Teddi Mellencamp in Workout Gear Says "Happy Birthday" to BFF

Teddi Mellencamp's BFF just had a birthday. "Not only is she a best friend, she's the best time, always there to make me laugh," she captioned one photo of herself and fellow mom and entrepreneur Marisela Arechiga, posing in beachwear. "And hold me accountable," she captioned another, taken during a workout. "Not to mention, we're the coolest moms on the field always," she said, with photos of their kids holding sports trophies. "Happy happy birthday to Marisela Arechiga. Love You! Hope it's the best year yet." How does the podcast host (Two Ts In A Pod with Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge) and one time cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stay so fit at 43? Here's how. 

Mellencamp shared how she manages her anxiety in an interview with Women's Health. "I learned to head off my anxiety by setting aside an hour every Sunday night to make a detailed schedule; when I know what to expect, I stop worrying about it. I learned to wake up before my kids for some precious alone time, to write down three things I am grateful for every day, to make a short to-do list and prioritize the hardest stuff first. Learning how to stop procrastinating and deal with difficult things head on did wonders for banishing the looming cloud of anxiety that had been hanging over me for years. I no longer needed to eat junk food at night to deal with my feelings."

Mellencamp tells Women's Health that she tried a lot of eating plans to see what worked for her. "There's so much information out there about what to eat and what not to eat that I decided I was going to have to experiment on myself. I read the research and tried different healthy foods until I figured out a way to eat that made my body feel its best. I lost over 50 pounds in the next six months! I finally got back to a body I felt comfortable in and this time I was healthy."

Mellencamp tells Prevention that she eats a balanced diet. "I want to make sustainable choices," she explained. "I think what I didn't understand before was that I thought in order to enjoy myself, I had to have a cheat day and have alcohol, pasta, and dessert. Now I've learned balance. Instead of having pasta, wine, and dessert, I'll choose one. But I never feel punished or use food as a reward."

Mellencamp tells NBC News that she makes being healthy a priority. "It doesn't matter if you have a personal trainer. It doesn't matter if you're going to a workout class. If you're eating badly, it doesn't matter. [I realized]:I workout so I can feel better. And then I eat well so I can feel better. And then once I feel better, and I start looking better, everything shifts in your life. All of a sudden you start being a better mother. You start asking for that raise at work. You start shifting things around in your life. You start feeling really true to who you are; you're not having to always make excuses for yourself because you're being exactly who you want to be."

Mellencamp tells NBC News that she tries to stay confident. "How you look [affects] how you feel about yourself. For me it's all about health and wellness, but what I learned is it's all tied in together. If you're not feeling your best, if you're not feeling confident, you are not going to ask your boss for a raise. You are not going to tell your husband when he hurts your feelings. You are not going to be that strong and confident woman you want your kids seeing. Because if you're feeling weak and bad about yourself, it goes everywhere."