Sangita Patel has been open about the relationship between motherhood and fitness.
On Wednesday, the Canadian television personality and former ET Canada host posted a photo on Instagram with her youngest daughter, Shayla, now 14, on a merry-go-round.
In the first slide, the 45-year-old shared three photos from 2018 to 2024 side by side. While these photos were certainly a fitness flex, they also showed Shayla transitioning from a child to adolescence.
In the second slide, Patel pivoted to nostalgia with a 2010 photo of her holding her then-toddler girlfriend on the beach wearing a black bikini top. In her final slide, Ms Patel shared a photo of her trying to pick up her daughter.
In the caption, Patel opened up about her fitness journey.
“Hey, Shyla has grown up. I respect her now,” the mother of two wrote. “I get a lot of questions about how I started. Well, I told myself that working out is part of my daily routine, like brushing her teeth.”
Patel explained that after giving birth to her second daughter, she wanted to have a better postpartum experience.
“I wasn’t planning on going through the postpartum experience that I had with my first pregnancy,” she said. “I found weightlifting. It was my fuel. And from then on, I found it ‘allowable’ to prioritize myself.”
Patel reiterated her commitment to weightlifting, especially as surgery related to her thyroid cancer diagnosis approaches.
“After the worst of 2023, I want to get really strong mentally and physically for my upcoming surgery. Moms, please prioritize yourself. Now drop and do 10 push-ups. Do it,” she said jokingly.
In the comments, many fans responded to Patel’s post, praising her dedication to maintaining her body’s health and wishing her luck with her upcoming surgery.
“Lifting something heavy = the fountain of youth!” commented fellow Canadian TV presenter Melissa Grello.
“I just admire you and your endless positive spirit,” one follower wrote.
“Wow, you look exactly the same,” said another. “So glad you shared this! Totally agree. It should be a daily habit and her mother should fill her own cup before pouring it to others.”
“Great! You’re so healthy! I’m sure this will help you get through the surgery and recovery time!” one follower said.
In January, Patel shared an update with her followers about her health following surgery in October 2023 to remove a cancerous lump from her thyroid. She revealed that her second surgery and radiation treatment would be necessary to completely remove the cancer, and that she would be on lifelong medication to manage her symptoms.
“This type of cancer could target my bones or lungs, and we don’t want that,” she explained.
Ms Patel described the physical effects of her first surgery, including tissue scarring and two indentations in her jaw, as well as experiencing pressure in her neck and difficulty with certain movements.
“There’s no scar on my neck. What they do is they put two sticks in here,” she said in the video, pointing to either side of her jaw. “Then there’s one main one that goes through the jaw and into the neck. There’s a lot of scar tissue.”
“Sometimes you have to take a deep breath or swallow hard,” she added.
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