Naomi Osaka Gets Candid About ‘Disheartening’ Struggle to Lose Weight After Welcoming Daughter Shai: ‘I Felt Really Ashamed’

Naomi Osaka is opening up about her challenging weight loss journey after welcoming her daughter Shai in July 2023.

On Sunday, Oct. 27, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion, 26, candidly shared an Instagram carousel full of progress photos from throughout the past year, as she worked to lose the weight she gained during her pregnancy with Shai, whom she shares with rapper Cordae.

In a lengthy caption, the mom of one spoke honestly as she detailed the “disheartening” journey, from her “overwhelming urge” to bounce back fast, to finding gratitude for her body no matter how it looks.

“Honestly I don’t really know what to caption this post,” she admitted. “I wanted to say ‘body changes throughout the year’ but it actually means a lot more to me than that.”

“There were moments this year where I felt really ashamed of my body, (for example when I had to wear form fitting tennis clothes lol),” Osaka shared. “I was also constantly struggling with this overwhelming urge to ‘snapback’, seeing other moms seemingly shrink immediately after having their baby was an expectation I began to put on myself.”

She shared that this “self comparison” was even more difficult for the tennis champ, “because I felt as an athlete I should be losing weight quicker than most, I was in the gym everyday so that thought didn’t feel too unrealistic.”

“Most weeks would feel similar to the previous week and the weight didn’t disappear overnight so it was a bit disheartening,” she wrote, adding, “To get to the point I’m at now was definitely a journey, an adventure I know that I’m still embracing.”

Osaka then discussed how this journey has given her a newfound gratitude for her body.

“All bodies are different and I appreciate mine for how it is,” she said. “My body has done so much for me and adapted so well to the tasks that I’m asking from it, I’m extremely grateful and thankful.”

“While typing this I realized that if I had to title this post it would be super long and go like- “thank you body for the journey over the past year, I’m excited to learn more about what you’re capable of in the years to come ❤️,” she concluded her post.