Katie Austin Admits Pregnancy 'Can Be Very Lonely' as She Reveals Mom Denise's 3-Word Advice About Navigating Motherhood

Katie Austin is getting candid about the realities of pregnancy — from changing body image to the emotional highs and lows — as she prepares to become a first-time mom.

The fitness expert and six-time Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model recently launched a new pregnancy collection on the KA App, featuring 10 workouts and a nutrition guide designed to support women through the different stages of pregnancy. Created while Austin was experiencing pregnancy herself, the collection focuses on adapting movement and nutrition to how a woman actually feels rather than trying to maintain her pre-pregnancy routine.

For Austin, that flexibility has been especially important as she navigates the unpredictable physical and emotional changes that come with pregnancy.

“Pregnancy can be a very lonely thing if you think about it so it’s important to make sure you’re actively talking about what you’re feeling with those around you,” Austin exclusively tells OK!.

Austin, who has built her career around fitness and wellness, admits pregnancy has completely shifted the way she thinks about exercise.

“We can work out in different phases of our lives and that's always constant,” she explains. “One moment you're gonna love Pilates more than strength training. Us as women go through so many different changes in our life and so working around the phase of life that you're in is actually really important to evolve.”

“It's really taught me that not everything needs to be so go go go and focus on a really hard workout,” she continues. “A great Pregnancy workout can just be walking, some 360 breathing, or some pelvic floor work. You might not sweat a lot but at the same time you're still doing everything that your body needs.”

Austin has also had to give herself more grace when it comes to body image. Having modeled for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit six times, she says appearing on the runway and in a shoot while pregnant was empowering, but she still experienced moments of self-doubt.

“It was so cool to walk to one runway and also shoot this year pregnant,” she reflects. “I felt really confident after walking the show and after shooting for SI swimsuit, but during those moments, you definitely question yourself.

The model notes: "It definitely changed my relationship to my body image a bit to give myself a lot more grace. Confidence can be completely inner beauty and feeling s---. It doesn't have to be defined on what you look like at all.”

Austin is also determined not to make postpartum weight loss the focus of her journey after giving birth.

“Pregnancy is one of the only times that people really feel like it’s socially acceptable to comment on a woman's body,” she points out. “It's wild how many people have commented on my body now that I'm pregnant. That goes for so many other women as well.”

While Austin knows she'll eventually want to return to movement after welcoming her daughter, she says her motivation won't be about immediately changing her appearance.

“I already know myself and I want to start working out again to feel like myself, so I am excited to start really moving my body intentionally postpartum to feel like myself, not for losing weight,” she mentions. “The few months of having a baby, my one soul purpose is just going to be to keep her alive.”

“But for my mental health I'm definitely gonna wanna get back to movement,” she adds.

That mindset is also why Austin believes trying to maintain a pre-pregnancy body throughout pregnancy can be counterproductive.

“I feel like that's just setting yourself up for failure,” she says. “If you try to go into your workout program, trying to maintain your pre-pregnancy body, that's just not in the cards. You're growing an entire human and of course you should be focusing on things that make you feel strong and supportive, but also what’s going to help your baby.”

Austin said one of the biggest lessons she learned while creating the collection was that pregnancy simply can't be planned out perfectly.

“You can't plan for it,” she emphasizes. “I think that's what really humbled me as someone who planned everything to a T.”

One day, Austin may have plenty of energy and want to lift weights, while another might call for nothing more than a short pelvic floor routine.

“You cannot control what you're going to feel like and that's the biggest shift,” she explains.

Rather than requiring users to follow a rigid schedule, Austin created a library of workouts that women can choose from depending on how they're feeling that day. The collection includes five- to 10-minute classes as well as 15- and 20-minute workouts.

“You can kind of pick and choose what type of workout you want to do that day, press play, and follow along,” she details. “You can do it in your own living room.”

And there's no need to get dressed up for the occasion.

“The best part about it is you don't need to look cute,” Austin states. “You don't need to dress up in a cute set, do your hair, or makeup. You can do it in your PJs because it's all about showing up for yourself, even on the days that you don't feel like it because once you do 10 minutes, you will feel so much better.”

Nutrition is another major component of the collection. Austin, who has developed recipes for years through her app and website, says she's particularly focused on nutrients including fiber, iron and protein during her own pregnancy.

“It's so important to make sure you are doing what works for your body,” she declares. “It's also fueling your body properly but also not being too hard on yourself is really important.”

The nutrition guide includes resources for the first, second and third trimesters, while Austin is also working on easy freezer-friendly postpartum recipes.

Her personal go-to? One-pan meals.

“Anything one pan takes me no time at all to make,” she suggests. “I want to make sure that I'm setting myself up for success, postpartum too, and focusing on finding really easy but nutrient dense recipes that are also really tasty.”

As Austin prepares to enter motherhood herself, she's been leaning on her mom, fitness icon Denise Austin, for support — though the younger Katie says her mom is also learning how much has changed since she became a mother more than three decades ago.

“We went to get some baby stuff together and she's learning just as much as I am because she's like ‘Oh my goodness this was 32 years ago when I had you and I forgot all about it!’” Katie tells OK!.

Still, Denise has given her daughter one simple three-word piece of advice that has stuck with her.

“Do your best,” Katie shares. “My mom’s best advice is just to do your best and that's all that matters.”

That perspective has become especially meaningful as Katie approaches the final weeks of her pregnancy.

“In this stage of my life, I really learned that sometimes you have to be selfish,” she confesses. “I've said no to so many things recently and have been doing the things that I actually want to do because I know time is so limited and is my top priority right now.”

With only a few weeks left before she welcomes her daughter, Austin is embracing the uncertainty alongside the excitement.

“I am just very, very excited to become a mom,” she gushes. “I have those moments where I'm really scared at the same time and I think all those emotions are really natural where you get scared, anxious, and excited all the same time.”

“You never know what to expect until it happens to you,” she concludes. “And so I'm really excited to slow down, be with my baby, and be very present.”