Houston mother-of-two Veronica Davila doesn't care what people say about No Excuse Mom . . . she's proud to be Ms. August for the controversial group's new swimsuit calendar.
The fitness craze — which claims that kids and jobs are "no excuse" for mothers not to exercise — made waves in September after founder Maria Kang posted a bikini-clad picture of herself on Facebook with the caption "What's your excuse?" The image went viral to garner 12,000 comments, many of which cast her as a "fat-shaming" bully.
Kang issued a lukewarm apology in which she told critics of the picture, "What you interpret is not MY fault. It's yours."
The fitness craze claims that kids and jobs are "no excuse" for mom's not to exercise.
But for Davila and countless other moms across the globe, the now-infamous image proved inspiring.
"If you're saying that's 'mean' and 'fat shaming,' it's down to jealousy that you're jealous because she looks like that and you don't,” she tells KHOU.
The Houston mother, who works from home part-time, has changed her diet and now squeezes two to three extra hours of exercise into her daily routine. After losing 15 pounds in two-and-a half months this past fall, she submitted a swimsuit photo of her own to the No Excuse website and earned herself a page on the new calendar.
She says her weight loss, which she mainly attributes to dietary changes, is minor compared to the other calendar moms, some of whom lost upwards of 60 pounds.
Maria Kang remains active online, even after her temporarily ban from Facebook for a tirade about an online group that encourages plus-size women to post images of themselves in lingerie.
Houston mom Veronica Davila earned herself a page in the new No Excuses Mom calendar.
