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If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

(via fitnessive)

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Eat Clean! This salmon spinach salad is just the right meal to fuel you through the day :)

Recipe:
3 tablespoons onion chopped
handful of cherry tomatoes
10 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup sliced almonds toasted
4 ounces feta cheese crumbled
sliced nova
via Ellie

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Cute workout clothes

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Remember this!

If you need ideas look here:

• Healthy recipes
• Healthy dinner ideas
• Healthy breakfast ideas
• Health snack ideas
• and exercise ideas

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Work your butt, not your but!

(via berryhealthy)

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body-peace:

Since it’s National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, give these ten things a shot!

(via fitforinfinity)

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Happiness is the highest form of health.

From ellie.com

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#ThirstyThursday. Make your day a little sweeter with this Strawberry Delight Smoothie ;)
From Ellie.com

1 medium-size or large, ripe banana
1 heaped cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 cup milk or soymilk
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

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(1) Starbucks Oatmeal – 150 calories, 2.5g  fat, 4g fiber, 5g protein.

 Quick, easy, and filling, this is definitely one of my favorites in the morning. I usually add the brown sugar (50 calories) and the dried fruit (100 calories), which still leaves you at 300 calories for breakfast. Add more or less toppings depending on goals but I promise you this will leave you satisfied and still content with your healthy diet J

(2) Starbucks Fat Free Yogurt Parfaits – 280-290 Calories , 3.5g fat, 8g protein

 Yogurt always makes for a delicious and good-for-you breakfast and if your fridge isn’t stocked full, Starbucks makes it easy for you. The probiotics in yogurt always leaves my stomach feeling a lot happier 

(3) Dunkin’ Donuts English Muffin – 140 Calories, 0.5g fat, 7g fiber.

 Stick on the lighter side of the donuts with Dunkin’ Donuts English muffin. An English muffin has only 29g carbs compared to a whopping  63g in a multi-grain bagel. Add a little bit of peanut butter to make this snack more filling and higher in protein.

(4) Carl’s Jr. Jalapeno Turkey Burger – 490 calories, 22g fat, 31g protein

 Want to sizzle your tastes buds? This may be the answer to your road trip dilemma. Take off the bun and you save yourself another 120 calories and around 22g carbs. I’ve had this before on the road and it’s definitely not a bad eat when you’re stuck in the middle of no-where (I don’t know if that’s saying much, lol).

(5) McDonald’s Honey Mustard or BBQ Snack Wrap (Grilled) – 250 calories, 8g fat, 16g protein

Seriously had a phase where I was kind of obsessed with McD’s Grilled Chicken Honey Mustard Wrap. Although not the best to have on a daily basis, this is another option for when you need something to go and want to stay on the lighter side.

(6) McDonald’s Fruit & Maple Oatmeal (with brown sugar)  - 290 calories, 4.5g fat, 5g fiber. 

Yes, McDonald’s has oatmeal too and it’s pretty damn good. Not enough time to cook yourself a healthy breakfast? Swing by a McDonald’s drive thru and get yourself a filling & healthy oatmeal breakfast.  You will no longer have an excuse to skip breakfast  (so bad for metabolism if you do!).

(7) Wendy’s Grilled Chicken Go Wrap – 270 calories, 11g fat, 19g protein

 Another easy yet satisfying lunch option, this wrap will leave you happy you didn’t get that double bacon cheeseburger you wanted. Don’t let your need to eat on-the-go change your healthy lifestyle.

(8) Wendy’s Large Chili – 310 calories, 9g fat, 26g protein

Looking for something a little hotter? This chili is definitely a yummy meal choice and high protein addition to your day. Watch out for the sodium though. A whoppin’ 1330mg of sodium, you do not want to get this meal too often.

(9) Taco Bell’s Fresco Chicken Soft Taco – 150 calories, 3.5g fat, 11g protein

Although your friends may drag through Taco Bell’s late night drive thru, you can still stay on the lighter side with choices like this. Even with 2 of these, you’re still under 300 calories for lunch or dinner and you still get that delicious Mexican fast food taste. Steer away from additions like sour cream to avoid packing on the calories. (Note: Steer away from the taco salad. Despite containing the word “salad”, this item has 580 calories & 29g fat.)

(10) KFC’s Grilled Chicken Breast – 220 calories, 7g fat, 40g protein (per serving)

Looking for something a little more homey? KFC is not a bad option when you have to grab something to go. With a side of corn on the cob or green beans, this can make a satisfying and healthier on-the-go meal.

Hope that helps when you’re stuck in fast food mayhem. Just because you can’t cook at home everyday or make it to your nearest market, does not mean you cannot pick healthier options when you have little time. Making it work my be challenging but it’s definitely worth it 

From runningwildblog.com

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(via healthy-sexy-bitch)

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Water Weight 

What is water weight? Water weight is fluid retention. It is when your body holds on to  the water in your body. This can cause you to get bloated, and see a higher number on the scale. 

Why does this happen? This can happen for many reasons. Increased sodium intake, too many processed foods, not getting enough protein, not drinking enough water. 

Not drinking enough water? The more water you drink the less water your body will retain. This is because when you drink a lot of water your body signals the organs that it is okay to let go of some of the water.

How to get rid of water weight? By drinking more water, cutting out processed and high sodium foods, sweating, cutting carbs. 

Cutting carbs- although cutting carbs can help you lose water weight this will not help you lose fat. This is also not healthy. Many fad diets promise large amounts of weight loss in a small amount of time by drastically cutting carbs, however this weight will be gained back very quickly because it is not actually fat loss. This has to do with glycogen, and you can learn more about this here and here.

Water weight and fat are very different. This is why you should not freak out if you see a higher number on the scale. Fat is burned by being active and operating at a calorie deficit. 

So in conclusion if you see a high number of gain or loss on the scale in a rapid amount of time it is most likely water weight. I highly recommend that you watch this video.

This is another reason not to think about the scale!

info from here

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Steps for healthy weight loss, and keeping it off for good!

1.  Weight loss = calories burned > calories consumed.
2. 3500 calories = 1lb fat
3. The recommended healthy amount of fat to lose = 1-2lbs per week. 
4. If you aim to lose more, your weight loss is too fast. The faster you lose weight, the more likely you’ll gain it back. You’ll make a dramatic and unsustainable change in your diet/lifestyle, and then you’ll switch back to your old “bad” ways.
5. Slow weight loss = permanent weight loss.
6. Creating a 500 calorie deficit per day = 1lb of fat loss per week (500x7=3500).
7. Everyone already burns 1200+ calories each day just by leading a sedentary life, by being a couch potato. This is called your AMR.
8. You can create a calorie deficit through cutting calories from food and through exercise.
9. It is more beneficial to burn calories through exercise over cutting calories from food. 
10. Everyone has a specific BMR according to their stats (age, height, weight). This is the MINIMUM amount of calories your body requires in order to survive and keep your heart beating, lungs working, other organs working, etc.
11. Eating below your BMR will slow down your metabolism. In turn, you will burn less and less calories because your body thinks it’s starving. This is a natural mechanism in our bodies to protect itself. There is no way around it. Your metabolism WILL slow down. Period. Eventually you will plateau. 
12. Creating a deficit that is too high, will also slow down your metabolism because your body is not getting enough energy to sustain itself. Your muscle will start breaking down, you’ll be worn out, etc.
13. Creating a 500 calorie deficit from food will put you way below your BMR, and your metabolism WILL slow down over time.
14. It is better to create a 500 calorie deficit from exercise which will INCREASE your metabolism, making you burn more calories, it will build muscle, which will also allow you to burn calories, and you will have tons more energy, and thus will be able to burn more calories. By eating enough, you will preserve your muscle and burn off fat. If you don’t get enough energy, your body will metabolize muscle, thus making you burn less calories and slowing down your metabolism. 
15. Now go here: http://preventdisease.com/healthtools/articles/bmr.shtml to figure out your BMR. Do not eat below that many calories. It’s okay to eat below once or twice a week on your REST DAYS. Just make sure it’s not by more than 200-300 calories. You probably won’t burn much fat by cutting calories from food. (If you are 17 years old or younger, add 500 to the number you get. This calculator is for adults, not teens.)
16. Once you’ve figured out your BMR, time to figure out your AMR (daily burn). http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/calories-burned.php Set the level to sedentary. This is how many calories your body burns being a couch potato. If you’re more active in your lifestyle (you walk around campus/school a lot or at work, then set your level to lightly active, if you play sports then you’re moderately active, etc). You obviously burn more calories if you’re a tad bit more active. (If you are 17 years old or younger, add 500 to the number you get. This calculator is for adults, not teens.)

Eat the amount of calories between your BMR and AMR (rounded up), and then burn 300-500 calories through exercise. Add the amount of calories to your AMR number, to give you the total burn for the day. Then subtract the amount of calories you ate to find out your daily deficit.

So for example: My BMR is 1500. My AMR is 1700. If I burn 500 calories at the gym, that brings my burn total up to 2200. If I eat 1600 calories, that gives me a deficit of 600 calories. If I repeated this 6 more times, I would lose 1lb of fat.

If I wanted a 1000 calorie deficit (to burn 2lbs a week), I would burn 900 calories at the gym. DO NOT CUT EXTRA CALORIES FROM YOUR FOOD IF YOU PLAN ON HAVING SUCH A HIGH DEFICIT. IT IS COUNTER PRODUCTIVE AND YOU WILL END UP METABOLIZING YOUR MUSCLE. BAD! Not to mention, you would wear yourself out if you tried burning that much. And you would end up getting the munchies! This is why a 500 calorie deficit is HEALTHIEST. If you plan on having a higher deficit, you need to eat a lot more. I would probably eat around 2000-2200 calories if I planned on burning 900 at the gym. 

The reason you eat a few hundred calories ABOVE your BMR is to ensure your metabolism doesn’t slow down. If you only eat your BMR, plus do 300 calories worth of exercise, that’s 300 calories your body is burning toward activity, and not toward maintaining the body. So your body will slow down your metabolism to compensate for that energy loss.

Cardio is for burning fat. Strength training is for building muscle. Both are equally important when it comes to losing weight. Incorporate both into your workout routine for optimal results. Doing JUST cardio or JUST strength training will not give you optimal results and you will eventually plateau. 

I hope this helps! If you have any questions feel free to message me.

This was written by inspiremefit

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Amazing transformation!

(via seekinternalheights)

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size10plz:

What are hip dips and why you should stop caring about them.

Lately on my dash I’ve been seeing posts about hip dips, and anonymous questions on how to prevent hip dips or how much they hate theirs.

I just want to let you know that it’s normal. The celebrities or girls in your thinspo tags that you see that don’t have it either are wearing spanx, they’re photo shopped, or you just plain don’t see it.

I have never met any one that didn’t have one. It’s part of our anatomy, and on some is more noticeable than others. It all depends on your body type, muscle, and fat distribution. 

Most children in north america have heard this song in pre-school and kinder garden, but for most it’s been a while so I thought I’d give you a refresher course.

With the leg bone connected to the knee bone,
and the knee bone connected to the thigh bone,
and the thigh bone connected to the hip bone.

That is exactly what a “hip dip” is. It’s because the femur attaches to the acetabulum which is made up of all three hip bones: the ilium, ischium, and pubis.

You get a hip dip from being born with a skeleton. 

Those celebrities/thinspo girls that you look up to and think, “oh I wish I didn’t have a hip dip. They are so lucky they don’t have one.” Hate to break it to ya (not really), but they have it too. 

Hey look it’s Mily cyrus, Beyonce, and Kelly brook. They all have one!

Oh wait, I have more! All in their unphotoshopped glory! :D

Even ryan gosling has one.

Everyone has one, but sometimes it’s not as noticeable. Men and women have it, but it’s more noticable on women because our hips are generally wider. Like I said earlier it’s really about fat, and muscle distribution. Some women have it more noticeable, some don’t, but it doesn’t mean it’s not there. I know I have it, and I have never met anyone who is like “ew your hip dip is so gross.”

Remember the picture with Brittany spears vs Photoshop? Even she has one.

We have to Remember that we live in a world where spanx is readily available to smooth out our lumps and insecurities to common folk and celebrities alike. Along with photoshop to take away “imperfections” on celebrities so we can feel shitty about ourselves. All while we read magazines or see adverts with conflicting messages like “you’re beautiful” and an advert for make up right or weight loss tips next to it. 

You’re in trouble when you want to stop looking human. Seriously guy and gals, everyone has one as long as you keep your skeleton. 

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girlgoingfit:

So I felt like making a picture, hehe. Should have made it AFTER my work out though, but whatever :D 

Don’t mind my uber sexy derp face :)