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Recent progress… I’m using workout clothing to help motivate myself!

I LOVE wearing this cross-back top from Ellie! I’m also wearing Asics shoes, Lululemon shorts.

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This pic is post-work out, taking a moment to admire my leg progress. Next steps: HIIT cardio to get my thighs back to where they were before!

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Basic Info
5’5”, 20 years old
Before: ~120lbs After: ~113lbs
I lost fat from my thighs, back and boobs and I also gained some muscle in my hamstrings, upper back, core, and arms!

Measurements
Waist: 27” 25”
Hips: 34” 33”
Bust: 35” 32.5”
Thigh circumference around highest part: 20” 19”
Around mid-thigh: 20” 17”
Bicep with arm straight: 9” 
Wrist: 5.5”
Calves: 13” 12”
BF% maaaaybe 20 then 18?

Diet & Exercise
Cals:
 
Weight: 

Generally ate between 1200-1500 calls, mostly clean food. Protein was between 80-90g. I still hate chicken breast. There are some of my specific foods and workouts here.
The main exercises:
Run: 3.3-4 miles on average, 3 times a week
Squat: 75lb 3 sets of 8 3 x a week
Split squat: 25lb 3 sets of 8 each leg
Plank: 1-2 mins 3-5 times a week

I also did random other exercises targeting other body parts (but weren’t my goals).

What motivated me, and what did I learn?
I gained the freshman 5 pounds and needed to fix it! I learned to touch the weights, that diet plays a HUGE factor, and the importance of consistency. I am really, really proud of my squat form, too!

Next steps
Building muscle. I’m going to focus on glutes, posterior chain, abs, and upper body. I want to learn how to deadlift, as well.

I tried to keep this as bare-bones as possible and focus on the info, but I hope this can help you!

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sweatsalty:

Best Dance Workout DVDs!

Hip Hop:

• Dance Off the Inches: Cardio Hip Hop
• 10 Minute Solution: Hip Hop Dance Mix
• HIP HOP ABS Package - Fat Burning Cardio, Ab Sculpt, Total Body Burn, Secrets to Flat Abs

Ballroom:

• Dancing With the Stars: Ballroom Buns & Abs
• Dance with Julianne: Cardio Ballroom

Latin:

• Crunch: Latin Rhythms
• Dance Fitness for Beginners with MaDonna Grimes: African Beat - Latin Heat
• Zumba Fitness
• Brazilian Dance Workout with Vanessa Isaac

Misc:

• Dance Remix with Patrick Goudeau
• Fitness with the Pros
• Dancing With the Stars: Dance Body Tone

Any more suggestions? Send them here

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sweatsalty:

Best Dance Workout DVDs!

Hip Hop:

• Dance Off the Inches: Cardio Hip Hop
• 10 Minute Solution: Hip Hop Dance Mix
• HIP HOP ABS Package - Fat Burning Cardio, Ab Sculpt, Total Body Burn, Secrets to Flat Abs

Ballroom:

• Dancing With the Stars: Ballroom Buns & Abs
• Dance with Julianne: Cardio Ballroom

Latin:

• Crunch: Latin Rhythms
• Dance Fitness for Beginners with MaDonna Grimes: African Beat - Latin Heat
• Zumba Fitness
• Brazilian Dance Workout with Vanessa Isaac

Misc:

• Dance Remix with Patrick Goudeau
• Fitness with the Pros
• Dancing With the Stars: Dance Body Tone

Any more suggestions? Send them here

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Still workin’ for that bikini body? Here’s how to get killer abs! #5 is simple and works!

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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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lexieatshealthy:

Oh my gosh. Guys, take pictures. Always take before and after pictures. I’ve been really discouraged recently because I’ve “only” lost ten pounds. And this morning, I decided to take a progress pictures. I really didn’t realize how different I look. (this is more of a before/during)

ed. a picture of me has 72 notes *hyperventilating*

(via lexieatshealthy-deactivated2012)

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eat-clean-live-well:

eat-clean-live-well:

A little photo & description I compiled for all the beautiful girls who message me about thigh gaps. 

Its okay to not have a thigh gap! That shouldn’t be the end of the world, I never had one and many of my athlete friends don’t either!

Just bringing this back, its been awfully popular lately~

if you guys want more photo diagrams like this one request them in my ask!

(via amazingsummer)

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I want to get toned, how do I do that?

People often ask this question without understanding what muscle tone actually means. Muscle tone is the amount of tension a muscle maintains when it’s at rest. It is a neurological phenomenon, and if one wanted to increase muscle tone, the most efficient way to do it would be to lift heavy weights for low repetitions, increasing neuromuscular efficiency.

However, many people use the term “toned” to refer to a person with visible muscle definition. In this sense, there are no special “toning” exercises for your muscles. Fitness advice for women is often guilty of purporting to have the “secret” to a toned body. For men, the question is often ‘how do I get ripped?’

The answer, in fact, is extremely simple: build up muscle mass and lower your body fat.

Fat people may have huge muscles, but they will never be “toned” unless the fat is removed to reveal the muscle underneath.

Skinny people have an easier time getting “toned”, as any muscle they put on is not covered by fat. However, it is often harder for a skinny person to add muscle.

Number 1 myth: Higher reps (over 15) will get you “toned.” This is completely untrue. Higher reps help with muscle endurance, which may be useful for some sports. However, if your goal is to get “toned,” you should be focusing on increasing muscle size. The larger the muscle, the easier it will be to see. Do not worry about getting bulky. It’s not easy to put on muscle, and it is very doubtful that you’ll accidentally put on too much. Even if you do, it’s not hard to shrink down to your desired size.

Tips on how to put on muscle are addressed in more detail elsewhere, but generally you should focus on compound lifts in the 8-12 rep range.

Diet: To get more “toned” you will need to have a low body fat percentage. Too much fat and you will look flabby, bloated, or bulky, no matter how big your muscles are. Fat cannot be “spot reduced” on the body, thus preventing you from toning just one body part. A healthy diet is necessary to lower your overall body fat, making your muscles more visible.

A note to women: Often I hear about women who are averse to heavy weights as they don’t want to “bulk up” or “look like a dude”. The fact of the matter is most women will never get as bulky as guys because they lack sufficient testosterone. The female professional athletes you see with large, “toned” arms got that way through of a much more vigorous workout routine than you will ever attempt. A woman’s lifting routine should not be that different from a man’s. This is how women who lift weights like a normal human being look.

Just remember the simple formula: increased muscle size + lower body fat = “toned” body.