‘Secret’ 18 month struggle in Tiffiny Hall’s Bali bikini snap

Tiffiny Hall shared a bikini-clad holiday photo while relaxing in Bali – now the 39-year-old has shared the “secret” behind the snap.

Smiling on the sand while sipping on a delicious fresh coconut, you’d never know it took Tiffiny Hall almost two years to feel confident enough to take this holiday snap.

The personal trainer gave birth to her second child, daughter Vada, with husband Ed Kavalee in May 2022.

But despite being overjoyed at giving their son Arnold, 5, a younger sibling, the pregnancy took its toll on 39-year-old Hall physically.

“I put on a lot of weight with Vada, I couldn’t believe it,” the founder of online health and fitness program TXO Life told news.com.au.

“It wasn’t due to not exercising or eating badly. But hormones and fluid culminated to 40 kilograms of weight gain.

“I looked pregnant even eight months after having Vada.

“I had a big tummy that stuck out. And it wasn’t just a mum tum, I looked pregnant.”

Tiffiny Hall gave birth to daughter Vada in May 2022. Picture: Supplied

On several occasions, people even approached Hall in the supermarket, congratulating her on being pregnant again, which left her feeling “mortified”, she said.

Hall said the additional weight added a lot of pressure to her joints and left her struggling to walk up stairs, even after giving birth.

The mum-of-two also said her core and her pelvic floor were “absolutely ruined”.

Hall, a popular TV personality, said the change to her physical abilities was so dramatic, it left her worried for her fitness career.

“I honestly thought my fitness career was over. Like I honestly thought, ‘This is it for me. I’m so weak, I can’t do anything’,” the former Gladiator said.

“I just thought it was over.”

As a result, Hall’s confidence plummeted, affecting everything from her physical activity to intimacy with her husband.

While she tried to exercise, the Melbourne native quickly realised she was headed down the wrong path, and sought help from a women’s health physiotherapist who helped her slowly rehabilitate her core and pelvic floor.

She recently posted this bikini snap on Instagram. Picture: Supplied

The physiotherapy focused on training her lower abdominals, whereas the second-time mother had been focusing on the upper abdominals.

“I was training the upper abdominals too much which was pushing the lower like the tummy out like a balloon,” she said.

“If you squeeze a balloon up top, it pushes the bottom air out more and creates that mountain look if the upper abdominals are too tight.

“Once I understood that concept, and I started training lower abdominals properly, I got massive results and it was absolutely life changing for me because I got my core strength back, my pelvic floor strength back and my confidence back.”

Eventually she lost the weight she gained during pregnancy, but Hall said the change wasn’t “just about the physicality of it. It was about how I felt as a woman”.

Interestingly, she explained she wasn’t trying to lose weight but change the composition of her body, meaning she wanted to increase lean muscle mass and decrease fat.

She was determined to ignore the scales and instead focus on other milestones such as running her first kilometres, playing with the kids and fitting into her favourite pair of jeans.

It was this notion that inspired the fitness expert to popularise the term “bouncing forward” following the birth of her first child in 2017.

The idea is to shift away from the mentality that new mothers need to “bounce back” to their weight before their pregnancy.

She revealed she put on 40kg with Vada. Picture: Supplied

It’s been such a hit among women and new mothers, Hall did a TedxTalk on the topic in 2010, and now a podcast with Nova called Bounce Forward.

“Bouncing forward mean more now because back then it was about a post-partum journey – but now I’ve been in business for seven years,” she said.

“I’ve had ups and downs and trials and tribulations with business and in my personal life and my health, and I’ve had so much experience since then. I don’t just bounce forward in post-partum, I bounce forward through all kinds of disappointments and failures.

“It’s about having a mindset of kindness to yourself and self acceptance and compassion in those moments.”

It doesn’t just work for mums either, with Hall explaining she has had people contact her to say they were bouncing forward following a divorce or after the loss of a job.

“Bouncing back is still around and it drives me insane,” she said.

“I’m still seeing it on social media. I’m still seeing influencers and celebrities posting back in their jeans after you know six weeks and it’s just so damaging.

“I think that there needs to be more post-partum imagery out there embracing having the mum tum, embracing having loose skin and loving the loose skin.”

Tiffiny has been open on social media. Picture: Supplied

The TV star has been candid about her journey after having both Vada and Arnold, and she said she was nervous especially the first time she posted a photo in underwear following the birth of her son.

“People didn’t expect that from me – and it went viral and I decided I was going to keep doing this,” she said.

Her journey, and her experience with women’s health physio Bec Liberatore, led her to create the MumBodXO program.

“I just was so grateful for that program, and women everywhere are contacting me about it and saying it’s changed their life too,” she said.

“And I’m just so proud of it. I just hope that everyone tries it. And it’s not just for women who have had babies. Anyone can build a strong core with this program.”

As a result, Hall has regained her confidence, recently sharing the snap in Bali wearing a bright striped bikini.

In the post she explained the “secret” behind the gorgeous photograph, telling her 234,000 fans it was not about “focusing on the scales but rather aiming for non-scale victory”.

“It feels amazing to be here, a year later having had so much fun with the love and support of my friends, family, trainers and the beautiful TXO community,” she wrote.

“It really is about the journey, not the destination.”

Hall’s followers were quick to commend the star, labelling her “inspiring” while adding she looked “unreal” in the image.

“You look amazing! What a transformation and inspiration to mums,” one said.

“The journey is always hard, but the destination is oh so worth it,” another agreed.