Marie Osmond Shares the Advice She'd Give Her Younger Self: "Give Yourself a Break, Make Peace With Your Body" (EXCLUSIVE)

Sitting in a suite at the W Hotel in New York City, Marie Osmond is all smiles. She exudes energy and has a warm, vivacious personality that makes her instantly feel like she’s your best friend. And like any good friend, Marie Osmond is quick to share advice on everything from health to life itself. Much of the wisdom she lives by was learned from her mother, Olive, who passed away on Mother’s Day 2004.

“My mother was a teacher,” Marie says of the Osmond family matriarch, who died two years after suffering a stroke. “Her whole family were educators, and she would say, ‘Faith, if you take it down to its least common denominator, is having a positive attitude. You hope all things. You believe all things. You endure all things because you have faith that there is something better on the other side.’”

When Olive’s health began failing, she encouraged Marie Osmond to take better care of her own body and health. “I’m at the age now where my mom and my grandmother got very sick,” she says. “They left this life early. It’s one of the reasons why I believe in getting healthy so we can be there for our kids and grandkids.”

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In the newest issue of FIRST for Women, where she's our gorgeous covergirl, the singer, author, actress, TV personality and philanthropist talks about everything from staying balanced and healthy to finding joy. Marie has been working since she debuted on The Andy Williams Show at 3 years old, and though she’s far from retired, these days, she makes spending time with family her priority, especially enjoying her grandkids.

“You have to be tough on your kids and raise them and make them strong and teach them to work hard, but not my grandkids. I’m going to spoil them rotten,” she says of her nine grandchildren. “It is so fun!”

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Marie Osmond advice on living life to its fullest

Marie loves checking things off her bucket list with her husband Stephen, her kids and grandchildren. “At this point in my life, I want to start playing and I’ve been doing these bucket lists,” she says. “My priority is to live life fully. I’m a passionate person so that’s been my next focus.”

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Getting enough rest is essential to having enough energy to cross items off your bucket list, and Marie says she leans toward homeopathic sleep aids, particularly because she had an unusual reaction the one time she tried a sleeping pill.

“My blood is pretty pure. I don’t drink or smoke or do drugs or any of those things," she says. "I hadn’t been sleeping a lot so I called my doctor and I said, ‘I’m home for a few days, I think I’d like to try a sleeping pill, just something to see if it will help me when I’m on the road.’ And he goes, ‘Okay.’ So he prescribed something very mild."

Marie continues, "I took it and I slept pretty well then about two weeks later, 500 lbs. of honey showed up at our door. I ordered honey, and I don’t even use that much honey. Don’t ask me what happened!” she says with a laugh, still amused that apparently she was sleep shopping while under the effect of the pill!

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Marie Osmond's advice to her young self

Looking back over her life and career, Marie says there is some advice she would give her younger self. “Give yourself a break. I came from an era and an industry where you are very hard on yourself, but when I got healthy and got my weight under control and started being active again, I had to make peace with my body and do that self-talk like, ‘I’m really sorry. You have been so good to me when I have not been so good to you,'" Marie admits.

"I have spent time healing," she continues. "You can call it your inner child. You can call it whatever you want to do. I just think it’s important to say, ‘You’ve never let me down, but I let you down’ and then make that peace. There is a freedom in that and a feeling of, ‘Oh my gosh! We’re connected again. We’re working together.’ Just be kinder to yourself and be kind to others too.”

Marie Osmond advice on the power of health

In learning to be kinder to her body, losing 50 pounds with Nutrisystem and keeping it off has been life changing for Marie. Recently, she helped Nutrisystem develop a plan called Complete 50 that helps people over 50 lose those stubborn pounds and prioritize their health.

“They have tweaked it now to where they give you your proteins and carbs at times of the day that really attack belly fat. Their science just gets better and better and better,” she says.

“After all these years, people go, ‘Why do you still talk about it?’ Because I see how it changes people’s lives and I love being involved in things that do that, from Children’s Miracle Network to Nutrisystem. Anything that can bless someone to have a more joyous, healthy life, I am all about it.”

Marie is living her best life

Marie admits she couldn’t be as active as she is now without having lost those 50 pounds. Getting healthy helped her have more energy when performing and more energy when she’s playing too.

As she’s been crossing items off her bucket list, she’s climbed Mount Sinai with her son and went skydiving with her daughters. For her next adventure, she plans to visit Iguazu Falls in Brazil with her husband and their best friends.

“That is a once in a lifetime dream for me,” she says of the Brazil trip. “We don’t know how long we have in this life, so you can’t put off your dreams. At this stage of the game you can’t say, ‘Oh, someday...’ No, it’s right now and you have to feel good enough to do that, so that’s my priority.” Now that's some Marie Osmond advice worth taking!

Pick up the newest issue of FIRST for Women at your local grocery store, Walmart or online to read Marie's full inspiring interview!