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.

If you’d like to become our Motivating Mum for the month click here to find out more (we pay you for it too!).

Eleanor Hannah has been motivating us all with her posts for the past few weeks.

She has already lost 20kg and has overcome some major obstacles along the way.

You can read Eleanor’s first, second and third posts here.

Today we have her 4^th post, where Eleanor decides to set some new goals for herself after hitting a bit of a plateau. If you’re keen to find out more about setting goals, click here.

Now, over to Eleanor…

‘So I was feeling pretty low last week.

But I took a photo of myself on Mother’s Day and compared it to a picture I took almost a year ago.

To be honest I was pretty blown away by the change and actually proud.

I know I should never have let myself get to where I was, but I made the choice to change and get healthy again, and I’m getting there.

Sometimes, you just can’t beat a crunchy, salty snack. Problem is, these aren’t always the best types of foods to be consuming when trying to lose weight and eat healthily.

If you’re like me and have more of a savoury than a sweet tooth, treats like potato chips are hard to pass up, especially when cravings strike.

When it comes to exercise, one of the biggest obstacles we face is time.. and not enough of it! Busy mums find it especially hard to find opportunities to squeeze in a workout, much less commit to a regular fitness program.

Here’s another delicious healthy mummy smoothie recipe for a Berry Lassi and it is light, refreshing and very yummy!

It’s also like a mini holiday in every glass!

There were two reasons I decided to try Lose Baby Weight.

Firstly, my daughter had what I thought was bad colic and I couldn’t work out what I was/wasn’t eating that was making her sick.

Secondly, I just could not shake the last 5kgs to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight!

Nothing beats a bowl of soup on a cold day. Not only is a big serving of veggie based broth low in calories (making it the perfect food for weight loss), it’s also packed full of vitamins and nutrients, making it an ideal healthy lunch or dinner.

A bowl of hot soup can also have more than the usual nutrient benefits for our bodies. The easy digestibility of the warm liquid makes soups and broths a thermogenic food. This refers to foods that actually help us to stay warm and maintain our body heat, even when the outside temperature drops.

If there’s one thing that can throw your weight loss progress right off course, it’s catching a cold or being struck down with the flu. While Doctors generally agree that it’s ok to exercise with a slight case of the sniffles, it’s recommended that anything that involves full blown symptoms be treated seriously and with a break from working out.

Dukkah is a mix of ground up nuts, seeds and spices; normally used as a dip for bread and olive oil.

The word is derived from the Arabic ‘to pound’ as the ingredients are pounded together after being dry roasted.

It is most important not to over blend when you make it, otherwise you will end up with powder or paste.

While it can be commonly found in delis, at farmer’s markets and in nice restaurants – it is actually very easy to make yourself.

Dukkah should be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge and will last for several weeks.

The recipes on our 28 Day Diet & Exercise Plan are specifically created to be packed full of nutrition, full of taste, great for weight loss and easy for the busy mum to make.

The 28 Day Plan comes with a daily food plan to follow with detailed recipes, snacks and meals for breakfast, lunch and snacks

One of the biggest amounts of feedback we receive (other than all the weight loss feedback and results we get sent in) is that everyone loves the food and recipes and how it has transformed the way they eat.

We have tried to make it really easy to follow as possible too with a weekly shopping list and heaps of advice and tips.

And below we have shared one of the yummy recipes on the 28 day plan – the Smoked Salmon Salad – we hope you enjoy

I had my third child in Nov 2012.

I had gained about 17kgs during the pregnancy and after the birth of my daughter I lost 7 kgs in the first few days.

Then, unlike my other pregnancies, the weight loss stopped.

Even though I was breastfeeding I couldn’t seem to get below 70kgs.

I was always fairly active during pregnancy and the births of my first two kids and the weight just kind of fell off by itself. But with number 3 I just didn’t have the same opportunities to squeeze exercise in.

Enter Lose Baby Weight and I have now lost 9kg!