I faced a sad sight this morning.

One sad, lonely, small bar left. The last of the batch of Tropical Flax bars I made this past Friday. I shall miss you, dense bars of chewy, yummy goodness. Until I make more.

Speaking of which, I need to share this recipe with you all. It’s a good one!

Tropical Flax Bars

• 1/4 c honey
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c rolled oats
• 1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 c ground flaxseeds
• 1/2 c dried mango slices, chopped
• 1/2 c dried pineapple, chopped
• 1/4 c whole wheat pastry flour

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 8x8 baking dish with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Beat the eggs, honey, and salt until blended. In a food processor, combine the remaining ingredients.

Pulse until finely chopped and blended. Place mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the egg/honey mixture and stir to combine. Make sure the mixture is evenly moistened. Press into the baking dish in an even layer. Bake for 20 minutes, until the edges are browned. After cooling, remove bars in foil from pan and cut into 12 even pieces.

Now, it’s time to discuss this month’s progress check-in. As many of you know, I update my Body After Baby progress once a month so I can fully share this journey of getting back in shape and achieving my “happy place”. So far, slow and steady has certainly made this venture a successful one. On with the results!

[Month 2 photos on the left – Month 3 (recent) photos on the right]

FRONT:

SIDE:

For the real kicker – check out the changes since 1 week post-partum!

I don’t think I look too shabby. Three months post-baby or not. 😉

And here are the progress stat totals for my accountability and tracking purposes.

Each month reminds me of many important things to keep in mind while striving to reach these goals. This month did no different. On my 3rd week of this month, I didn’t have much progress according to the scale. Despite my lower weight loss, I knew I was making appropriate choices to reach my goals in a healthy manner. I refused to immediately freak out, think my efforts lacked, and try going overboard with restricting calories or adding more workouts. Those things all sounded tempting to keep progress going, but I knew that one week did not show the whole story. I needed to wait it out and trust my body.

Well, wouldn’t you know, trusting my body after that week meant resting for a few unplanned days thanks to getting sick. I decided to keep on keeping on how I could. I ate balanced meals, took it easy, and focused on getting healthy. When I weighed in for week 4, I had lost the most I have ever lost in a single week in this process. My body proved to me then and there that it knows what it’s doing. All I have to do is care for it with proper nutrition, challenging workouts, adequate rest, and self-love. Consistently doing those things will bring me results. Sure, it may not come as quickly as it could with more restriction, but I know the results will come. And they will last. And I will be happy going through the whole process.

I hope you continue to join me for the rest of the year! 🙂

• What lessons have you learned while working towards a physical goal?
• What is your favorite dried fruit? Pineapple! Hence, the tropical bars.

ETA: Please let me know if you have any specific questions about my “Body After Baby Progress”. I would love to do a Q & A post if there’s enough interest. 🙂

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?