Girls Rising

I want to share something a little different with you. This is not about weight loss. It isn't about how to get the perfect muscular butt. It isn't about how to look good in jeans or what to eat for lunch. This is a beautiful video, that inspires me, as a woman, as I hope it will inspire you. Lil Miss Strong isn't just about being fit and physically strong...physically able to lift heavy weight in the gym. It's about supporting women around the world. It's about being strong. It's about believing in yourself, believing in your power, and rising up to find the beauty in your own strength as a girl. Let's reflect, let's be inspired, and let's be proud to be women. Because we are unstoppable.

-Lil Miss Strong

That 3 word phrase...WEIGHT. LOSS. TIPS.

 Nutrition Tips for Weight-loss and My Secret Weight-loss foods

I've gotten a lot of requests from young ladies who want to read about diet and exercise tips for weight loss. Weight loss is probably the BIGGEST issue women face...we never like our bodies, and always want to lose weight. Before I list some of my helpful tips, I want to clarify something so that you truly understand. When women say that they need to "lose weight" they are usually incorrectly referring to losing any extra fat they have. When you hear the term "weight loss" you immediately assume that the term defines becoming toner, smaller, muscular, and lean. Right? But, pretend there is an average, healthy woman standing in front of you. She can go away for awhile, have a great diet and exercise well, and come back and look muscular, a lot leaner, and tinier, but weigh even more than she did before! Muscle can weigh a lot too...just because someone looks slim and fit doesn't mean that the actual number that represents their weight is low.
So my first tip for weight loss: It isn't so much about the number, but the composition of our bodies. The goal isn't to lose a number, but to change the composition of your body. For most women, that is going to be getting body fat levels to 15-25%.

Weight-loss Nutrition Tips:

1. Drink! ....but cut the alcohol and soda. Drink water and stay hydrated. This keeps you healthy but also changes your weight, because being dehydrated leads to water retention...that means you'll feel heavy and look more bloated.

2. Cut salt...salt/sodium on your food. Salt causes you to retain water. Drinking water helps flush sodium out...but if you're constantly eating salty french fries...you can retain up to 3 lbs. of weight from all that fluid!

3. Chill out when you eat...when you eat fast, you keep eating because your body still feels hungry...you haven't digested all your food! Slow things down...chill out when you eat. Enjoy your food...it takes 20 minutes for your body to feel full. Take a bite, and put your food or fork down. Take. A. Pause. This little action will save you about 2 pounds a month.

4. XXL say what?! All of a sudden something happened in our country, and we have giant plates and
cup sizes everywhere! If you use a smaller plate, you won't pack on triple what you would normally eat. A small plate means a smaller portion. You can always go back for seconds.

5. Splurge a little...Don't deprive yourself! If you go forever without ever having a dessert or a cheat meal, you'll end up going mentally and physically crazy and eating everythinggg in your path that you crave...it's called binging. It's healthy to eat some chocolate once in awhile.

6. Mama was right, breakfast is good for you...throw some protein and fiber into a meal at the beginning of the morning, and start your day of right! This will help your energy and your metabolism. Don't skip breakfast people.

7. Put the TV on pause...Don't eat in front of the TV or your computer. What happens is, you get distracted, and not only do you vacuum up your food without realizing it...you don't even taste it. You end up shoveling endless amounts of food into your mouth without noticing.

8. Snack time...It's ok to snack on heathy foods. What I tell people, is to eat like you're in kindergarten when it comes to snack time. When you were 5, you were fed veggie sticks and yogurt. I make substitutions that are healthy, but remind me of junk food I like. Like for example, chips are absolutely delicious...but instead, I have 2 caramel rice cakes spread with almond butter for my pre-workout snack. It's crunchy and tasty, but isn't full of salt and grease.

9. Fiber...for real. Eating more fiber can help prevent weight gain, and stimulate weight loss. Foods high in fiber are fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains. You'll feel fuller from eating these, too!

10. SWEET DREAMS...I know..you think that sleeping for a good amount of time will make you gain weight because you're...well, sleeping. When you don't get enough sleep, you gain weight. It alters hunger hormones that you have...remember when you stayed out late in high school and got really hungry at 3 am. and stopped at McDonalds? When you lose sleep, the part of your brain that controls your self-control is thrown off.

My Top Weight Loss Foods

1. Almonds...in moderation
2. Mushrooms...yepp, that's a weird one
3. Eggs
4. Apples
5. Oatmeal
6. Hot chili peppers
7. Kale
8. Olive oil
9. Beans
10. Peppermint
11. Green tea
12. Kelp
13. Garlic...that DOES NOT mean GARLIC BREAD
14. Cucumber 

15. Berries
16. Fennel
17. Ginger                   
18. Brown rice
19. Avocado
20. Quinoa
21. Natural yogurt
22. Salmon
23. Papaya
24. Celery
25. Lentils

How to eat healthy....IN COLLEGE!?

              Lil Miss Strong's Tiny Tip #8: When it comes to Big Bad college, make substitutions, be mindful...but have fun! Because YOLO.


I'm in college, and a lot of you are too. As ladies, when we graduate from high school, college is incredibly exciting! But after the new roommates and dorm life wear off, we become paralyzed with fear about the "freshman 15" and realize what a challenge it is to eat healthy on our own. The problem is that for most people, dorm rooms don't have refrigerators and stoves, and cafeterias serve pizza and hearty home cooked foods. So how in the world can you maintain a healthy diet in college, stay lean and fit, and kill the freshman 15...or 20 lb. rumor? Here are my tips.

Protein bars, ezekiel bread, muscle
milk, protein powder...all great to
have on hand and in between
classes! ;)

First of all, as I keep suggesting, eating tiny meals throughout the day are best, because they keep your metabolism in check. If you eat 3 giant main meals a day...breakfast, lunch and dinner, you may tend to eat large portions, overeat because of hunger, and your metabolism can spike a lot throughout the day. If you eat about 6 small meals a day, you won't suffer from starvation after long classes. Some college lectures and classes permit you to eat a little something, but if you can't, pack a snack or meal in your bag for in between classes and breaks. Try to eat about every 2-3 hours.

The BIGGEST problem people have when it comes to eating healthy in college is money. Organic food is expensive when you're a college student and have a budget! Always look out for sales and markdown deals at grocery stores, and also buy storable foods in bulk because that can be less expensive. I thought it was a really great idea to buy bags and bags of potatoes my freshman year, and I ended up not using them...so I woke up one day...and all I had were bags of moldy potatoes everywhere and wasted money. Only buy bulk foods that you know you will use!

IF YOU WANT TO EAT YOUR OWN FOOD:
And you live in a dorm that does not have a refrigerator or stove, here are some foods that you can keep in your room:

- canned tuna and sardines = protein
- whey protein powder = protein
- oatmeal (packets) = carbs

Sweet potatoes are a great carb source....add
some honey and cinnamon for a dessert, or
plain yogurt for dinner!

- canned vegetables = carbs  
- apples and bananas
- brown rice = carbs
- potatoes/sweet potatoes = carbs
- olive oil = good fat
- peanut butter
- coconut water in cans
- nuts/bulk
- canned soup
- raw honey
- whole grain bread
- protein bars
- whole wheat cereal/bran

IF YOU HAVE A MEAL PLAN AND EAT FROM THE SCHOOL CAFETERIA:

Breakfast: Don't eat the pastries, white bread, sugary juices, lucky charms, french toast, waffles. IF IT DOESN'T DECOMPOSE INTO THE GROUND....NO. Yes, pancakes are amazingly good but staying fit takes discipline. You have to say no. Have a little bit of yogurt, add some fruit, and have an egg or hardboiled egg if they are at the salad bar. Oatmeal is also great...add some nuts and fruit.

Lunch: Pizza = no. Creamy pastas = no. Hamburgers and fries = no. Go for a lean protein with some good carbs and vegetables. Fill your plate up at the salad bar, and then find something like chicken, fish or turkey with some rice or potatoes. Make a sandwich with whole wheat bread, turkey, vegetables. Adding things like mayonnaise and cheese  (or creamy dressings on your salad) are little things that can definitely add up, so skip them.

Yes, pastries are SOOO good. But
eating them for breakfast before
class everyday is not. 

Snacks: Unsalted raw nuts, apples, low-fat cottage cheese, vegetables sticks and carrots. No chips, fries, cookies and crackers. We don't really think about it, but even snacking every night on a roll of ritz crackers while studying in the library adds up.

Dinner: Mix it up...don't eat the same thing every night. Lean meat like chicken and fish, salad, rice, potatoes. Try making little substitutions...a lot of people take a baked potato and top it with sour cream and bacon bits. That's caloric. Take your baked potato and top it with plain or vanilla yogurt or a little cottage cheese, and some spinach or bell peppers. It really makes a difference.

I learned one thing from college about food...It is really easy to get carried away and eat too much, but it's also very easy to be too strict and not enjoy your food. I got into a bad habit of eating the same thing every night because the cafeteria didn't have a lot of options, and I was working out really hard everyday. After awhile, my body couldn't really keep going on plain chicken and salad. I got so sick of eating sweet potatoes that I never wanted to look at one again. If you are too strict, you'll end up breaking down and binging at some point. There were nights when I'd get a carb craving and eat an entire box of special K cereal. You need to go with the flow with your food, and mix things up while maintaining a healthy diet.

Last but not least...one of the biggest causes of weight gain in college is partying, and no one ever realizes that. There are parties every night in college...bars everywhere, social drinking and alcohol (if you're of legal age, of coursee)...alcohol is very caloric and can really start to add up. If you are trying to really tone up and get fit, cutting alcohol or reducing it to a minimum is a very wise move.

Remember that college isn't an evil place that guarantees overeating and weight gain. You're now on your own...meaning you have to be the one responsible for your own health. If you don't want to overeat, or gain weight, then don't.

EAT WELL, LIVE IT UP, AND BE HAPPY!
-Little Miss Strong