I thought it would be a good time to do a brief update on my progress. My baby is 9 months old now! The last 9 months has been full of amazing moments, crazy days and health and fitness ups and downs.

I just finished a weight loss competition that lasted 8 weeks. I lost 7.6% of my body weight and came in third place. I’m about 30lbs down since I had my baby, which is just about all the baby weight. My goal is 20-30 more pounds, so I guess you could say I’m about halfway there. As you remember, I’ve dealt with ongoing neck issues which caused me to re-evaluate my fitness choices. Instead of running, which is something I’ve always enjoyed, I now use the elliptical and do a lot of walking. I have a friend at work who’s into health and fitness and we walk on our lunch break. Any chance I can, I walk. I found that when I walk during the day it really boosts my mood and leaves me feeling more accomplished. My health insurance gives us points when we track our steps and workouts so I got my husband and I a Fitbit. We have fun comparing our steps at the end of the day. I’m excited to say that we are almost at platinum level and have earned numerous gift cards. I use the elliptical 2-3 times a week and do at least one day of light weights. It’s not a perfect fitness routine, but it’s getting there. The good news is that my neck seems to be withstanding most of what I’ve been doing. As for my eating, well, lets just say that’s always been the hardest part for me. I think it is for a lot of people. We live such busy lives that grabbing something on the go seems to be the norm. I am happy to say that within the last month or two I’ve really made some positive changes. I don’t reach for the sugary foods like I had in the past. I cook dinners that are lighter and have more good proteins and veggies and less bad carbs. I use Pinterest for new meal ideas and I follow health and fitness pages on Facebook. Friday night is usually a cheat night for me. After a long week I like to have something that I really enjoy and sometimes we order food.  So in conclusion, I’m not as far as I would have liked to be at this point, but I’m getting there and I hope you are, too!

Here are some examples of my favorite healthy food choices:

• Breakfast: Fruit and a little granola and a hard boiled egg. (If it’s a weekend I will have scrambled eggs and a piece of whole wheat toast with some peanut butter or a little butter.)
• Lunch: Salad, Greek yogurt
• Snacks: Almonds or trail mix or I really like those Belvita biscuits, a banana or some sort of fruit
• Dinner: Stir fry is a popular choice at our house
• Lots of water

Follow me on Facebook for more tips and support at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hotmamahealthandfitness/