"I reached a point where I was really ready and I think that's the huge thing for me. I was ready to make the commitment," said Auerswald. "We started in September. I am 13 net pounds down."
She and Yvonne Condes, who both co-founded the MomsLA blog site, wanted a nine-month plan to do together.
"It's like a school year, basically, because we're moms," said Condes.
They asked dietitian Ashley Koff and fitness expert Holly Perkins to create not a makeover plan, but the MakeBetter Challenge.
"It's not about New Year's resolutions or making something perfect, it's about making something better," said Perkins.
Koff says one thing to understand is that the state of your health is constant.
"You've got to be working on this always. Health is dynamic, it's not static. You don't get to do it check it off the list and put it aside," said Koff.
Koff has Auerswald watching her carb intake -- her downfall -- while Condes needs to think of her entire day and make trades.
"I love to eat. I live to eat. I think about food, I cook food, I talk about food, I write about food," said Condes. "If I'm going to have a cupcake, maybe I don't want to have eggs and bacon for breakfast."
Koff says this is not a diet.
"Whatever you want to have, make sure you improve the food quality," she said.
Each woman approaches it differently -- one loves tracking progress, the other can't be bothered. But both love working out with weights.
"The strength training has really reshaped my body so that's made a huge difference," said Auerswald.
While both did some form of cardio for years, it wasn't until they worked with weights that they saw real changes in their bodies. Now they fit 20 to 30 minutes of strength and cardio variations. Each lost about 13 pounds.
"I never thought I could go below that number, and now I have an even lower number," said Condes.
Perkins says strength training is key to transforming your body.
"Strength training is what's going to help you change your body and get you to your goals by making you stronger and increasing your lean body mass," she said.
Auerswald and Condes want to pass on their information to you on their MomsLA blog. All you have to do is go to their blog site and take the MakeBetter Challenge. It lasts 21 days and is absolutely free.
