More than 13 years ago, after my youngest was born, I started trying to lose the last bit of baby weight.

At first, I thought it was a simple problem. If I could just find the right diet, the right workout, or the right plan, surely my body would respond.

Over the years, I tried a little bit of everything—running, calorie counting, intermittent fasting, keto, paleo, yoga, rebounding, Beachbody programs, metabolism programs, and more. And honestly, I learned something valuable from every one of them.

But what I didn’t realize was that my body wasn’t living in a vacuum.

During those years, I was raising eight children, moving our family to France, learning a new language, navigating migraines, walking through COVID, moving back to the United States, and dealing with all the challenges and transitions that come with real life.

Looking back, I don’t think the biggest problem was my body.

I think my mindset was off.

I kept thinking the answer was to push harder, be more disciplined, or find the next solution. What I’ve slowly learned is that health is about so much more than food and exercise. It’s also about stress, hormones, sleep, mindset, faith, and learning to work with your body instead of constantly fighting it.

I still don’t have everything figured out. But I finally feel like I’m asking better questions.

And sometimes that’s where real progress begins.

🎙️ Listen to the full podcast episode for the rest of the story.