Almost every week we have a “taco night” in our house. It gives me a break from having to think too much in the kitchen. Tonight called for tacos. I had a busy day that all started at the gym. I switched up my workout routine because, well, I felt like it and wanted a weight lifting schedule that would allow my rest days to go back to Sundays. We have lots of busy weekends coming up and I know fitting in workouts both days isn’t reasonable.

Today called for a light push workout. I did the following 5 moves in a circuit that took about 15 minutes to run through 3 times.

I then followed up with a 45 minute spinning class that included LOTS of hills. Ouch!

I came home to a long list of to-dos, such as laundry and cleaning, but I could not ignore the weather calling me outside. Simply gorgeous here today! I spent one of Braedon’s naps outdoors with Makenzie playing ball, drawing with sidewalk chalk, and driving around in her little car. It felt good to get out in the warm sun.

Unfortunately the to-dos didn’t disappear, so a large portion of the afternoon included things like vacuuming and folding laundry. In between rounds of checking in on the sick husband. Yep. I had three to care for today. No surprise that when dinner time rolled around, I turned to “taco night”.

Who cares if it’s an easy meal when it includes things like fire roasted salsa and avocado? I think if you add avocado or salsa to any savory dish, you have a winning combo. I feel the same about goat cheese and hummus. I wonder how a goat cheese, hummus, avocado, and salsa wrap would taste? 😉

Before I wrap up this post, I did want to touch base on something. I had a recent question about how the whole “weighing but not knowing my actual weight” thing is going. To put it simply…I’m loving it! I have no desire to know my weight and don’t feel caught up with numbers or obsessive over the scale at all. However, knowing that I have a weigh-in each Saturday morning  helps hold me accountable and keeps me mindful of my goals. I find myself making steady progress and the weekly confirmation of my progress keeps me motivated. I still don’t use the scale as my only tool (check my Progress Posts), but it does serve a purpose to help me with my Body After Baby progress. I feel myself getting closer and closer to my “happy place”…although, no doubt, I am already so happy with the strength, health, and vitality my body has shown me. I truly feel amazing. 🙂

• What could you add to any savory meal and likely love it?

Evening, friends! How goes it? Things are dandy here. I started the week off right with a spin class this morning. So happy M is no longer sick. Not only because I hate seeing her not feeling well, but I admit that I love getting to utilize the gym daycare again. Later in the afternoon we had baby B’s two month check-up. As expected, the boy grows like a weed with all well on the health front. I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that two months have already passed by for him! But then, it feels like it has been forever since I did my last progress post. Odd how that works. Well, its time for me to show you the ch-ch-ch-changes. Last month is on the left; this month is on the right.

Closer shots of the main areas I’m working on…

If you go to my Body After Baby page, you can view the difference from the start to now.

To hold myself accountable, I will share my weight loss and measurement stats in this one post a month. I saw some great changes, especially in measurements this month!

Weight: – 4.8 lbs
Stomach (smallest part): – 1.5”
Stomach (at belly button): – 1.5”
Hips: –2.25”
Butt: –2”
Thighs: –.75” (Rt) / –1” (Lf)

Almost 5 pounds and a total of 9 inches in 4 weeks. Not too shabby at all, my friends. 😀 I do still have progress to make but I’m not doing anything drastic to get there. Just living healthy overall and letting my body do its thang.

I firmly believe that the best way to get results is to make changes you can stick with consistently. Consistency is the key to progress in my mind. For this reason, I make sure I don’t view anything as off limits. Take this weekend for example.

You all already know about my beer, portabella sandwich, and sweet potato fries dinner I had at the blogger meet-up. I believe I made a moderately healthy dinner choice for eating out. I chose something delicious that I truly wanted and tried to keep a balance. Fries? Ok! Beer? Fine! Still got in a bit of veggies and lots of water too.

Earlier in the day, I enjoyed some more fine eating as well. The family and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather with a picnic in a local town center.

Gorgeous, I tell ya! We watched the train pass by. Took in the blue sky. Cherished the foot freedom. Admired a fellow’s kite flying skills. And ate.

I recreated my last picnic meal because I loved it so much. A Morningstar Farms veggie burger on a sandwich thin with hummus, spinach, and tomato. On the side, I nibbled some grapes, baby carrots, and grape tomatoes.

I fully enjoyed this well balanced lunch. Then, I had no qualms going to pick up a special treat with the family afterwards. A new bakery opened up called Gimme Some Suga and we wanted to try it out. I am on a mission to find a delectable cupcake place in the Atlanta area after all.

Gimme Some Suga was such a cute shop and had tons of mouth watering choices. The cupcakes weren’t large at all so Peter and I decided to get a few to split.

A peanut butter, red velvet, and brown buttered caramel trio. Are you drooling yet? I was.

The cake itself was meh, but the icing = I want to just buy a tub of it and go to town with a spoon. Good thing there seemed to be more icing than cake with these. So decadent! But back to my point…

I fit in things like this, but balance it out with numerous healthy meals – like my oats I had for breakfast and the green monster I had for a snack that day. That way I never feel deprived and I can continue with the choices that will bring me the results I hope to see. Trying to go all gung-ho and be “perfect” only backfires for me. In my opinion, it’s not realistic. You still have to live and have fun.

Making progress does take hard work and I do have to stay mindful of my choices. The most important thing, however, is making choices that will keep my momentum going. Every little bit adds up. Keeping the bigger picture in mind helps me stay on track with healthier decisions because I don’t feel like I “blew it” from eating some cupcakes. It’s what I do most of the time over an extended time that counts. And I would say it’s working out pretty well, don’t you think? I know I’m happy! And not starving. 😉

Question of the Evening – Do you prefer salty or sweet indulgences?