Fixer Upper star Joanna Gaines is learning to play golf, and it’s certainly proving a challenge for the Magnolia Network star if her social media updates are anything to go by. Gaines, 46, shared a video of herself wearing gray pants and a white shirt, practicing her swing on the green. “Golf is hard. @chipgaines thanks for believing in me 😂,” she captioned the video. Gaines works hard to make time for career, marriage, and children: Here’s how the bust mother-of-five stays healthy, happy, and full of energy.
Gaines relies on protein—and coffee—to give her energy throughout the day. “I’m big into eggs in the morning just for the protein,” she told Country Living. “And my kids love eggs so we’re always doing some type of scrambled eggs or quiche. We have a ton of chickens and a ton of eggs so we try to take advantage of that. Because I put so much effort into breakfast and dinner, lunch is more grab and go. I’ll try to do a salad with chicken. I’ll always have protein bars or something else that will help get me through—especially when I’m going to work because I usually get into a slump around 1:00 p.m.”
Gaines learned to genuinely enjoy working out after changing her mindset. “I got a fresh idea of what health really means and it starts from the inside out,” she captioned an Instagram post. “My heart, mind and body need to be strong for the tasks set before me. What I do now will have an effect later. I have had to take baby steps on getting back on track and simply doing a workout for only 20 minutes a day unlike my 1 1/2 hour workouts from the past. This new healthy mindset takes the pressure off and makes working out enjoyable and more practical for this season.”
Gaines refuses to stress about balancing work with home life, and says she and husband Chip Gaines prioritize their family. “When people ask the questions, ‘How do you do what y’all are doing?’ Or, ‘How do you balance work with home?,’ we always say kind of the same thing, which is, ‘Balance is this elusive thing. Good luck,'” she told PEOPLE. “Balance isn’t something I think that’s achievable in this lifetime. We’re all trying our best.”
Gaines is embracing the changes that come with age. “As I am getting older the idea of beauty is very different for me, yes, I am getting gray hairs and wrinkles, but I feel more beautiful now because I know I have a great purpose,” she told Darling magazine. “I know I’m meant to raise my children well, to love my husband well, and to help others in their home. When I do these things, that’s when I feel beautiful.”
Gaines has good advice for the young generation about self-acceptance. “If I could tell the younger generation something it would be to start from within,” she told Darling magazine. “Pinpoint insecurities early on and find the root of those dark places: What planted the seed? What started the lie? Find and focus on the truth in those areas and in that place your heart will find freedom. Deal with the issues of your heart and allow your beauty to be defined from a whole place from within.”