Health Challenges Don’t Stop Brooke Burke-Charvet From Loving Her Body

Brooke Burke-Charvet (Photo: Getty Images)

This interview is part of Yahoo Health’s Body-Peace Profiles series, in which we talk with our favorite celebrities about embracing body positivity and healthy habits.

Perhaps you best know Brooke Burke-Charvet, 44, from her appearances on the hit ABC show Dancing With the Stars (she won the competition, and then co-hosted for eight seasons). Or maybe you’re a fan of her activewear line Caelum, launched in 2014, or her book, The Naked Mom. Perhaps you’re an avid reader of her site ModernMom.

But among the many hats Burke-Charvet wears, one thing is consistent: her refreshing outlook on wellness, resilience, and loving and embracing the body you’re in.

Yahoo Health spoke with Burke-Charvet about her time on DWTS, her health, and her best advice for combating the negative self-talk that can so easily discourage us.

Yahoo Health: You have a lot of fans from your time on Dancing With the Stars, where you were not only a host for several seasons, but also one of the celeb winners of the show. Tell us — did dancing change your perspective on your body at all?

Brooke Burke-Charvet: It changed it a lot. [Competing on the show] was difficult and challenging; there were mornings where I’d have to get into an Epsom salt bath just to go and train! We were dancing seven days a week.

The whole experience really changed my life and taught me how to do the impossible, because I wasn’t a dancer. I won that show because I worked my butt off. And Derek [Hough, Brooke’s dance partner] and I really believed that we could win it.

You grow a lot on the show. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done!

Speaking of other scary things you’ve been through, though — you’ve been outspoken about having Hashimoto’s disease and about being a thyroid cancer survivor. How did going through a medical crisis like that change how you view and treat your body?

It taught me that sometimes things that are bigger and stronger and larger than life can affect you. [Having cancer] was crazy scary, but I decided to get really educated on day one and visualize only positive things and to be a really good patient. I totally believe in the importance and value of yearly physicals. It’s really about educating yourself about your body, no matter what you’re going through. When you hear the word “cancer,” it’s terrifying, but the information you have about any medical subject — any medical issue — is really important.

[Having cancer] didn’t really change how I treat myself, because I really took care of myself. But it did make me diligent about my checkups. The older we get, the more checkups we need to have. I’m a really good patient — I don’t mess around with advice. I believe in second opinions. I think our health is one of the most important things we have, and we have the opportunity to take really good care of ourselves if we tune into our bodies.

Related: Model Iskra Lawrence’s Guide to Loving Your Body

(Photo: Getty Images)

You’re also speaking out about living with light bladder leakage, which is something a lot of people experience but isn’t talked about very much. What does a condition like this teach you about loving the body you’re in, even when it can sometimes seem like it’s “fighting” you back?

It’s life! I say that lightly, but I do try to embrace all things in life. One in three women experience this — and it’s not because you’re getting old, or because you had children (even though that’s common). It’s one of those embarrassing taboo subjects that you don’t talk about over lunch, but once the dialogue starts, it’s like, “Me, too!” And that “me, too” is really important for women.

I partnered with Poise because I think this topic is important. I couldn’t believe that most women aren’t doing anything about it or are using the wrong products and are not familiar with the Poise pad [for light bladder leakage]. There’s a solution — and it’s not to avoid doing things that might be embarrassing, like going to the gym, or doing high-impact workouts, or being able to jump on the trampoline with my kids. Women need to realize that it is what it is, it’s part of life, and there’s a great product out there so you don’t have to feel like you’re being prevented from doing anything.

Speaking of feeling confident and strong in your body — do you have any advice for beating negative self-talk about our bodies?

i teach a workout class [called Brooke’s Booty Burn], and I really believe in positive takeaways. I always tell women, “Our body hears the things that we’re thinking and saying about it. Our body listens, and actually believes it.” So that whole inner dialogue is really important: Focus on the things that you love about your body. We have to be more accepting as women — and, yes, we can always work on areas that we don’t feel good about, but there has to be some kind of self-compliment that we can hear and believe. Once you embrace your body, that’s where your comfort level lies, and that’s powerful. It’s a state of mind.

What makes you feel strong and healthy in your body?

I start every day with a smoothie, without fail — mostly because I don’t have time for a full breakfast! But I never skip a meal, never ever. I don’t believe in that.

I feel really strong and clear after a workout. I work out even on hormonal days and stressful, fatigued days. I like to work out to the point of fatigue — you know, really break a great sweat. It’s the best thing you can become addicted to, I believe, because you leave any workout feeling better than you walked in. It’s the best medicine.

Related: YouTube Star Hannah Hart’s 2 Biggest Insecurities — and How She Overcame Them

(Photo: Getty Images)

What’s your favorite workout right now?

I teach a Booty Burn class that I love, and I’m also really into Soul Cycle and a little bit of Pilates. My class is a rhythmic integration of body sculpting, booty burning, and a little bit of dance — nothing scary!

OK, one last question! As part of Yahoo Health’s Body-Peace Resolution — which is all about body positivity and embracing healthy resolutions, not vanity-driven ones — we want to know: What’s your definition of having “body peace”?

Being comfortable in your own skin and being empowered as a woman. Feeling confident at any size and any weight — I think that’s beautiful.

I like to end each of my classes with several breaths. For one of the breaths, I tell the women to give themselves credit for being there. But for the second breath, I say, “Give yourself a compliment” — because you have to hear it and believe it. Your body is listening to your inner dialogue.

Body-Peace Resolution is Yahoo Health’s January initiative to motivate you to pursue wellness goals that are not vanity-driven but that strive for more meaningful outcomes. We’re talking strength, mental fitness, self-acceptance — true and total body peace. Our big hope: This month of resolutions will inspire a body-peace revolution. Want to join us? Start by sharing your own body-positive moments on social media using the hashtag #bodypeaceresolution

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