I’ve been a dietitian for nearly two decades. I talk to women every day about how to nourish their bodies, build sustainable habits, and stop starting over on Monday. But here’s what I don’t always share publicly: my relationship with movement has looked completely different in every season of my life — and that’s exactly the point.
This isn’t a “couch to fitness queen” story. It’s messier, more honest, and more useful than that. Sustainable fitness isn’t one thing. It evolves. It has to. And it looks different for every single person — because our lifestyles, our capacity, and our circumstances are all different. Comparison is the thief of joy, and nowhere is that more true than in fitness.
Here’s how my journey has unfolded.
Senior Year of High School: The Beginning (And It Wasn’t Even My Idea)
I’d been active for years — cheerleading had kept me moving and I loved it. But senior year, I decided to step back and focus on other interests. What filled that gap surprised me.
My friend invited me to the gym. Her parents worked out regularly and she thought it would be fun. I said yes mostly because it sounded like something to do with someone I liked. We’d head upstairs to the women’s-only section, play around on the treadmills, mess with the weights, and have a blast.
That’s the part I want you to hear: it started with fun and friendship. Just two girls showing up and moving their bodies. That laid the foundation for everything that came after — the idea that exercise could be something you enjoy, not something you endure.
College: Learning to Do It Right (And Making Friends Along the Way)
Joining the rec center was a no-brainer. It became one of the first ways I connected with new people — sweating alongside strangers who quickly became friends.
My freshman year (I went to TCU…go Frogs!) I also signed up for a weightlifting class. I was one of two women in the entire class, learning from scratch alongside guys who’d been lifting for years. Humbling and empowering in equal measure. What I gained wasn’t just stronger muscles — it was proper technique, confidence, and the understanding that lifting weights is for women.
I also ran. A lot. Around campus with friends, talking through life while our feet hit the pavement. Strength training plus running — a combination I’d return to in different forms for the next two decades.
Early Career: Hot Yoga, Anxiety, and a Nervous System Reset
When I entered the corporate world, I encountered stress I wasn’t prepared for. Looking back, I recognize it now — the tension in my chest, the constant mental chatter. At the time, I just knew something felt off.
Then I stumbled into a hot yoga class near my apartment. I went because I like trying new things. I stayed because of what happened in that room. Within the first class, I felt my nervous system downshift in a way I hadn’t experienced before. The heat, the breath, the movement — something about the combination let the pressure out.
That was the beginning of a love affair with yoga that’s never ended. Not as a trend or a phase — as a tool I know works for my body and my mind. This was also when I first understood that exercise wasn’t just about staying in shape. It was about being able to function.
The Duathlon, Triathlon, and P90X Year
Once settled into adult life, I was ready for a challenge. I joined a track team to learn proper running mechanics and trained for my first duathlon — which I ended up doing with the man who would become my husband. We went on to do triathlons too, just two people who loved being active and spending time outside together.
Then we got married and discovered P90X. (Remember those DVDs?!) We’d clear the living room of our apartment and press play, pushing each other through every sweaty session. It was fun, it was effective, and it was exactly the kind of at-home, do-it-together fitness that fit our season of life.
Fitness can be a shared value that connects you to the people you love. The community around movement — a track team, a training partner, a spouse — makes it stick.
Pregnancy: Moving Differently Isn’t the Same as Stopping
When I got pregnant, everything changed. The intensity dropped, the movement shifted, and I had to make peace with that.
I walked. A lot. And fell in love with it in a way I hadn’t before. I kept up some weights — mostly bodyweight movements — and leaned into yoga for mobility and recovery. The lesson wasn’t just “you can still work out when pregnant.” It was that modification is not failure. Adapting to your body’s current needs is actually the most sophisticated thing you can do.
New Mom Years: Consistency Over Everything
Then the kids arrived — and with them, the humbling reality of having no time.
Gone were the long training runs. What replaced them was a new operating principle: just do something. Ten minutes. Fifteen. A yoga video before the kids woke up. A bodyweight circuit while they played at my feet.
I stopped measuring success by duration or intensity and started measuring it by consistency. Did I show up? That counted. My morning workout wasn’t optional — it was how I kept myself sane. The thing I did for me before I did everything for everyone else.
If you’re in this season right now — I see you. Short workouts done consistently beat long workouts done sporadically every single time.
Now: Strong, Efficient, and Listening to My Body
My kids are in grade school. I have more flexibility in my schedule and a much clearer picture of what I want from exercise.
Right now I lift weights twice a week, hit the sauna twice a week, and fill in the gaps with walks, bike rides, and playing outside with my kids. It’s intentional but not rigid. I listen to my body — challenging it when it’s ready, pulling back when it needs rest. More is not always more, and overtraining is a real stressor I’m not willing to add to my plate.
Each piece serves a purpose: strength training protects my muscle and metabolism; heat-based workouts reset my nervous system; daily movement keeps my mind clear. I don’t have hours to spend at the gym — but I have intention and consistency, and that is enough.
What Two Decades of Moving My Body Has Taught Me
Your fitness doesn’t have to look the same in every season. The version that worked at 22 may not be the same at 42. That’s not failure. That’s wisdom.
Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. Everyone’s lifestyle, capacity, and circumstances look different. Comparison is the thief of joy — and in fitness, it’ll keep you stuck chasing someone else’s routine instead of building your own.
Consistency always wins. Not perfection, not intensity. Just showing up in whatever form that takes right now.
Movement is a mental health strategy. I’ve relied on it to manage anxiety, postpartum fog, entrepreneurial stress, and the weight of trying to do too many things. It works. It’s always worked.
Your body is with you for every season of your life. Move it in a way that honors the season you’re actually in.
Ready to build sustainable nutrition habits that actually fit your life? That’s exactly what we do at Cultivate Nutrition. [Learn more about working with me →]
