I would have to get a workout in I would much rather spend holding Ziggy. And yet I still want to sweat and lift heavy things and feel my muscles ache from a workout.

What I’m basically trying to say is that I’m going to keep this account open. I’m going to try and be real about how hard it is to find balance and share it with all of you. This definitely means changing what this account looks like compared to what it originally started out as. I may lose some followers and I may gain some, but I’m going to try and keep this account for myself and for as long as it serves me. So for all the working mommas and the stay at home mommas and ALL other mommas, I see you and I love you. We’re all just trying to do our best. ❤️

Kick Kass Body