90 day health challenge

So my husband and I started a health challenge for 90 days on jan 1. About 2 months after giving birth to Maclaren these "before" photos were taken. Let's be honest.. Nobody likes taking before pics... Or any pics at all.. But I love seeing the progress. I love knowing that where people are, aren't where they started.. Amen?! That goes for all things pretty much.

I didn't really "diet" just went back to the way I was eating before plus no sweets. I was doing one sweet treat a week but I got to a plateau, so I decided to nix those for a month or two. 

Most of the meals I make are on my Pinterest board but some of my faves are  the chicken hummus bowl at panera, strawberry shortcake smoothie from the home market, justins peanut butter with bananas and honey in a whole wheat wrap. 

I also started doing reformer Pilates after hearing all the rage from celebs and other random people I follow on Instagram (like JJ Redicks wife who teaches Pilates and has amazing style). I've heard it was a great way to get your body in shape after having a baby plus balance, posture, flexibility and "me time"... But I HATE mat Pilates so I was curious what this reformer machine was. It was awesome! Now I'm addicted (although my body and my budget can't do more than once a week). 

In 90 days I brought my waist down from a 27 to 25.5 and my hips from 35.5 to 33.25. Down from stretchy pants to 1 size closer to my pre-pregnancy size. It's a slow road, but I'm okay with that. Taking pics to document progress motivates me. Sometimes looking in the mirror everyday getting ready doesn't show the change.

After de-cluttering my closet, Gray let me use some of our tax refund to go shopping. More than size and weight, I love feeling good in my clothes! Feeling good drives out the excuses of not wanting to go places or not wanting to get ready. Now I'm ready to go places and I don't have to stuff myself in a pair of yoga pants to get there lol. Everyone's "feel good" weight and size differ but it's important to find what works for you and if it doesn't, switch it up! Don't strive for perfection but for improvement. Don't crash diet, eat foods rich in nutrients and eat to fuel your body (and baby if you're nursing). 

I'm so proud of my mom for recently changing her diet to combat hereditary cholesterol problems. She researched the natural way to do it and cut out processed foods as much as she could and brought it down significantly more than her medicine ever did. Way to go momma! 

Cheers to feeling good!