For those of you who have been following my adventures to get healthy—or let’s call it what it is, to lose weight—here’s the latest: It’s incredibly hard to take care of yourself! Yes, I know. Shocking!

At the beginning of the year, I joined a gym and got moving. I even started working with my doctor to eat better. The good news? By April, I’d lost 15 pounds and was making it to the gym at least once a week.

But then (cue ominous music) ... what happened? You probably know already: life, liberty and the pursuit of two kids, a husband, a career, two cats and a house that seems to fall into disarray on its own. (Even when we’re on vacation! How does that happen?!) Simply put, I’m too often trapped in a vicious cycle of stress, which leads to exhaustion, which leads to not wanting to get up early to go to the gym and work out.

Let’s get real: Stress isn’t going away anytime soon. So what to do? That’s the question we asked our esteemed Working Mother 100 Best Companies. These progressive companies are tackling the insidious nature of stress from all sides. we share the lessons they’ve learned, along with the real-life strategies of the formerly stressed-out. also, the introduction to our article “The Working Mom’s Renewable Energy Plan” reads like a rundown of my days—and why I’m so tired at the end of them. If you’re like me, this is the plan for you.

Once you read our stories, join us on Facebook and let us know if you’ve got even more strategies to share. Let’s inspire each other to combat the stress in our lives. No more excuses!