My weight fluctuated when I was 30, and I did the unthinkable - I stepped out as a plus-sized model.

In the past, I often found that when I reached out for a fast cure it led me down a slippery slope of more medications, hopeful dependence on the next prescription and ultimately a much longer drawn-out illness.

I'm proud that today, at 43 years old, I've come to value the aging process and focus on inner rather than outer beauty.

Being born and raised as a Californian, I somewhat ignorantly had taken for granted the diversity and liberal mindset that shaped my childhood and adult life.

Motherhood has brought me many joys and insights, but the new perspective it granted me on the role I had inadvertently played in young women's lives for the 2 decades I spent in the modeling industry was downright sobering.

I bicycle 12,000-foot mountain passes, run, cross train, skate-ski, hike and mountain bike.

I did some great work with my Calvin Klein ads on the motorcycle. It was really groundbreaking because people hadn't seen a woman actually riding a motorcycle before.