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Peta Murgatroyd talks baby weight after returning to 'Dancing With the Stars'

The pro took to the dance floor with "The Bachelor's" Nick Viall on Monday night's season premiere, and despite looking lean, she insisted she's not quite back to her old self.
/ Source: TODAY

She gave birth to her first child just two and a half months ago, but "Dancing With the Stars" champ Peta Murgatroyd is already back in the ballroom — along with what she calls "a bit" of baby weight.

The pro took to the dance floor with "The Bachelor's" Nick Viall on Monday night's season premiere, and despite looking lean in her formfitting cha cha costume, she insisted she's not quite back to her old self since welcoming little Shai to the world.

"Last time I was on 'Dancing With the Stars,' I won," the 30-year-old said in a video that aired before she hit the stage. "I then took a season off to have a child, and now I'm back to defend my title — and hopefully get my abs back."

NICK VIALL, PETA MURGATROYD
Murgatroyd and Viall scored a 24/40 for their cha cha on the season premiere of "Dancing With the Stars."ABC

After the show, she told reporters that her post-baby body is a work in progress.

"I still feel like I’m carrying a little bit of weight and it’s coming off really slowly,” People quoted the dancer as saying. “I feel like my body is getting stronger. It’s getting more flexible. I’m faster every day. I think it’s going to take another month or so probably to just fully be back into Peta mode.”

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Murgatroyd, who's engaged to fellow "DWTS" pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy, also opened up about the issue on her blog recently.

"Doctors told me that, ideally, I'd gain 25-30 lbs.; I figured, 'I'm an athlete. No problem,' right?" she explained. "I ended up gaining nearly 40 lbs. And when I did finally give birth, I walked out of hospital looking 5 months pregnant still!"

Ultimately, though, she isn't worried about how much she gained or how much she's lost so far — or even if it's really all gone in "another month or so," as she alluded to after Monday night's show.

RELATED: 'DWTS' star Maksim Chmerkovskiy reveals 'crazy' experience of taking son to the ER

"It's totally worth it," Murgatroyd wrote. "Sure, that may seem like a lot of weight to gain, but it's exactly what Shai needed to be born healthy and fully developed."

She added that it's important for other moms to know that "everyone's journey is different and no woman should be pressured to stick to a timeline for her body."