Spring break is rapidly approaching, ladies, and if you’re like me, it totally snuck up on you and you still have the winter hibernation weight on. We all want to be sexy and fit for spring break and choosing a healthy lifestyle guarantees that you’ll be doing so much for your body and it’ll truly be grateful! It is important to be healthy and loving towards yourself when wanting to be fit. So, keep in mind that you should always give your body what it needs, be aware of your limits, and most importantly, listen to it. Your body will tell you when it has had enough or when it needs nourishment, but it will also tell you when it wants to workout and when it’s not ready to give up! Now, lets get to how to lose the Honey Boo Boo tummy.
Before working out, it is important to find the perfect diet and balance for you. Many people think that when getting fit all you can eat is smoothies and salads, but there actually needs to be a good balance between your protein (meat, chicken, fish), vegetables, fruits (which give you healthy sugars!), and carbohydrates (I know, surprising, but you need them). I will tell you that I love Chick-Fil-A and I will take it over a salad any day, but you gotta sacrifice every once in a while!
My recommendation is that while getting that spring break bod, challenge yourself to give up fast food. Instead of heading to Chick-Fil-A on campus, go get some Subway. Instead of getting a Frappuccino with extra whipped cream, opt for a green tea with no sweetener. I know, it sounds like a nightmare, but it is possible and it is definitely worth it!
What I like to do to make cravings easier is to meal prep. Not only will you save money that you can spend on spring break, but you will also know you have food ready in the fridge and that you shouldn’t buy Panda Express on campus. Meal prepping also helps you find healthy recipes, and saves you time in the morning. My go to meal is grilled chicken seasoned with garlic salt and a little bit of tony chachares, asparagus or green beans, and rice. Don’t feel like you need to limit yourself with flavors, seasoning is your bff. I will usually make rice and then season it the yummy Mexican way with some caldo de pollo seasoning, but that’s a recipe you can ask me about another day.
There are certain diets that I have seen on the internet or I have talked about with family and friends that I don’t really know if I trust or not. There are detoxifying diets, juice cleanses, and the three-day diets that will work for the time that you do it for, but then you’ll gain the weight right back. My mom is victim of a Pinterest three-day diet that promised her she would lose like 10 lbs in three days. She did lose a lot of weight, but it was all practically water weight that you will gain right back the next week. My recommendation is to just eat healthy and limit your cravings.
Another thing that is very important when losing weight that a lot of people don’t really pay attention to is drinking water and keeping your body hydrated. Water is so incredibly good for you, and you all might say well duh, but it has a lot of benefits when drinking the right amount a day. We are supposed to drink about 64 ounces of water a day, so about two liters or half a gallon. If you’re like me, drinking water is hard since I’d rather drink an iced coffee or tea; however, there are easy and yummy ways that also give an extra help with weight loss or even better looking skin! And who doesn’t want clear skin, right? The best way to drink all 64 ounces of water a day is to make some infused water with fruit. These recipes all have different benefits and different flavors. These are best when made with 12-16 ounces of water plus the fruits.
- Helps with fat-burning, digestion, and headaches: Green tea, mint, and lime.
- Helps with blood sugar support and digestion: cucumber, strawberry, and kiwi (yummiest!)
- Helps with hydration, digestion, and appetite control: cucumber, lemon, and lime.
- Helps with immune defense, digestion, and heartburn: lime, orange, and lemon.
A part of the healthy lifestyle that people tend to neglect is working out! I’m not a trainer or an expert at the gym, believe me, but there are great at-home or actual gym workouts that you can find on Pinterest, even around 12-week ones.
When working out, it’s important to know how much your body can take. Push yourself, but don’t over do it. Another thing that’s important is to mix workouts, either at home or at the gym, with cardio. It doesn’t really work if you only do one or the other. I know, cardio is painful, but it’ll be worth it, I promise.
Something that is also key for workouts to be successful is to know what to eat before and after your workouts. It’s also important to know what to eat after a certain time. Before your workouts, you should eat foods like bananas, peanut butter, granola bars, dried fruit, whole grain toast, and nuts. Don’t eat all of them or in huge quantities, but those are great before your workout. Post-workout foods should consist of protein shake, bananas, fruit, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt with granola, lean protein (eggs, chicken, or fish), or some vegetables with quinoa. After a certain time at night, at around 8 P.M., your body stops burning calories as much as it does earlier in the day. So after 8 P.M., it is recommended to only eat some foods like string cheese, Nesquick with low fat milk, apple with peanut butter, Greek yogurt, celery, nuts, veggies, turkey jerky, chicken, salmon, and grilled meat.
But out of all of these tips, the most important tip I have for you is to be safe about your eating and exercise habits. Never work out more than your body can take and always feed it right. Listen to your body. Your health is more important than looks! Now, work it ladies and be safe during spring break!