My Last 10 lbs...

**Update**


I have finally reached my goal weight, and it couldn't come sooner since I now have a concussion and have to put my working out on hold for a bit. I will make sure I am watching what I eat more closely while taking a break from exercise. Here are some before and after photos. They are really bad quality I apologise. Once I am 100% again, I am going to keep working at toning and maybe try to lose another 5lbs. I am very happy with the progress that I have made and it sure makes you feel good about yourself when you achieve a goal!

Before and After's from 4 months of working out and healthy eating.
I lost a total of 16lb's and am still going... 

Like so many other women out there, I have my last 8lb's to lose. I would love to be back to my pre-children weight, which is not likely, but something close will make me happy. I gained at least 45lb's each pregnancy no matter if I ate really healthy (which I did for my last) or if I ate Taco Bell everyday which I did for my first.  I have lost over 10lbs since last November and I thought I would share what I have been doing that has been helping so far.

First I fell in love with this Green Monster Smoothie. It is super healthy, lots of protein, and vitamins. The best thing about this smoothie is that it tastes WONDERFUL! It honestly tastes like a peanut butter milkshake. Both my husband and daughter are very very picky eaters and when they are around I have to make a triple batch because they love it as much as I do. The only thing that I change from the original recipe is I use Organic Coconut Milk Beverage Unsweetened for the milk. The great thing about using coconut milk beverage is that it keeps you feeling full for a long time. I have one of these smoothies for lunch and I feel full until 4pm or dinner.

Green Monster Smoothie YUM!

Green Monster Spinach Smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 sliced banana (great trick is to slice then freeze for smoothies)

1 Tablespoon peanut butter

1/2 cup 0% Vanilla Greek Yogurt (I freeze this in ice cube trays for easy portions)

1/2 cup of Organic Unsweetened Coconut Milk Beverage

2-4 cups baby spinach (or more, or less)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

The second thing that I have started to do is to exercise a lot more. I would always tell myself that I am active enough with the kids but in truth that isn't enough. I started doing some of the Jillian Michaels workout DVD's. I started with The 30 Day Shred which is GREAT, it is only a 20 minute workout that has 3 levels, each harder than the last. She gets you sweating and wanting to die after just 20 minutes. I have also done her Killer Buns and Thighs (key word KILLER), Yoga Meltdown and 6 Week Abs. All of them are just as good as the other. I would highly recommend you get a few of the DVD's so you can rotate between a different one each time, that way you won't get bored and give up. The one thing I love about her DVD's is how motivating she is during them, I swear she can read my mind and know when I'm about to give up and turn off the DVD player. Because of the intensity of her workouts you will see a difference within a couple weeks. I have a friend who is also working out using these DVD's and it is so good to have that support between the two of us. We keep each other motivated and then we can both bitch and complain how hard it was afterwards ;)

Lastly we all need to treat ourselves, and while I was on Pinterest I found this wonderful blog with healthy deserts that taste awesome! http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/ She has great ways to eat yummy treats without adding on the extra pounds. I have made the cookie dough dip, chocolate pie and chocolate mousse, they were all great! My favorite recipe though is the 1 minute chocolate cake, it is sooo yummy and super easy to make, almost too easy to make though because now I want it every night!

I got a smile even though she was SUPER sick with the flu. Alida
loves her 1 Minute Chocolate Cake too!

One-Minute Chocolate Cake from Chocolate Katie

1 tablespoon plus 2 tsp cocoa powder

3 tablespoons spelt flour (or white, or even peanut flour)

1/8 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 stevia packet (or 1 more tablespoon sugar)

1 tablespoon coconut oil 

3 tablespoons milk of choice (I used coconut milk)

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients and mix very, very well. Add liquid, stir, then transfer to a little dish, ramekin, or even a coffee mug. Microwave 30-40 seconds. If you don’t want to eat it straight out of the dish, be sure to spray your dish first (and then wait for it to cool before trying to remove it).

So here goes to my last 8lb's! Once I reach my goal I will post before and after pictures.