I want to stop for a second and get really transparent.

I want to talk to the women who feel like they've been body-obsessed their whole lives. The ones who can't look back on their past and think of a single time after childhood that they weren't thinking about how to make their bodies look BETTER.

This is MY story and it's the story of SO MANY women out there.

I've always been athletic. I've always been obsessed with fitness. And it almost killed me.

An unhealthy relationship with food looks different for everyone. Some people undereat. Some people overeat. Some people obsess over tracking and counting. Everyone's journey is different.

My competitive spirit started at a young age and while I usually channeled that into sports, it was when I got to college that I started channeling into an unhealthy obsession with fitness.

It was fueled by my neverending battle with never feeling like I was enough. There was a transition from working out for fitness to working out non stop to control my weight.

I would spend two hours in the gym TWICE a day. Four hours per day- every day. That is at least 28 hours per week spent obsessing over burning just a few more calories. Running just a little harder because I ate that piece of pizza.

That's all time I can't get back.

I would use the gym to punish myself for 'bad decisions' I made with food.

Does this sound familiar?

After I gained the baby weight the second time (another 65 pounds). I was obsessed, again, with finding time to work out for hours per day, while working a demanding job and being a mother.

Something had to give.

And it finally did.

I threw my back out and my body forced me to finally slow down. I hadn't been stretching or taking care of myself. I hadn't been listening to my body.

I reached the moment where I knew I had to change or I was never going to be able to keep up with the same pace I'd been going for decades.

I was turning 40, my marriage was falling apart, I had young kids. The world was spinning.

And then I found yoga.

I had my Eat, Pray, Love moment and I went on a yoga retreat that changed my life.

I started to become more flexible and more centered- both physically and mentally.

Months turned into years and I developed in my yoga practice and even started integrating into my teachings.

It's great for women of all ages but especially those of us that are over 40.

It helped me to slow down and focus on more efficient exercises off that mat as well. I'm no longer working out 2 hours at a time. I have 45 minute workouts once a day and I'm in even better shape than I was then.

So, please know, mammas, there is a better way than the never-ending obsession. You learn and you grow and you start to truly listen to your body and things start to change FOR GOOD.

If you're interested in hearing more about my journey, tune into The Wellness Revolution Podcast HERE.