Kerry Washington Is Not Interested In Going Back To Her Pre-Baby Body

We know what you're thinking. Damn, Kerry Washington lost all her baby weight and is totally back to normal!

Hold your horses. Yes, the Scandal star, gracing the cover of Self's September 2015 issue in a navy and hunter-green one-piece, looks fit and fabulous. But no, she's not interested in regaining her pre-baby body.

Allow her to explain.

"A few weeks ago, my manager asked: ‘Do you feel like you’re back? I feel like you’re back,’" Washington shares. "She meant it as a total compliment, but we had this great conversation where I was like, ‘You know what? I try really hard not to use that language, because it’s not about going backward in life.’ I’ve been really focused on not being ‘back’ to anything, but being the best version of myself right now. My body is the site of a miracle now. I don’t want to be pre-miracle.”

Speaking of that little miracle, Washington tells the magazine that her daughter, Isabelle, offers some great motivation for early-morning workouts. Um, can we borrow her?

“I try to get it in so I can be back with my kid early," the actress says. "I have to take care of myself in order to live life the way I want to. It’s important to have rest days. But in the long run, if I don’t work out for, like, three days, I feel worse, not better.”

Bravo. We'll be waiting for you with a glass of Cab Sav when you get back from the gym.

Click through for more of Washington's awe-inspiring shoot for Self, on newsstands August 25.