Thick to Fit Fitness Challenge

a support group for those who are ready to take on the challenge of getting & staying fit in order to live a healthier lifestyle. This is a no judgment zone, nothing but love & positivity. We are taking it one day, one month, & one calorie at a time.

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“People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things.”

—  Norman Vincent Peale

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Twist and Shout w/ TONE IT UP TUESDAY!!! 

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Tip of the Day: Slow Down

Slow down. It takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes for your stomach to sense it’s full. If you wolf down your food like a starving dog, you’ll likely out-eat your hunger.

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Tip of the Day: Muscle

Build more lean muscle. Maintain, or even increase, your metabolism by continuing to build lean muscle. "Muscle has a higher metabolism than fat does," explains Emily Banes, RD, clinical dietitian at Houston Northwest Medical Center. If you don't yet train with weights, add this type of exercise to your overall program now. If you do, increase the amount of weight you're working with to keep yourself challenged. 

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YOU ARE THE GREATEST

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Tone it Up Tuesday: Get those shoulders sexy!

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Boosting Your Body Image

Whichever body shape you were born with, you can enhance your figure with a healthy diet that includes lean protein, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and minimal packaged foods and added sugars.

It’s also important to let go of having the perfect body, and learn to eat well and exercise because it makes you feel good. When you are feeling down in the dumps about your body shape, call a positive pal for a pep talk, or write down everything you love about yourself. Combine these little efforts with a body-type specific fitness plan, and you’ll be on the road to loving your figure in no time.

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Flute Shapes: Chisel Your Waist

                   You are thin and have little definition with bust, waist, and hip measurements that are very similar — hence the comparison to a streamlined flute.

What you can do: If you’re thin, your goal may be to chisel your waist to add some curves to your body. Look to tone your abs with sit-ups, side planks, squats, and vertical toe touches (lie flat on your back and raise your legs straight up in the air, then reach to touch your toes). If you have a rectangular flute shape but are on the heavy side, your goal is to lose weight all over by adopting a healthy eating plan along with regular exercise.

(source: everydayhealth)

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Hourglass Shapes: Tone All Over

                                               You’re curvy, and your bust and hip measurements are just about the same while your waist is narrow. If you have an hourglass figure and you’re overweight, you will likely be overweight all over.

What you can do: To enhance an hourglass body type, follow an exercise program that works both your upper and lower body. Your upper-body weight-training program to define muscles could include dips, lat pull-downs, tricep extensions, and bench presses. Good aerobic exercises for the upper body are swimming, rowing, and cross-country skiing. Tone your lower body with squats, leg presses, leg curls, and calf raises. Good aerobic exercises for the lower body are bicycling, walking, and running

(source:everydayhealth)

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Pear Shapes: Tighten Your Thighs

                          If you’re a pear, you carry fat around your hips, thighs, and buttocks and are more likely to have a small upper body (including breasts) and a heavier lower body. If you want to shift the emphasis away from your hips, there are fitness improvements you can make for a better body image.

What you can do: Bicycling is an excellent aerobic exercise to help tone your lower body, Allen says. Although you can’t spot reduce, you can tone your legs with squats, leg presses, leg curls, and calf raises.

(source:everydayhealth)

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Apple Shapes: Tone Your Tummy

                         If you carry most of your excess weight around the waist and tend to have narrower hips and bigger breasts, you’re an apple. Some researchers believe that apples have an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and early death while others think that waist circumference may be no better an indicator of your likelihood of having a heart attack than any other measurement of body fat. Still, being overweight, no matter where you carry your fat, puts more strain on your heart and increases your risk for heart disease.

What you can do: You can’t spot reduce to get rid of fat, but you can start a cardio routine to help burn fat all over, and tone your abdominal muscles to make them look more streamlined, says triathlete Mark Allen, co-author of Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You. Research has found jogging to be the single most effective exercise to tone tummies, so if you have your doctor’s approval, consider starting a running program to slim down. Next, add in ab-toning moves, such as planks and crunches.

(source: everydayhealth.com)

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I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday.

~Author Unknown

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TONE IT UP TUESDAY

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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.