Torrey Hills’ MaryKay Mullally ’stepped up for life’ and became a national ‘Picture of Health’ competition finalist

By Lee Schoenbart

On May 1 it was announced on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America” that these life changes earned Mullally one of five 2008 “Picture of Health” finalist nominations in the second annual contest for women over 40 sponsored by the magazine and the station’s news department.

“I definitely have a desire to uplift other people by being an example of what is possible in being healthy, said Mullally, now 47.

Mullally said she transformed herself from being over-stressed and overweight to being in the best shape of her life in her 40s. Since turning 40, Mullally has participated in five marathons including the Boston Marathon.

“I definitely have a desire to uplift other people by being an example of what is possible in being healthy,” she said. “I worked in technology for 20 years and got to a point where it felt like there was a void in my life and I didn’t think I could do anything else, and that was the point where I did some personal development work.

“I did the Landmark Forum, which is a really fabulous course and, at that point, I saw where I really wanted to make a difference in the world was in the area of health. This goes back to 2004,” she said, “that’s when it really all began for me.”

As a wellness and weight management coach, Mullally works with men as well as women and continues to walk the talk.

“Having the kind of business that I do, I can’t be out there saying I’m the picture of health and not be the picture of health,” she said. “It’s that kind of accountability that keeps me on the path that I want to be on.”

She said she was inspired by a desire to help others after reshaping her own life but, most of all, Mullally’s greatest inspiration are her children – Ryan and Tara, ages 19 and 16, respectively.

“If I were really to be honest and get right down to it, my inspiration are my two children because I want to be able to participate in their lives and have what my parents weren’t able to have,” Mullally said. “Both my parents died before I turned 30 and weren’t able to know their grandchildren and know me as an adult.

“So really what drives me is that I want my children to have me in their lives, and I want to be in their lives and their children’s lives for years to come,” she said. “That is a very motivating factor for me for keeping myself in the kind of shape that I do.”
In December Mullally celebrated 20 years of marriage with her husband Rob Mullally, a member of the Torrey Hills Community Planning Board and the incoming president of Del Mar Rotary.

Although she stepped up for life and became a picture of health role model for many to emulate, entering the contest wasn’t as easy a task for Mullally as people might imagine.

The inspiration to enter the competition, she said, “came from a desire to expand my reach and inspire more people. I wanted to broaden my ability to touch people and I saw the media as a way to do that, although it wasn’t the most comfortable thing to put myself out there.”

It was an interesting statement from a woman perceived as so strong and in control who might also be painfully shy about being in the spotlight.

“To enter the competition it required doing a video of myself, then writing the essay,” Mullally said. “The essay was no problem, but the video was a little bit of a hurdle for me to overcome because putting myself on camera and watching myself, that was a little bit uncomfortable.

“Although I have been accustomed to being in the public eye, it was really confronting to put a video of myself talking out there for the world to see,” she admitted.

To get past that Mullally called on her deep commitment to making a difference for people.

“I told myself, ‘OK, you just have to do it. Get over yourself and, like the Nike commercial, “Just do it!”’ And I had the support of a very good friend who is in the media business and she coached me and did the video.”

Mullally and the other finalists will be profiled in the June issue of Prevention.

To find out more about Mullally, visit www.stepupforlife.com.