'No Excuses' mom 'unapologetic' in new photos

The mom who started an online firestorm by saying there "no excuses" for women who want to lose weight is starting a new discussion with her latest photos.

"I shot this in the afternoon after eating a donut (thanks to my bff who owns a shop!) I didn't exercise for 4 days prior and was tired after a day working and being with my kids. AND I am 10lbs up since (2013)," Elk Grove resident Maria Kang wrote on one of those photos, which is featured in a new story from People magazine.

Kang received tens of thousands of comments on Facebook in 2013 when she shared a photo of herself wearing a sports bra and workout shorts surrounded by her three children. Text on the photo read "What's your excuse?" It led some to criticize Kang as insensitive to women.

Here's one of her new photos:

I usually have several rituals before I do a photoshoot: - If I'm not within my desired weight range I would diet 10-12 weeks prior - Two weeks before I shoot I would up my cardio and decrease my carbs - A week prior I would start prepping my clothes, applying facial masks and doing a manicure - The day of I would try to eliminate extra water from my body, ensure I was shooting in the morning (before I ate and was refreshed). HOWEVER - in the last several months I've been over-traveling, over-stressed and over "it" as I'm undergoing many life challenges and changes. While my sister n law, @brittenphoto in town, I decided just a couple hours before she had to leave on a plane to do an impromptu photoshoot. It's been over a year since I could get in front of a professional camera because I never felt 'ready enough'. There were constantly events, children, stress and even some depression, that prevented me from following through on my quarterly goals. Despite how 'unready' I felt, I thought about all the women I encourage to be proud of how far they've come and to celebrate their body at every stage of progression. I am in no way out of shape, but I am definitely and admittedly hard on myself because I rarely see extra skin, cellulite, muscles or a size greater than a 2 on a magazine cover. I rarely see Asians in the media! (that's a different topic!) So I have all those things. I shot this in the afternoon after eating a donut (thanks to my bff who owns a shop!) I didn't exercise for 4 days prior and was tired after a day working and being with my kids. AND I am 10lbs up since I shot that "What's Your Excuse" photo! So here I am. This is a raw photo with absolutely no retouching, no preparation and no shame. I'm finding my beauty again, I'm discovering my strength again and I'm relearning what it means to be brave, bold and unapologetic about where I am in my life's journey. #noexcusemom #mariakang #brittenphoto

A photo posted by Maria Kang (@mariakangfitness) on

“I’m finding beauty again,” Kang wrote. “I’m discovering strength again and I’m relearning what it means to be brave, bold and unapologetic about where I am in my life’s journey.”

She concluded her post with a number of hashtags, including “#noexcusemom.”

Here is one of her posts from 2013: