Cleanse complete

Successfully completed the 21-day cleanse yesterday - Week 1 was much harder than expected, but Week2/3 were easier. It gave me a chance to note all my bad food habits and also gave me time to (hopefully) give up some of them for good.

Green smoothies were a bit hit - hubby loves them a LOT and gave up his morning tea for them.

The Chia pudding was not a great hit with me - but the daughter LOVES it. The chilled gooey, coconut milk pudding suits her taste buds. Its a great snack or breakfast item for the kids.

The son LOVES almond butter, just as much as I do. We both licked it off the spoon every afternoon.

I lost 6-7lbs. That brings my total for this year to about 12+ lbs. I am MORE than happy. I feel fit, and healthy. I am getting rid of the pregnancy fat, slowly and steadily. I continue to go for short runs, walks, occasional biking, and doing weights/kettle-bells at home.

My only cheats were eating black beans a day before they were allowed, and a portion of the kids fries when we visited Ikea :). I am proud of myself!!!!

If you want any tips or any new recipes that I learnt, or some basic principles on green juicing, let me know and I will be happy to pass along what I know!

This is the program I did: http://simplegreensmoothies.com/cleanse.

Looking forward to pigging out this week, including a big bowl of icecream tonite :) :)!!!!

How do I look :)?

This picture is from last weekend.

A couple of things happened while I was on vacation in India.

First, I lost 10+ lbs (I think 12 lbs but definitely more than 10). YAY! All the weight that I gained during my second pregnancy is gone. I didn't have to diet, or exercise. Just breastfeeding the baby full-time and watching what I eat helped me lose it. I also had to cut out dairy from my diet for a few weeks, and I'm sure that helped me shed some pounds. Now I have about 10 more lbs to lose....its the excess from my first pregnancy with the daughter, and as I introduce a little bit of exercise this summer into my routine, and continue to be mindful of my calorie intake, combined with breastfeeding the baby past his first birthday (or as long as he wants to nurse), I will be able to shed it.

Second, I cut my hair shorter. A lot of people are noticing it and commenting. My neighbors in India were very sad....they never commented that they loved my long hair, but after the haircut, they told me they had always longed for hair like mine. After coming to the US, the person who is disappointed the most is the husband :). He had grown a mustache while we were gone, so when we met him at the airport, he said he grew it to mourn my haircut without his consent - LOL!. Personally, I love the shorter do. I can wash my hair everyday and leave it open and don't have to spend much time caring for it. I had loooooong hair for 10+ yrs and a change was overdue. With a toddler and an infant, I barely manage to shower everyday. There could not be a better time to enjoy this new hair style.

Both refreshing changes for me....looking forward to enjoying summer and being outdoors and active!