Do you ever feel like things are getting on top of you?

For many of us, just the day to day grind of house work, children, work (paid or unpaid) not to mention friends and family can make us feel as though the walls are closing in.

A great way to lighten your load is to de-clutter your life. That doesn’t just mean the physical stuff.

Often we need to lighten our emotional load as well, in order to break free from what is holding us back from our goals.

You may have felt the positive vibe when your house has just been scrubbed, or you’ve tackled a big job head-on and finished it.

Every month, a mum who is on the Lose Baby Weight plans will be writing about their journey, exercise, ups and downs and will be here to help motivate YOU and THEMSELVES along the way – and if you want to become our Motivating Mum for one month see here on how you can enter (we pay you for it too!).

And in April our Motivating Mum of the Month and taking up the challenge to motivate you is Janet Cook – see Janet’s THIRD week and THIRD MOTIVATING post below – and well done Janet on another great weight loss week – 1.1kg down bringing her total to 13kg overall since being on the Lose Baby Weight plans – WHOOO HOOO Janet!

Janet’s Third Motivating Mum Post

We were just talking about the best options for Yum Cha last week and it got me in the mood for some delicious Asian food.

This is a favourite in our house when we feel like something a bit different for dinner.

These dumplings are a low calorie treat that can be tailored any which way you like.

You could try making them as per the recipe below, or even

1. a vegetarian dumpling with mushrooms, chives and shallots
2. a beef mince dumpling with fresh coriander and red capsicum
3. a fresh prawn dumpling with sweet corn and mint.

The options are endless!

You can generally find gow gee wrappers near the fresh pasta at the supermarket; or in any Asian supermarket.

They are a cheap and cheerful way to spice up a mid-week dinner.

A couple of months ago we started running the MOTIVATING MUM SEGMENTS and they have proved to be extremely popular with mums entering to be the motivating mum and with the mums on our site reading the Motivating Mums blog posts – so everyone loves them – YAY! You can enter to become our motivating mum here too

So we have decided to bring a few more motivating mums on board to help everyone stay motivated and first up is Teresa Dickinson who will be trying to reach her goal weight and motivating herself and you in her weekly blog posts and Facebook posts – welcome Teresa – below is her first post – YOU CAN DO IT TERESA!!

Teresa’s Introduction Motivation Post

Hey so my name is Teresa Dickinson and I have been chosen to be a motivating mum. So for a month or two you will be hearing about my weight loss journey and I hope it will keep me accountable and that we can motivate each other.

I first heard about Loose Baby Weight through face book in September last year when I was pregnant- the picture below is me at 38 weeks pregnant, and I made a note to myself to check back in after my baby was born in 2013!

We are excited to be able to bring you a fantastic gift with purchase this week which applies on all orders – no minimum spend from April 15 – April 21.

ALL MAIL ORDERS (excluding books which are sent in Express Post envelopes and due to the restrictions on what can be included in the envelope no gift can be included as only documents/books are allowed) – no minimum spend necessary – will receive a FREE Mumma Bubba Bangle worth $14.95 in a gorgeous PINK colour

MummaBubba Jewellery is safe for babies to chew on! It’s made from Non – Toxic Silicone. FDA approved which contains No BPA, Lead, Cadmium or Mercury

Most mums  stop wearing jewellery when they become a parent because the simple fact is BABIES LOVE TO CHEW ON EVERYTHING….so now we have the solution!

When it comes to weight loss, it could be said that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s very easy to get caught up in those initial first laps of the race, as you’re filled with excitement  and plenty of spur-you-on motivation.

As the race continues though, you might start to slow down a little as that initial burst peters out, leaving you with the reality of what still needs to be done.

If you thought that kebabs were restricted to chicken and beef, think again! While we usually think about chooks and cows when it comes to meat on a skewer, this recipe throws caution to the wind and welcomes heart healthy, weight loss friendly salmon to the stage for a delicious BBQ (or grill) recipe with a twist.

We’ve all been there. The alarm goes off at 6am or the partner gets home 30 minutes early, giving us the chance to strap on our sneakers or pop on our swimmers yet for some reason, half an hour later, we’re still at home/in bed.

Being a busy mum can make exercise a lot more difficult than it was before kids came on the scene, yet we all know how important it is for healthy, sustained weight loss. 

We all know how important a healthy breakfast is for general well being and weight loss but with the cooler months coming, you may find that your get up and go has got up and gone! We’re drawn to cool foods in the warm months, to keep our bodies hydrated while the colder months have us reaching for richer, warming foods that comfort and restore.

We’ve been going on a bit of a Mexican kick these past few weeks at my place.

And here is yet another tasty Mexican inspired meal idea that you can easily serve up for a Friday night dinner in next to no time.

Tweak it if you need to – you may consider leaving out the chilli so that the kids can eat it too; or you could swap the prawns for some cooked chicken.

We like to use the wholegrain tortillas rather than the white ones – they are better for you and have a nice flavour too.