Michele Obama wants to encourage people to exercise and stay fit.
On Sunday, Obama took to Instagram to post a photo of herself lifting an exercise ball while doing squats at the gym.
The former First Lady captioned the photo, “It doesn’t always feel good in the moment. But after the fact, I’m always glad I hit the gym. How did you all take care of yourself on this #SelfCareSunday?”
In an interview at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, the 55-year-old explained the importance of women staying health. She said, “We [as women] have to own our health. It’s one of these things that no one can take from you.”
She told Gayle King, “When it comes to our health as women, we are so busy giving and doing for others that we almost feel guilty to take that time out for ourselves,” getting personal about her own experiences.
“A lot of mothers will understand this because I found myself looking around after I had my kids, and I didn’t have time for me, but my husband was at the gym every day. And I was like, well, how are you going to the gym? He was like, ‘I make time for the gym.’ I was like, what?” recalled the Becoming author.
“This was right when we started going to counseling, y’all, so this was one of our issues, you know? But I found myself getting mad at him because he was doing what he needed to do for him. And I think for us as women, many of us, we have a hard time putting ourselves on our own priority list, let alone at the top of it,” continued Obama. “If we don’t have our act together as women, as mothers, as grandmothers, we aren’t going to be able to get our kids on track.”
In 2014, Obama told PEOPLE on her 50th birthday that she had been thinking about her health and aging, and was taking action.
“I make sure that I am up on my checkups. I have never missed a mammogram or a pap smear. I’ve had a colonoscopy,” said Obama. “I don’t obsess about what I eat, but I do make sure that I’m eating vegetables and fruit.” When it comes to her exercise regimen, she said she shifted to yoga from weights and cardio to stay flexible. She added, “I want to feel good, and I want to be as healthy as I can be because I want to be able to enjoy my 70s and 80s.”
