Ashley Suarez-Ortiz, News Clerk writes: It has been a very long time since I last wrote a blog and I apologize for my absence. 

I am happy to report however that despite my lack of keeping everyone in the loop that I have been finding ways to exercise and have been able to trim off some of the fat. 

I still have much more work to do and I am glad to have the readers out there to keep encouraging me and I hope that I have encouraged some of you. 

What I have done so far

I have began eating far more fiber and multi-grain enriched foods. Instead of eating something full of sugar and fat, I will grab a snack that is far healthier but still tastes great. One of my favorite things to eat are Multi-Grain Cheerios. 

I have also cut back on the amount of soda I drink. Now, instead of soda, I will substitute tea or water, making it much healthier for me. 

I have also began walking more. When I take my lunch breaks at work, I walk to my lunch destination instead of driving. I also enjoy going to the Farmer's Market in downtown Raleigh every Wednesday.  I also like to take walks with my kids on the weekends and we spend several hours at the park, running and playing together. I get my exercise and get to spend time with my kids at the same time. 

These are just a few things that I have done but it normally is the small things that count. 

I hope that all the readers out there are doing well and please feel free to leave your comments below.

Ashley Suarez-Ortiz, News Clerk, writes: 

The last few months have been hard. I am seriously sleep-deprived and I have been trying to do the best I can taking care of my two small children while my husband is away from town... needless to say, losing weight has become at the bottom of my list of priorities at the time. 

I haven't had much time to exercise, unless you count chasing my kids around the house, the countless trips up and down the stairs to my apartment and my small walks when I take my breaks at lunch, although better than nothing, they surely are not enough to tip the scales in my favor. 

I did manage a trip to the State's Farmer's Market Monday and was able to acquire the most delicious peaches I have ever eaten. I have already ate almost all of the ones I purchased and will certainly be returning soon to purchase more. 

I also plan to take my normal stroll to the Downtown Raleigh Farmer's Market, who knows what delicious treasures I may find while I am there. 

But as for now, I am doing my best to watch what I eat but things have not being going as well as I had originally planned but that is the story of life, things happen and you have to be able to run with it. 

I hope that all the readers out there are doing well and please feel free to leave your comments below. Happy reading. 

Hello everyone, 

Sorry for the long absence. I have been so busy that I have lacked time to write my blog. I am still fighting the battle to loose the weight.  I have begun going to the Farmer's Market once a week with two co-workers for lunch. It gives us something healthy to eat. 

I also have cut back on the amount of soda I drink and have been trying to cut back on the sweets and other junk food I eat. I have been buying healthier snacks. I am sure these two changes will begin to show results soon.

Asides from that, I am just trying to keep up with life. I hope my words although few are helpful to any readers out there. 

I look forward to reading your comments below. 

Ashley Suarez-Ortiz, News Clerk, writes: First I wanted to take the chance to apologize for my lack of posting recently. Things have been quite hectic lately. I am going to try to do better. That being said, I have realized my problem when it comes to losing the baby weight, I so desperately want to lose.

Ashley Suarez-Ortiz, News Clerk writes: Well, I have been away for a few weeks so now its time to update you with my life. 

After my unexpected trip to Maryland, I returned home to just to have my husband go out of town for a week for work, leaving me to care for our boys and home alone - it is not easy doing everything all alone. But I managed to survive. 

My birthday was last Wednesday, on the 28th, and so I celebrated happily with my children  and have yet to feel the effects of adding another year. (laughs)

So things are starting to get back to normal as we enter April and I am glad that things are slowing down. I have been trying to read a few books... joining in on The Hunger Games fad. 

I haven't weighed myself since I was sick, so I am sure I most likely have gained weight instead of lost... but that is life. I will just keep working and hoping that eventually my hard work pays off. 

I hope all is well and I hope to hear from you all soon. Please leave comments below and you may also tweet me at @_itsAshleyS. Thanks for reading!

Ashley Suarez-Ortiz, News Clerk writes: So the last week and so I have been on a whirlwind... or so it seems. My son has a sinus infection and I have been dealing with that and then I had to take a unexpected trip to Maryland. 

Luckily, things are calming down with the family and so I will be returning to North Carolina soon. I have been trying to watch what I eat and when I last checked, I had still lost some weight which is a continued step in the right direction. 

I already cooked most nights but I am going to really make it a point to pack my lunches when I go to work and another thing I am horrible at lately... eatuing breakfast. When I was younger, I never missed breakfast but now as an adult, I find I forget to eat in the morning all the time. So, going to work on that as well. 

I hope things are going well for all my readers. I would love to hear from you. Feel free to leave me your comments below and for anyone that uses twitter, feel free to follow me at @AshleyNSuarez and leave me a tweet!

Ashley Suarez-Ortiz, News Clerk, writes: To all my readers, I am sorry for the delay in my posts. I am still fighting off this virus and to top it off my iron level is low and I have  an infection. The good news however is that the numbers on the scale are getting smaller.  Which is the goal, although, I would rather be able to feel well and exercise, Its just not in the cards right now. 

I am beginning to get some relief however, I don't feel as groggy, tired and the lack of energy I had before is gone, which is good. The iron pills I am taking are working. And I am able to talk and have almost completely gotten my voice back. 

In my last post, I talked about how easy it is to get discouraged and quit especially when so much is getting you down, but I promise I am going to stick to it and continue on. 

2012 is the year for me to get myself in better health and a better mind. Best of luck to all of you that are also on this journey or who are just following me and supporting me while I am on mine. I appreciate it more than you know. 

Please feel free to leave me your comments below. I will be sure to reply back when I can. 

So its Friday and once again I have found myself unable to work towards my goals... the reason this week, I caught a virus.

I went to the doctor Tuesday and she prescribed me some medicine that literally knocks me out whenever I take it. So I try to take it only when I need it.

After a week of jury duty and trying to get caught up at work, I am changing my plan and going with something a little more structured.

Hello, my name is Ashley. I am a mother of two boys- a four year old and a 16 month old.

After having two kids, I find myself struggling to lose the extra pounds I gained when I was pregnant. As a working mother, I find it even harder. When I started working again in May, I was hoping that it would help me stop snacking all the time at home and get me away from eating whenever I get bored. However that hasn't been the case.