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?

Evening, friends! I received the following reader’s request and wanted to reach out to all of you fabulous ladies (and men – hi Evan & Matt!) to help with some ideas.

Tina,
I love my husband and lately I have become increasingly worried about his health. He enjoys food that isn’t always the healthiest and isn’t active. I want him to be healthy for our family. We have been finding balance with food, but he doesn’t have any desire to workout. I worry that if my husband continues with the same eating habits and activity level he will reach an unhealthy weight down the line. His doctor already recommends he lose some weight.  I have tried to help him see the benefits, but now I feel like I nag him all the time. How can I help motivate him to take better care of himself and get active?

I am not an expert by any means, but here are some things I thought might help.

• Speak openly about your concerns with him. Be sure he knows that its not just disappointment in his appearance or work ethic. Hopefully that will set the tone for him to not feel nagged, but encouraged instead.
• Do things together – activities like hikes & cooking healthy dinners. That will hopefully take the pressure off and make the experience more enjoyable as a couple or family effort.

• Find an activity that inspires him. What are his interests? Does he like watching UFC? Perhaps let him try out an MMA fitness gym. Does he like numbers? Invest in a gym membership for him to start doing weights. Then, let him get motivated with seeing the numbers increase as he gets stronger. Heck…even a Wii Fit could work well to get a guy moving. They do like their video games!

• Make it a “game” and set up a realistic reward system. Set a goal of say 3 workouts a week. If he completes those workouts for a month, then he can do something like buy those concert tickets he wanted.
• Use a plan. Things like Couch to 5K or a laid out plan like P90X may help. Sometimes trying to decide what to do any given day makes picking up exercise overwhelming. If it’s a straightforward plan to follow, it may be easier to keep with it. You can always include the reward system well with a plan too.
• Find a buddy. Do you know one of his friends that could partner up with him to either workout together or go through the same workout plan as a challenge?

• Keep it short term. Get him to commit to a month or two of regular activity (3-4x/week) and he very likely will end the time frame feeling better and enjoying working out at least a little bit more.
• Praise along the way. When he does make an effort to do something active, even a short walk, talk him up! Focus on what he has accomplished over what may be lacking. Encouragement goes a long way to motivate.

Do you have any extra tips or ideas for her? Share them in the comments section!