Morning, friends!! Have you entered my giveaway yet? If you missed it, check it out!

For today’s posts, I planned a little Q + A on how I am handling my “Body After Baby” progress. You all shared so many great questions! So, I will post the first round of questions now and a second one early this evening to help you digest all my ramblings. 😉 Please remember that I am sharing from my own personal experience! Also, if working towards your own fitness/body goals, never lose sight of honoring your body and the fact you are wonderfully made!

Q: Do you count calories? If so, how many do you try to eat?
I do loosely track calories. I don’t weigh, measure, and track everything I eat by any means, but I do have a ballpark idea of how many to eat while losing weight. I try to keep each meal around 500 calories with some 200-300 calorie snacks thrown in. I counted calories for so many years, that I can usually pretty easily figure out my totals without tracking religiously. I think this works as a healthy balance to eat appropriate portions for my goals, without feeling overwhelmed or restricted.

As for how many I eat – on average 2300-2500 per day (usually around 2000-2200 on weekdays with closer to 3000 on weekends). This allows me to lose on average one pound or so per week. This is of course a completely personal number and not completely accurate as I don’t track things meticulously. I hesitated to share this number, but decided to because I want to show that you can (and should!) eat and can still manage weight loss. I may be nursing, but even accounting for that, I would still be consuming 1800-2000 comparatively. You do not have to severely restrict. Eat healthy, nutritious foods consistently. It works.

How many times do you aim to workout in a week?
I workout 6 days per week right now. I always make certain to get at least one full rest day each week and will also always add in extra rest as my body needs (like this week with my sore back). I do three days of running, two spin classes, and a few weight workouts each week. You can see updates of my workouts on my Fitness page too!

What do you do to flatten your tummy?
Planks!!! I love planks and believe they provide the best abs workout out there. I don’t do abs workouts regularly because so many other moves (running, lifting weights, kickboxing, etc) naturally work the core. I do add in planks when I can though and I believe they help me a lot.

What are some big nutritional do’s and dont’s while nursing?
My doctors advised me that I can eat normally, but to pay attention to how it affects my child as some foods (beans, chocolate, cruciferous veggies) cause discomfort to the baby. Luckily, baby B seems to have a stomach of steel now and I can eat whatever. I do focus on eating ENOUGH though. I know from experience that you have to eat and stay hydrated to produce milk. Also, certain things help production like wheat germ, flaxseeds, oats, plenty of fat, etc. My Tropical Flax bars are a good fit!

I notice when women leave the hospital, they still look pregnant. How long does it take for that pregnant ‘bump’ to deflate?
It varies, but the pregnant pooch certainly lasts at least 6 weeks as the uterus has not returned to normal size until then. And that area of the body stretched and went through a lot during pregnancy, so it may not ever return to fully flat. But that is 100% okay because you did one of the most amazing things out there!

• I did not get the chance to read a single blog yesterday…so, tell me something going on with you. 🙂
• Let me know if you have any additional questions!

You all are such a fabulous resource for racing tips! Thanks for the great suggestions in my last post. Some popular ones included:

• don’t go out too fast
• hydrate the day before so you don’t have to drink too much before the race <--- my weak bladder appreciates this one
• get enough sleep the night before
• believe I can do it

I am so excited for Saturday! Now, hopefully the weather will hold off from storming. Any tips on how to change the forecast? 😉

So, yesterday I had a nice little mid-week lunch date with Peter.

We had yet another Groupon to use up before its impending expiration date and I figured breaking up the week with a meet-up could serve us both well. We visited The Rising Roll – a “gourmet” sandwich shop found in the metro Atlanta area and a few other locations in Texas. They had a wide variety of sandwich choices, but one kept drawing my eye back to it. Clearly, I had to order it.

The Rhythm & Blues on multi-grain bread. Chicken salad topped with blue cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

It involved many of my favorite sandwich components all in one sandwich. Yes, please! On the side I had some delicious carrot salad with carrots, cranberries, walnuts, and apples in a light dressing with a hint of cinnamon flavor.

We picked up a brownie to split as well. They looked too decadent to not try one! And they were. Super fudgy inside with a nice chew on the outside and a bit of crunch from some nuts on top. Perfection.

This made for quite the pick me up during a rather standard day and week. In my opinion, little moments like this truly make such a difference.

On the drive home from my lunch with Peter, I got to thinking about how differently I approached that meal compared to years ago. Even though I currently am working towards achieving my “happy weight” post-baby, I felt no need to deprive myself of what I wanted for the sake of ordering something “good”. I originally did plan on eating one of their lighter sandwich options and did not anticipate having any dessert. Then, when looking at my options I knew I really felt like what I ended up ordering. I feel no guilt for it, either.

Beforehand, I would have found myself in a binge from this scenario. I would have felt so deprived and restricted from not ordering what I wanted that I would inevitably binge out of frustration. Or, on the other hand, I would have felt so guilty for “blowing my plan” that I would have just given up on trying to “be good” that day and binged as well. Now, I know that consistent choices for my health brings me my progress. Consistently not going overboard, paying attention to my hunger, honoring cravings reasonably, and not putting myself down will work to my advantage. I know I can have special meals and treats like this on occasion because on the whole I still make very wise decisions with how I choose to eat.

I enjoy my food, don’t allow myself to feel deprived, and therefore keep up my healthy habits, which bring me progress. Please don’t think you have to eat super strictly and never indulge to make progress on your fitness goals. If you can’t achieve a goal with some fun along the way, then you are probably working towards an unrealistic one. That’s my two cents anyways. Now, go find a moment of fun while working towards one of your goals today. I promise it is possible.

• What is a goal you’re working towards? How do you keep it fun/exciting?