Almost a year since I began losing weight.I started with the insanity 2 month program because i desperately wanted to make myself look and feel better. On the picture to the left was day one of insanity weighing in at 152. The picture on the right is today, May 15th almost a year later.After insanity I started hitting the gym 3+ times a week and that’s when i started building more muscle. A lot of girls like to think that weight lifting makes you bulky, manly, etc. I can assure you it definitely does NOT! This past year hasn’t always been easy but I didn’t give up ! Don’t strive to be “skinny” strive to be FIT ! Muscle will always look better than skin and bones.
Follow me on tumblr @haileegetsfit
With the exception of diehard fitness enthusiasts, few people find the prospect of running even remotely appealing. The idea of waking up early, getting out of your warm bed, looking for appropriate workout wear and focusing on giving your body a solid workout puts many people off running. Building up a sense of running motivation will take you a long way. Not only is running an excellent way to lose weight, but you can motivate yourself to run by remembering that running is good for the mind, the heart, and for keeping you in shape. All these benefits are impressive and indubitably desirable, but how can you motivate yourself to run at 6 a.m. every morning? These simple, yet effective tips to stimulate and nurture that running motivation will help you to become a regular and dedicated runner!
Read more: http://www.fitnessrepublic.com/running/how-to-motivate-yourself-to-run.html#ixzz24LStT7uL
workout-workhard-loveyourself:
May Issue of Cosmopolitan: 9 Foods That Melt Away Flab!
1. Eggs
Vitamin B12in the yolk helps your body torch fat. Plus, they are super filling and starve off binges.2. Peanut Butter
Creamy or chunky, it’s a source of magnesium, which powers cells to metabolize energy. efficiently.3. Avocado
It’s high in craving-quelling “good” fat and rich in L-carnitine, an amino acid that fires up your body’s engine.4. Sirloin Burger
Made with 90% lean beaf, it’s like pure protein, which takes more energy to digest than fat or carbs.5. Cheese
Conjugated linoleic acid in dairy helps your body burn fat. Go with a tangy, creamy kind that satisfies your palate.6. Pickles
A medium pickle is only 7 calories - you’ll burn more energy digesting this salty, crunchy veggie.7. Green Tea
It’s teeming with catechins, antioxidants that studies show destroy body fat. Plus, caffeine gives your system a metabolic jump.8. Yogurt
Regular and low-fat kinds have probiotics, bacteria that may reduce the amount of fat that your body absorbs.9. Quinoa
Because your body works hard digesting this protein-packed whole grain, you burn off extra calories.
(Source: losingfatfindingfit, via myfitspirations)
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Height 150cm
Just through eating better and working out every now and then :)
Before: 5’4 268 pounds.
Current: 5’4 172 pounds.
Total loss: 96 pounds.
I haven’t been this size since at least my freshman year of high school if not earlier. I remember getting on a scale during my junior year of high school and the scale saying 235 pounds and I told myself that was normal even though it wasn’t. I kept getting bigger and I allowed myself to think that was okay and not see a problem with my weight. Looking back on it now, I’m mortified of the person I used to be and refuse to ever go back. These before and after’s are such a crucial part in my weight loss journey in that they remind me on a daily basis of who I was and who I used to be.I’m currently in the process of switching from low-carb to low-calorie. 1200 a day but still keeping a very close eye on my carb intake. I’m also in the process of training for my very first 5k, running at least 3-5 days a week.
Anyone that tells you that you can’t is lying, you can do it. Find the motivation in yourself or through someone else and make your first move.
2009-115 lbs pushing a size 4. June 2012-100 lbs.
I’m 4’11 now at a size 0
Hard work and dedication pays off, people! It’s not always rainbows and sunshine but through all the blood, sweat, and tears it’s well worth it! You come through it a stronger person knowing you did it, YOU earned it!
The first pic was taken in the summer of 09. I remember that day so clearly having fun with my girl at the river, thinking to myself before the pic was taken to suck it in REAL hard. Why SUCK IT IN when you can SUCK IT UP and do the work that WILL pay off? All the previous summers I told myself I’d get my ass into gear and work out but those summers came and went. Shopping was no fun anymore, I felt bloated and gross. My clothes weren’t fitting and I hated taking pictures. I knew then I had to change, I was beginning to feel so uncomfortable in my own skin!
I took baby steps and started working out at home doing Turbo Jam then eventually got a gym membership taking classes to find what worked best for me. Staying focus was difficult until I joined TUMBLR! The fitness community here ROCKS! Whenever I started to get frustrated with my progress or felt unmotivated I’d get on tumblr to see my dash full of amazing people with inspirational transformations. How could I not be motivated after that? I kicked my ass into high gear by lifting heavy and eating right!
I’ve still got a long way to go, but I am not stopping. There is no stopping, this is a lifestyle I’ve chosen for myself. I can’t tell people enough how important it is to love yourself, take care of yourself, love this body you’re in and the life you live! It’s the only one we’ve got! If you’ve got a goal in life NEVER, EVER lose site of it. You can do anything you set your heart and mind to!
1. Catch the running bug. You’ll continue to burn fat after your jog: People who run for at least four hours a week melt more calories than non-runners, even when they’re not running, a Yale University School of Medicine study reports.
2. Crank it up early. Working out harder during the first half of your workout and taking it easier during the second burns up to 23 percent more fat than doing the opposite, according to a study from The College of New Jersey.
3 & 4. Go hard — and make it quick. Staying at 80 percent of your max heart rate for 40 minutes can amp your metabolism for 19 hours afterward, research published in Obesity notes. And doing a shorter workout at 75 percent of your max aerobic capacity will give you a greater metabolic boost than sweating longer at 50 percent, a Colorado State University reveals.
5 to 7. Lift dumbbells … slowly. More muscle equals mega metabolism boost. Strength training can help you trim major fat, research reveals — and doing super-slow (versus normal speed) reps increases strength by 50 percent.
Plus, using dumbbells activates more muscle fibers than using machines, explains Gregory Haff, Ph.D., an associate professor in the exercise physiology department at West Virginia University.
8. Speed up, slow down. Alternating bouts of high-intensity and low-intensity cardio has been shown to torch pounds.
9. Put on weight (literally). Wearing a weighted vest (about 10 percent of your body weight) while walking can boost your calorie burn by 8 percent.
10. Download Rihanna, not Brahms. Listening to up-tempo songs actually makes you run faster and harder than listening to slower-paced music, British scientists say.
11. Let kettlebells ring. Not only does working out with kettlebells build muscle, but doing it for 20 minutes burns as many calories as running at a 6-minute-mile pace for the same amount of time.
12. Keep it up. As few as 80 minutes a week of aerobic or weight training helps keep you from regaining belly fat after losing weight, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
13. Add poles. Use Nordic poles while you walk, and you’ll burn 20 percent more calories, says research from The Cooper Institute in Dallas.
14 & 15. Lift first, nix the rest. Doing strength training before cardio can torch more fat than cardio alone. And if you do one move after another without pausing, “you’ll see more gains in strength and muscle mass,” says Dr. Pierre Manfroy, M.D., consultant for the book “100 Ways to Supercharge Your Metabolism.”
16. Add pounds. Lift heavier weights for fewer reps to make your workout more intense — and burn more fat — Manfroy says.
17. Try aromatherapy. Exercisers who inhaled strawberry and buttered-popcorn scents torched more calories than those who sniffed neutral odors, according to research from the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.
18. Box yourself in. Wii boxing knocks out nearly twice as many calories as some other games, like Wii golf.
19. Kick it. Playing soccer not only torches more fat and builds more muscle than jogging, but it feels less tiring, Danish research reveals.
20. Stay in shape. Fit people have more fat-burning metabolites in their blood than couch potatoes do, scientists say.
IN THE KITCHEN
22. Get more protein. Eating a protein-packed breakfast and lunch helps you burn more post-meal fat than if you eat lower-protein meals, according to Australian research.
23 & 24. Guzzle green tea — or coffee. Downing five 5-ounce cups of green tea a day boosts metabolism, says Lyssie Lakatos, R.D., author of “Fire Up Your Metabolism.” Two cups of coffee will also do the trick, one study shows.
25. Have an omelet. Eating two eggs for breakfast while dieting will help you trim more weight and body fat than if you ate the same amount of calories noshing on a bagel, scientists say.
26. Stay above 1,200 calories… ”The average person’s body goes into starvation mode if she eats fewer than 1,200 calories a day,” says Eric Berg, author of “The 7 Principles of Fat Burning.” “That’s stress, and stress creates more belly fat.”
27. … and cut calories gradually. If you diet, don’t trim more than 250 calories a day. Cutting calories too quickly slows your metabolism down, Dr. Manfroy says.
28 to 33. Munch on these. Almonds, cherries, yogurt, grapefruit, whole grains, and spicy foods have all been shown to torch fat.
34. Fuel up right. Eating a low-glycemic-index breakfast (such as muesli and peaches) will help you burn more fat during a subsequent workout than eating a high-glycemic-index meal (like waffles), researchers from the University of Nottingham reveal.
35. Think before you drink. Sipping as few as 90 calories’ worth of vodka can slow your metabolism by 73 percent, one study shows.
36. Graze. Women who go without eating for long periods are more likely to have higher body-fat percentages than women who nosh more regularly, one study notes.
37. Dine like a Greek. Eating a diet rich in monounsaturated fat (think olive oil, avocados) can help trim both weight and fat, research published in the British Journal of Nutrition shows.
38. Stop gorging. Your body can only handle so much food at a time, so stick to 600 calories or less per meal to maximize fat-burning, says Leslie Cooper, co-author of “Flip the Switch: Proven Strategies to Fuel Your Metabolism and Burn Fat 24 Hours a Day.”
39. Skip juice. Reaching for an apple instead of apple juice is not only better calorie-wise, but it’ll also do a better job of boosting your metabolism, Dr. Manfroy explains.
IN YOUR LIFE
41 & 42. Get C and D. Vitamin C can help you burn more fat, and D may help you lose fat, research notes. Aim for 400 to 500 mg of C and 800 mg of D a day.
43 & 44. Walk more (in denim). Researchers found that fitness-friendly offices (think treadmill desks, mobile headsets) helped people trim pounds and fat, as did wearing jeans to work, since dressing casual encourages you to move more. Wear comfy clothes when you can, pace while on the phone, and stand while chatting with co-workers.
45. Add fish oil (And work out). Taking 6 grams of fish oil per day and hitting the gym three times a week can help nix body fat, an Australian study reveals.
46. Work the day shift. Keeping nontraditional hours lowers levels of hormones that trigger satiety, increases blood glucose and insulin levels, and raises levels of the stress hormone cortisol (which can drive you to eat more), scientists say.
47. Nix the boob tube. Cut your TV time in half, and you’ll burn more calories each day, research from the University of Vermont suggests.
48. Go mental. People who visualized themselves training a specific muscle boosted the strength in that muscle group, researchers found.
49. Eat a smaller dinner. Your body may not digest food — and burn fat — as efficiently if you down a huge meal right before bedtime, especially because your metabolism is slower while you sleep, Dr. Manfroy says.
50. Jump-start your morning. Wake up your metabolism — and get fat-burning started — by doing some sort of exercise within the first few hours of being awake, Cooper suggests.
51. Get your snooze on. Sleep for a solid 81D 2 hours instead of 51D 2, according to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, and you’ll lose more fat. Sweet dreams!
(Source: iwillmakeyouskinny, via myfitspirations)
Found this pretty motivating. I will always love stories of those succeeding after overcoming situations where the odds seems stacked against them. There is a poster for this which is equally inspiring.
