Anika Moa opens up about her weight loss and the backhanded compliments she's gotten

After Anika Moa gave birth to her darling daughter Marigold, she made it her mission to get fit and healthy so she could be there for her kids.

In the process of doing that, Anika happened to lose a significant amount of weight, and she says that while she’s feeling really "proud" about what she’s achieved, one thing she doesn’t like is all the backhanded compliments she’s received.

"I just think the first thing you say to someone … don’t say ‘aw you’ve lost heaps of weight, god, you were so big before’ or ‘you’ve halved your body weight’," Anika explained after revealing she had lost around 34kgs.

"Say: 'aw you look absolutely beautiful', 'you’re looking happy', 'how are you feeling?' ... Bring that into the conversation, not the weight thing."

"My goal is to be fit, and I think that I am fit now. I’m proud of myself."

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So today I realised that my new passion is running. I am a runner. Running has been amazing for my mental wellbeing, my health, my awareness around my body, my stress and the almost euphoric feeling I get post run! Guess what, one day I put on my shoes like Forrest Gump and started running. I was probably running from this awful year but I ended up running into ME.. I ran slowly at first and I still run slowly when I'm tired or have been up all night with a sick child or two. I smile to myself when I run. I have wrinkles from running. I look like a bloated beetroot when I run. But this is my self care. I have done a half marathon just by running around my area in Auckland. I have had a few injuries. I have felt 'fat' sometimes while running but I told myself I was beautiful. I've still got a gunt which I'm slightly proud of. So, if you wanna do it, then do it cos we only have one life ya'll - except if you're a cat - I believe in you! Put those shoes on! OK bye. 😜 Love from running guru Anika Moa lol❤️

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Anika also took to Instagram to share her thoughts on her favourite new activity that has helped her reach her fitness goal: running.

“So today I realised that my new passion is running. I am a runner. Running has been amazing for my mental wellbeing, my health, my awareness around my body, my stress, and the almost euphoric feeling I get post-run!” she wrote.

“Guess what, one day I put on my shoes like Forrest Gump and started running. I was probably running from this awful year but I ended up running into ME. I ran slowly at first and I still run slowly when I'm tired or have been up all night with a sick child or two. I smile to myself when I run. I have wrinkles from running. I look like a bloated beetroot when I run.

“But this is my self-care. I have done a half marathon just by running around my area in Auckland. I have had a few injuries. I have felt 'fat' sometimes while running but I told myself I was beautiful. I've still got a gunt which I'm slightly proud of. So, if you wanna do it, then do it cos we only have one life ya'll - except if you're a cat - I believe in you! Put those shoes on!”

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