Having a baby is difficult for obvious reasons—the diaper changes, the constant spit-up, not to mention dealing with how much your body has changed. This is especially hard when you’re a famous singer in the limelight and, pre-baby, were a fitness guru.

We’re talking about Carrie Underwood, who gave birth to her second baby, Jacob, in January. When she had her first, Isaiah, about three years ago, she found that she was able to lose the weight she gained while pregnant relatively quickly. But this time around she was struggling.

She decided to post about her experience and feelings on it in an Instagram photo of her at the gym lifting weights.

“I’m going to be honest, “bouncing back” after having Jacob has been much more difficult than after I had Isaiah and I’ve been pretty hard on myself lately,” she wrote in the post. “I go into the gym and I can’t run as fast or as far. I can’t lift as much weight or do as many reps as I could a year ago. I just want to feel like myself again…for my body to feel the way that I know it can.”

New moms who used to work out regularly can likely relate to this on a real level—it’s like you’ve gone back to square one. All that hard work and hours spent working out prior to your pregnancy is just gone, wasted. And it can be hard not to feel down about it.

But something in Underwood changed the day she posted this photo. She decided to look at it from a completely new angle—one that we think a lot of new moms can benefit from.

“As I was working out today, I realized that for the past 11(ish) months, my body has not belonged to me,” she writes. “It was a perfect home for Jacob. And even now it belongs to him every time he drinks his milk.”

She realized in that moment that she needs to focus on the silver lining—all of the amazing things her body actually is able to do after birthing a human instead of what it can’t. I mean, it is pretty incredible!

“As I prepare for red carpets and for life on tour, right now I make a promise to myself to start appreciating what my body CAN do and stop focusing on what it can’t,” she wrote.

Underwood then went on to make a vow to herself: that she continues her postpartum fitness journey with this mindset and more optimism than ever before.

“I promise to stop analyzing every angle and every curve and every pound and every meal. I’m going to keep staying the path because it is a journey and as long as I’m always working towards my goals, one day I’ll reach them,” she says. “I’m going to take it day by day, smile at the girl in the mirror, and work out because I love this body and all it has done and will continue to do!”

Preach, girl! We love this motto on postpartum bodies. What do you think of her epiphany? Did you ever struggle to lose the baby weight after giving birth?