Seventeen Magazine Body Peace Treaty

Ladies, I want to introduce the Body Peace Treaty.
Thanks to Seventeen magazine (and promoted by The Biggest Loser with Jillian Michaels) the Body Peace Treaty is a treaty full of vows that has been signed by celebrities, editors, and many girls from all ages, backgrounds and lifestyles. This treaty has a simple purpose...to help every girl make peace with her body, and her mind. It's easy for me to tell you to love yourself and respect yourself and your body, but quiet honestly girls, that's easier said than done, and I know it, as do we all. Read the treaty below, sign it, follow it, and agree to love yourself for who you are, what you do, and how amazing you've become. While it's great to sign, we hope that you truly live it everyday. Lot's of love and support from Lil Miss Strong, Seventeen magazine, and readers/women across the country. And remember...the sun will rise tomorrow if you have that extra slice of pizza or that scoop of ice cream. <3
-Lil Miss Strong

Make peace with your body by reading the vows and adding your signature to the list of editors, celebs, and readers like you!

• Do the little things that will keep my body healthy, like walking instead of hanging on the couch, or drinking water rather than something sugary.
• Appreciate what makes my body different from anyone else's. I love that I'm unique on the inside, I will try to feel that way about the outside too!
• Wear makeup only when I want to and it feels fun. I won't use it to hide the real me!
• Accept that my body will go through changes, and that's okay.
• Support my friends, who just like me, have their own body issues. Hey, we're all in this together!
• Put my energy toward the things in life I care about instead of wasting another ounce of it on my insecurities.
• Remember that the sun will still rise tomorrow even if I had one too many slices of pizza or an extra scoop of ice cream tonight.
• Never blame my body for the bad day I'm having.
• Stop joining in when my friends compare and trash their own bodies.
• Never allow a dirty look from someone else to influence how I feel about my appearance.
• Quit judging a person solely by how his or her body looks — even if it seems harmless — because I'd never want anyone to do that to me.
• Notice all the amazing things my body is doing for me every moment I walk, talk, think, breathe...
• Quiet that negative little voice in my head when it starts to say mean things about my body that I'd never tolerate anyone else saying about me.
• Remind myself that what you see isn't always what you get on TV and in ads — it takes a lot of airbrushing, dieting, money, and work to look like that.
• Remember that even the girl who I'd swap bodies with in a minute has something about her looks that she hates.
• Respect my body by feeding it well, working up a sweat when it needs it, and knowing when to give it a break.
• Realize that the mirror can reflect only what's on the surface of me, not who I am inside.
• Know that I'm already beautiful just the way I am.
• Not let my size define me. It’s far better to focus on how awesome I look in my jeans than the number on the tag.
• Surround myself with positive people. True friends are there to lift me up when I’m feeling low and won't bring me down with criticism, body bashing, or gossip.
• Accept the changes that my body is going through. I will celebrate my new shape and curves. I will rock what I've got!
• Remember that sometimes I will have down moments. And in those times, I will remind myself of how awesome I am by looking in the mirror and saying, "I'm good! I can do this! I'm number one!"
• Accept that beauty isn't just about my looks. It's my awesome personality and my energy that creates a whole, unique package.

To print out your own version of this list and add your online signature, go to http://www.seventeen.com/health/tips/body-peace-pledge.

What supplements do YOUUU take?

Note: Taking supplements depends on you, and your body and lifestyle. Some people take supplements that other people don't. Before starting any supplements, you need to do research and factor in your personal health and goals. Supplements are supplementation. This means that although they come into play, they will not make up for eating badly and not exercising. 

You workout, push yourselves, go to the gym, make sure you are putting the right foods into your bodies...and then one day the big guy at the gym starts talking to you and asks, "So, what supplements do YOU take?" It's kind of like when you own a really nice car...and someone walks up to you and says, "I drive a lamborghini what do YOU drive?" You're afraid to answer because you think that you'll disappoint them or you're answer won't be good enough. It is true...your body is a lamborghini and you have to be fueling it correctly. Therefore, should you be taking supplements?! Are they necessary, do they work? What would I recommend?

Well....the main thing to understand is that there are many many different supplements out there. I'm not just talking about multivitamins, I'm talking about all the fancy powders and pills and shakes you hear about for working out...Proteins, BCAAs, CLA, Creatine, Glutamine, Casein, Alpha Lipoic Acid...it goes on and on. There are supplements for building muscle, burning fat...supplements that you can't even pronounce, but people take. However, I do personally use a couple basic supplements that I think are beneficial. Walking into a supplement store like GNC or going to bodybuilding.com can be overwhelming since there are so many products and companies. Let's talk about some good supplements to take so you aren't as confused.

First, understand that supplements are not a magic powder or pill that will give you an amazing body while you don't have to workout or eat well. The 2 main and most vital things in getting a good body are nutrition, and working out. No excuses. You need to eat right. You need to exercise. 

1. WHEY PROTEIN: I recommend whey probably over anything else. Whey protein comes in a protein powder, all different flavors...vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, orange creamsicle...yummy huh! If you really want to know...whey is a bi-product from cheese production...don't be scared! Whey is considered a fast acting protein, so a lot of people use it as a recovery drink after a workout. When you use a lot of energy, your body increases something called cortisol, which shuts down muscle growth. Basically, whey is food for your muscles and allows them to rebuild.
 - SNACK TIME: Whey can be a great snack, and saves time. Instead of prepping a meal, whey
 is mixed with milk or water...you can even add it to some milk and throw a banana in for a
 shake in the blender. Sometime I add a bunch of ice, and it tastes like a milkshake!
 - IMMUNE SYSTEM: helps maintain a strong immune system
 - WEIGHT LOSS: A protein shake like this is low in carbohydrates, so it provides you with a
 snack between meals that is actually fairly low in calories and carbs. SCORE!

2. BCAAS: Oh...my. This stands for Branched Chain Amino Acids. I know it's a lengthy name. Most people who talk about BCAAs say that they are the building blocks of protein! What do they do. They support a lot, from muscle building to intense endurance training. The more BCCAs in your muscles, the more they are used for energy. They slow down the breakdown of muscles, and can help minimize fat gain and muscle loss. And my favorite part about all of that is that they taste good!

3. MULTIVITAMIN: Our mothers always tell us to take our multivitamin and eat our vegetables. As Jamie Eason explains, lifting weights can be hard on your bones, so it's very important to be getting essential nutrients like calcium. Taking a multivitamin ensures that you are getting all of those essential and necessary nutrients.

4. FISH OIL: So fish oil contains fatty acids that are essential in your nutrition plan...yes, our body does need healthy fats to stay healthy! Cutting good fats out of your diet...is not good. Fish oil (omega-3) supports overall health, may improve recovery by helping decrease inflammation from exercise, improves body composition, supports healthy blood flow and helps reduce muscle protein breakdown.

These are the supplements that I would recommend, and that I incorporate into my diet and training. Supplementation is different for each individual based on their training, activity, diet etc. Figure out what your goals are, what you want to achieve from training, and be consistent!

-Lil Miss Strong

Straight Up Curves

Lil Miss Strong's Tiny Tip #7: Be proud of who you are. Strong is sexy....curves are sexy....you really should be startin to feel sexy.

"To all the girls that think you're ugly because you're not a size 0, you're the beautiful one. It's society who's ugly." - Marilyn Monroe

Photo credit: http://imnotreallyabarista.blogspot.com

Most of our society believes that beauty is what we see in the magazines. Beauty, so people claim, is a woman who wears size 0 jeans and has the waist circumference of a licorice stick. Ever since we were little, we've looked around and seen SKINNY and THIN on billboards, magazine covers and in movies. We all want to be skinny and lose weight because society pressures us....we feel that guys won't think that we're hot, or beautiful...people won't pay attention to us, if we don't look like all the girls we see in the media and if we don't fit society's image of "beautiful". All of the teenage girls and young women reading this right now can probably agree...there is always pressure to be thin and skinny. And since most people aren't, it's easy for girls to fall into the misery trap and feel unattractive...they beat themselves up and put their bodies and themselves through suffering; training too hard, trying diet pills, eating close to nothing. Well...................I have a big butt. I have thick muscular thighs....I work my butt off hard so that I can have biceps and abs and curves. I think that muscular women are beautiful. If guys are considered sexy because they have muscle, why can't girls be too? You deserve to have a goal to work for. You deserve to train hard and wear the results. You deserve to have a good body. You deserve to feel sexy. And guess what? You are.

My job and goal is not to convince everyone that girls should be bench pressing heavy weight in the gym all the time. But, my goal is to make girls, regardless of their body type, age...time in their life...feel strong and confident, and equal with their fitness goals and endeavors. My goal is to help inspire the redefinition of beauty, and to help you realize that being strong is sexy in itself by doing beyond what you think you can do.  Every single girl reading this right now can lift more than she thinks she can...by a lot. She can be confident...muscular...strong (physically and mentally) and inspire other people. She can take action in her life, and make change for the better. Stop debating whether or not you belong in the weight section of the gym. If you want to be healthy...if you want to train for a specific goal...if you want to build strength and have a passion...just do it. Once you actually make that effort to change your body and yourself, you'll realize how much strength you already have.

Part of being strong, muscular and changing your body is not caring about what other people think. Fitness and training is about you being against yourself...you trying to better yourself in every way that you can. It doesn't matter if some guy in the grocery store checks you out and doesn't like the look of your big booty or the fact that you've built up your shoulders. By being confident with your lifestyle choice, and your passion to be strong, lift and stay in shape, you'll attract people who believe in the same thing...in the beauty of curves, the beauty of muscle, and the beauty of being a strong, fit woman.

The only thing not hot about a girl with curves is if she isn't happy with herself. Our world is highly concerned with beauty and appearance...my advice to you is to simply live and do what you love. I'm happy and get to do what I love everyday...I sprint hard, I lift heavy, I push myself to do what the guys next to me in the gym are doing. Those huge guys that you see doing bicep curls in the corner of the gym who look over and smile at you....smile back. Cause girl, he's lifting 55's, you should smile about the fact that you can probably lift 60's.

So...here's to having curls, here's to women having muscle...here's to lifting, lifting heavy, pushing hard, being confident, being fabulous, being strong, and being straight up sexy. 

Get motivated and be fearless.

-Lil Miss Strong 

Lil Things for the Bikini Booty

Little Miss Strong's Tiny Tip #6: Sometimes the lil' details matter more than the big ones. That big bikini booty is based off of the little things you do everyday, and the little tricks you incorporate into your lifestyle. 

A quick note: Little Miss Strong supports the health and fitness goals of girls worldwide. Now, I'm a young woman, so I understand other young women, and understand that especially when swimsuit season and summer approaches, girls desperately feel the pressure and the need to slim down and lose weight. I believe in women being healthy and fit. I believe in women having CURVES. I believe that being strong is BEAUTIFUL, and I believe in muscle. So while I do understand the pressure to quickly look like the lean swimsuit models in magazines for this pool season, I also encourage all you lovely girls to learn to love your bodies, redefine beauty, and understand that being healthy and fit is beautiful as well.

Ok. It's spring...rolling into summer time. We ladies all want to be healthy and fit, but let's be real. We want to look hot in a bikini. We want muscular legs, a bikini booty and flat abs. So let's go. Let's talk about the lil' things that you can do... the little tips and substitutions to incorporate over the summer and daily to get there in addition to training and working out. Ready? We are! ;)

In order to be in good shape, especially during the summer, working out and training is still obviously a giant slice of the whole pie. It's veryyy easy to slow your life down and get a little lazy over the summer...which I don't disagree with! Enjoy life and relax! You don't HAVE to drop the BBQ!  However, it's easy to give into temptations and habits daily...eating salty unhealthy foods out of boredom, lying around from morning until night, not getting enough sleep. So instead of talking about working out, let's address some tips and tricks to remember and practice so that you continue to feel healthy, energized, and confident throughout the hot months.

LIL' TIPS FOR LOOKIN' GOOD IN THAT BIKINI: 

#1: DRINK UPPP! And girls, I'm talking about H2O. Staying hydrated is a small pointer, but one of the most important factors to staying in shape and looking good. Now, you don't need to carry around a giant water gallon jug like I do when I'm at the gym or make sure to drink an exact certain number of glasses like people tell you to, but drink up. Something a lot of people never realize or think about is that it's easy to drink calories...all those sugary drinks, sodas and juices add up. Soda leads to bloating in the stomach area and consuming lots of salt leads to water retention...exactly what you don't want when you're in a swimsuit. Drinking water and staying hydrated actually helps you lose water weight. Please and thank you.

#2: GOOD MORNING...AND GOOD WORKOUT: Workout in the morning. 3 reasons. First of all, when it's summertime and you wake up and tell yourself you'll get your workout in later that afternoon, you probably won't. Friends, concerts, movies, BBQs and hangouts happen. While you may seriously intend to workout, summer is distracting and it's hard to relax on a hammock and get yourself up to go run or lift. If you wake up and get your workout in, then it will happen. Second of all, if you like working out outside...going on runs, doing yoga, biking...it is a lot cooler and enjoyable in the morning, and therefore you might workout longer than you would in the scorching sun. Lastly, working out in the morning can be beneficial. Some people claim that if you workout in the morning before eating, your body burns more fat. I claim that if you workout in the morning, you'll be energized and feel good for the rest of your day, and therefore feel happier, healthier, and do things that are a little more active than lying around.

#3: PLAY: You would be AMAZED at how engaging in little activities that you think are fun can add up and result in extra workout time. Throw that frisbee at that barbecue picnic and race your friend's little brother in that pool. Playing an extra game of tag outside can seriously work those legs! If you have to go somewhere...bike instead of drive! Take the stairs instead of taking an elevator. 


#4: GET FRESH: Instead of snacking on things like chips and pretzels, go fresh this summer and indulge in all the fresh fruit and vegetables you can. Fruit like watermelon contains both water and antioxidants that you can highly benefit from. 

#5: POP IT LIKE IT'S HOT! Ice cream and fudgesicles are good...yes I know. But try making little substitutes for foods like caloric and creamy cold treats by making your own fresh fruit pops. I love homemade popsicles, and while you don't feel deprived of dessert, you also aren't eating an overwhelming number of calories...or feeling guilty. If you are out with friends and don't want to be the only one not eating dessert, go for a fudgesicle (about 40 calories) or frozen yogurt topped with fruit (120-500 calories). Little things like choosing a wafer cone over a sugar cone helps lower calories too. 
         Fruit Popsicle Recipe:  A popsicle mold
                                                1/2 cup blueberries and raspberries
                                                1 1/2 cups natural fruit juice
                                                3/4 cup chopped strawberries
                                                1/2 cup chopped bananas/kiwi
                         1. Mix fruit up in a mixing bowls and distribute  into popsicle molds
                         2. Pour juice over fruit
                         3. Insert popsicle sticks and freeze until they're solid. YUMMM


#6: TRAIN: While I train for a specific sport and do pretty aggressive and heavy lifting that helps me stay in shape and build muscle, there are many different workouts and exercises that I would highly recommend for getting in shape for summertime, and in general. I recommend HIIT training, or high intensity interval training. This includes things like sprinting as opposed to going for long runs. Intervals help burn fat because you exert all of your energy for short periods of time. You can do HIIT training on a stationary bike in the gym or a bike outdoors as well! An example of this would be something like biking easy for 2 minutes, and then biking hard at an increased incline or intensity for 30 seconds, off and on. (for example).

ABS: Crunches, planks, twist crunches, Russian twists, leg raises

LEGS: Leg press, lunges, barbell deadlifts, barbell squats, calf raises

ARMS/BACK: Dumbbell curls, dips (on a bench/chair) ball push-ups, shoulder press, cable rows, tricep kickbacks, etc. (the list goes on!)

BOOTY: DO SQUATS! WITH A BAR AND WEIGHT. Don't be scared! Backsquats...front squats, overhead squats. Squatting builds a big booty, develops muscle and helps with toning. Be careful though...don't go ham at the squat rack and do too many, and remember to use proper form. Gradually increase your weight to build strength. 
  

My final tip is to FORGET ABOUT LOOKING GOOD. FORGET ABOUT WHAT YOUR BODY LOOKS LIKE OR WHAT YOU WANT YOUR BODY TO LOOK LIKE. WHEN YOU WORKOUT AND TRAIN (And it is true that consistency is key, changing your body does take time) YOU WILL GET THE BODY YOU WANT. Just focus on what you're putting into your body, the little things you can change or substitute everyday, and your training. And for goodness sakes. When it's finally time to put on your two piece and meet up with your friends at the pool this summer, strut your stuff! 

Be confident. Respect yourself. Be happy. Be fearless. 

-Lil Miss Strong