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Hoda explains how having kids changed her view on health and working out

It's no longer about fitting into a "stupid size 10 dress," the mom of two said.
Hoda Kotb and daughters
Hoda Kotb opens up about staying active for her two daughters.hodakotb \ Instagram
/ Source: TODAY

Making healthy choices isn't always easy, but TODAY's Hoda Kotb has found the perfect motivating force to keep her going: her adorable daughters.

Hoda and her TODAY co-anchor, Savannah Guthrie, appear on the cover of the winter issue of #FlyWashington magazine, and in the article, Hoda opens up about staying fit and reveals how her attitude toward health has changed significantly since becoming a mother.

The mom of two said that she used to work out for herself, but these days, fitness is all about staying healthy for her girls.

“I’m not doing it just so, ‘Oh, can I fit into my stupid size 10 dress?’ which is getting harder. I want to do it so that 10 years from now, I am on the floor still getting with those kids,” she told the magazine.

After celebrating her daughter Haley Joy's second birthday last February, Hoda and her partner, Joel Schiffman, welcomed baby Hope Catherine to the family this April. And Hoda, 55, said she still feels tickled pink that she became a mother later in life.

In fact, she said she often feels a bit like Bonnie Raitt, who took home her first Grammy at the age of 40.

“I feel like Bonnie Raitt times 10 — like how someone would feel when you wait so long for something, and then you can’t believe you have it. It’s not lost on me for one minute that I get the privilege of raising two children. I’m not going to waste or squander my time. It’s an amazing thing I get to do,” Hoda said.

Hoda Kotb and daughters
Hoda, Joel and Haley can't get enough of baby Hope.hodakotb \ Instagram

Like many moms, Hoda has found that it's not always easy to squeeze in a workout while chasing after kiddos. Savannah, who has two children, told the magazine she feels the same way.

"I definitely feel like exercise is, for me, always the first thing to go," she said. "It's the first thing to drop."

Hoda said she has a daily calendar reminder set for 4 p.m. to go on a stroller run with her daughters, but said it's only actually happened once so far. But Hoda is OK with that, and she said she finds other ways to stay active.

“I feel like, sometimes you have to realize you can’t be everything for everybody, and so you just do the best you can,” she told the magazine.

Words to live by, Hoda!