She's the daughter of the former Olympic champion Kriss Akabusi so it's little wonder that Shakira Martin, nee Akabusi, is a keen fitness fanatic. In fact, after starting out with a career in musical theater the pretty 27-year-old is now a fitness instructor who runs her own training business, The Natural Health Company. Now Shakira, from London, has decided to share her story of how she got back into shape in just eight weeks after giving birth to her baby boy, Rio, in a bid to inspire other new mothers. Scroll down for video . Shakira Martin has revealed to Femail how she has lost her baby weight in just seven weeks by exercising when her baby boy, Rio, is asleep . Shakira has been sharing her impressive results with her Instagram followers and says she wants to inspire other women . Shakira, who lives in London with her husband, Tom, said that she was horrified to find that while she was pregnant people were constantly telling her she'd never get her shape back. She said: 'It was amazing and it shocked me that everyone was saying to me, "You're never going to get your figure back." 'Even a midwife - not my own - said to me, "There's nothing you can do, your boobs will be saggy, you'll never get your stomach back." 'And I just thought it was very demoralising for me and for that to be the message going out to other women.' Shakira says that having being made to feel like there was no hope she made it her mission to prove people wrong. She said: 'In the end it was the best thing they could have said to me. I made it my mission to get back into shape and I even posted about it on my social media, I said to people, you can follow me as I do this. Shakira poses with her adorable son Rio, who was born at the beginning of January . Shakira, who works as a fitness instructor, put on weight as her bump grew during pregnancy . Shakira shared a photograph of herself on her first day back at the gym, she has since regained her impressive abs . 'Some people commented saying, "I can't believe you're so self obsessed", but it's not about that, it's about being happy and healthy and for me that means being in good shape. It's important to feel good about yourself.' Shakira says she carried on teaching her exercises until just five weeks before Rio's birth, but that didn't stop her putting on weight when she was pregnant. The usually slim and toned Mother said she put on over two and a half stone. 'I was still teaching my classes up until about five or six weeks before he was born,' she said. 'I obviously wasn't lifting any heavy weights any more but I was keeping active and I have a chocolate labrador so he always needs walking. She continued: 'They say you put on about two and a half stone during the pregnancy but I had put that on by six months and you could really see it in my face. 'I would be lying if I said it never bothered me, there was one time I wanted to buy a dress and it was the kind of thing I would have always loved to wear but I just couldn't. 'But I made the choice to become a mother and I think pregnant women look beautiful.' Shakira's first run came 15 days after she gave birth, she jogged for 15 minutes and says it's important to build up your exercise regime slowly . Shakira says one of her favourite things to do is to put on her music and dance around her house . Shakira regularly shares photographs of herself enjoying her work outs on Instagram . Shakira has been showing off pictures of how her body has been changing, these pictures were taken 15 days after she gave birth to baby Rio . Shakira, who has worked with the pop singer Jessie J, revealed that when it came to getting back into shape, she found it was important to take things one step at a time. She said: 'I had to accept, you know, I'm not going to have two hours to go to the gym. But you just have to fit it in where you can. 'I do my exercise in short sharp bursts so if that baby is sleeping for an hour I might do half an hour of exercise. 'I'm lucky enough to have a garden so I'll pop outside where I will do some high knees, jumping jacks, burpees, press ups then some tricep drips and sit ups.' And she'll even dance around her house in a bid to get fit: 'One of my favourite things to do is to put some music on my headphones and just dance around my bedroom. 'I must look completely crazy to anyone if they looked in but I love dancing - I used to do musical theatre and also one of the things I missed the most when I was pregnant and having a baby was being able to go out to a club and dance.' Shakira, pictured here on her wedding day with her father, is the daughter of former Olympic athlete Kriss Akabusi . Shakira's Father Kriss gives her away at her wedding to her husband Tom Martin, they now have a son together named Rio . Shakira says she started exercising again almost as soon as Rio was born: 'I started on day two, I started walking and I went for my first jog after two weeks - it was just 15 minutes but you can build up from there. 'When my husband is home at the weekend, I'll have breakfast and sometimes go to the gym for an hour. 'I'm breastfeeding which also burns a lot of calories and I'm lucky that I can express my milk and leave it with Tom while I pop out. For me it is a priority to be healthy and I want to be an inspiration for other women. 'I don't want to be a size zero, I enjoy the feeling of exercise and doing good for my body.' Shakira says she did put on weight while she was pregnant but that it didn't bother her too much because she feels pregnant women are beautiful . Shakira gives her little boy Rio a kiss as they pose for an adorable family photograph . Shakira says she eats healthily, but unlike a lot of dieters she doesn't cut out carbs. 'I can't have white bread but I have wholemeal bread and lots of eggs and lean meat like chicken and fish. 'People always say you should avoid carbs but for me if I want to keep my muscle and burn fat I have to eat carbs so I will have rice and pasta. She adds: 'One of my tricks is to carry dry cereal around in my bag, people always laugh but I hate the feeling of being hungry and that's far better than eating a packet of crisps. 'As a new mother you know you sometimes don't have time to prepare extravagant meals so I eat a lot of fruit and veg and toast.' Shakira says she tries to do four things a week whether they be a jog or dancing around her room, fitting in her exercise when baby Rio is sleeping. And her hard work has been praised by her friends. She posts regular pictures on Instagram and Twitter with one of her pals commenting on an amazing shot of her abs: 'Omg can I please look like you after I pop this little peanut out? You look amazing!!' Shakira shared this adorable snap of her and Rio and says she likes to try and exercise when he is sleeping .
Shakira Martin has got her abs back just eight weeks after giving birth . The 27-year-old is the daughter of former Olympian Kriss Akabusi . She tries to exercise four times a week when son Rio is sleeping . Shakira says: 'I want to be an inspiration to other women'