Sharna Burgess’ ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Return Made Her Conscious of Quarantine Weight Gain

Sharna Burgess is back for Dancing With the Stars Season 29, but it will be a season like no other. The world has been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic all year, with tapings like those for DWTS will have to deal with rigorous testing and go on without crowds. Furthermore, many people have spent their year mostly in quarantine to prevent contracting and spreading the illness. Burgess is one of those people, and she’s now realized she’s not in optimal shape for the series.

Burgess took to Instagram on Thursday to admit to her followers that she had fallen out of shape this year. While she still seemed to be in overall healthy condition, she skipped too many workouts this year, opting for Vegemite on toast instead.

“Quarantine fitness…. it’s been an adjustment that’s for sure. As someone who loves the gym, loves her routine, loves the group classes and gets inspired by the environment… isolation and lockdowns didn’t exactly sit well with me,” Burgess wrote on Instagram. “It wasn’t until I was picked up for DWTS that I suddenly got the ‘oh [poop emoji]’ feeling. Waves of regret for all the vegemite on toast instead of working out. As a friend of mine says ‘I’ve made a grave error.’”

The 35-year-old dancer attributes her recent Good Morning America appearance alongside the other Season 29 pros as the moment she realized she wasn’t as fit as she wanted. She said she had a “minor meltdown” when she saw the “teen tiny” costume she was given for the remote appearance.

“It was fine, I LOOK FINE, I am not fat-shaming myself [laughing out loud]. BUT, I didn’t feel connected to my core, didn’t feel the strength in my body and didn’t see the tone that I wanted,” Burgess wrote. “Because I wasn’t over the last few months honoring what my body needed with the excuse of ‘well.. COVID’ I was no longer feeling good about what I was seeing and feeling. I wasn’t feeling my physical body accomplish anything of merit when it’s used to doing that every day. No wonder I was feeling off.”

Burgess happily let fans know that she has already slimmed down some and starting building muscle back. She passed on some motivation and advice to her followers looking to bring a feeling of power to their bodies.

“If you’re feeling bad about yourself… ask yourself the question. What are you doing to feel GOOD about yourself? Have you given your body a reason to feel loved and appreciated?” she wrote. Check in on that… we all have moments just like I did. Love you guys. Stay positive and stay healthy.”