My Weight-Loss and Fitness Tips

• BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE CREATE A POSITIVE FITNESS & HEALTH ENVIRONMENT FOR YOURSELF! Use your social media sites to connect you to the health and fitness community. Because I’ve “Liked” a bunch of fitness pages, my Facebook newsfeed always shows articles, tips, updates, and more. It’s a great way to stay updated. I also follow people on Instagram because they post lots of pictures of yummy food and recipes that I like to try. Follow people who inspire you on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and whatever else you’re on! By doing this you will begin to EDUCATE YOURSELF and learn things you never knew before. On Facebook I follow/like: Jamie Eason, Fitness treats, Eat, Lift and be Happy, Fitspiration, FitnessRx for Women Magazine, Ultra-FIT Magazine, Chris Powell, Muffin Top-Less, CiaraLE, Bodybuilding   
• A GALLON A DAY KEEPS THE FAT AWAY! Drink 1 gallon of water a day. Buy a large refillable water bottle and mark the times of the day on it so you can set drinking goals for yourself. My bottle is 64oz and I try to drink 2 a day. I got it from Amazon. 
• 5 MEALS A DAY IS THE ONLY WAY! Eat five meals a day 2-3hrs apart. Breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. Sometimes if I skip a snack I’ll have it after dinner. Here is what I do for my nutrition. Sometimes I wake up at a weird time and my eating schedule gets thrown off so I set a timer for 2 or 3 hours after each meal on my iPhone so I’m reminded to eat. 
• GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN! Okay, no more rhyming for now. Once you’re done eating, cooking, or cleaning in the kitchen LEAVE IT! You don’t want to tempt yourself.
• MAKE MEALS AHEAD OF TIME! I use sundays or saturdays to prepare my meals for the week. I measure out 4oz protein, lots and lots of veggies, and a complex carbohydrate. I put them all in plastic containers and put them in the fridge/freezer. I also make ants on a log and protien balls as an on the go snack. For more help with preparing meals click here.
• COME AND GO PREPARED! No matter where you’re going always bring healthy food options with you. I have cans of tuna and a mix of spices and herbs in my car at all times. If you’re EATING OUT eat a meal before hand so you’re less likely to eat something you’ll regret. OR you can check the menu of the place you’ll be eating and decide what you want to get ahead of time. When I’m GOING AWAY FOR THE WEEKEND or a few days, I prepare and pack all of my food. 
• IDENTIFY YOUR WEAKNESSES! My weakness shows when I’m not at my house, ESPECIALLY when I’m babysitting (young kids have all the nom noms!) To avoid bad eating I bring an abundance of my own healthy snacks. 
• WALK INTO THE GYM WITH A PLAN! When you go to a gym, go with a plan of what you’re going to do. If you’re lifting, it’s important to work the largest muscle groups first. You can figure out what you’re largest muscle groups are here. If you don’t know where to start with the gym check out my workouts page or visit BodyBuilding.com to browse exercises and plans. I started by saving pictures of exercise graphics on Pinterest on my phone. 
• DO ABS FIRST! Maybe this is just me, but when I finish my workout I’m tired and don’t want to do anything extra like abs. So if you want to fit an ab circuit in, DO IT FIRST! I always do a minimum 5 minute cardio warmup and then go straight to abs. When doing abs, do complimentary exercises. That means if you work your lower abs first, do your upper abs or obliques second. You want to give your muscles some recovery time before hitting them again. 

For more advice and inspiration check out Muffin-Topless.com and the MTL Blog, Ready to Lift, Weight-Loss Problems, and BodyBuilding.com! Hope this helps!