Most girls stare at their Seventeen Magazine, wishing they could look like the girls in there. Trust me, I know EXACTLY how it is! However, there's a difference between exercising and eating healthy, than starving yourself and over-exercising. This is all about the healthy things you can do to stay active and maintain a healthy weight.
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When exercising, you need to do these things:
1. Do not wear jeans.
You need to wear something you're able to bend and move around in. It's better to wear shorts and a regular T-Shirt. Try crop leggings and a tank top!
2. Make sure you are stretched.
Before you start, you should touch your toes and stretch your arms. Just stretch for five minutes. If you don't stretch, you could pull a muscle or get a sore back and arms.
The first thing I start off with is coordinators. Coordinators are the cheerleading way of jumping jacks. So just do some jumping jacks to warm yourself up. Do twenty-five of these.
Sit Ups are a great way to strengthen your abdominal muscles. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Cross your arms against your chest, or put them behind your neck. Pull yourself up and touch your chest to your legs. Do not use your arms to help you. Try doing twenty of these.
Push Ups strengthen the upper body and improve the core strength. Lay on your stomach. Position your hands to be slightly wider than your shoulders. Put your feet together. In this position, push off your hands or lift your chest in the air. Only your hands and your feet should be touching the ground. Then, bend your elbows to push yourself down. Then, push yourself back up. Repeat this fifteen times.
The Bicycle is an amazing way to work on your abs, and I have seen a significant change after doing them. They really work for me! Lie on your back with your arms back behind your head, legs straight in the air, and knees pulled toward your ches. Lift your shoulders off the ground. With your right leg straight, bend your left leg and touch it with your right elbow. Then switch it so that you're bending your left elbow to your right leg. If this sounds confusing, you can look up a tutorial on YouTube. It's very easy to do and extremely effective for me! Repeat fifty times.
Planks will get you stronger abs and they are simple to do. Start by getting in a press up position, which means that your legs should be together, and the only thing touching the ground should be your elbows and your feet. Make sure your arms are apart and not touching each other. The variation I do is that I shift my weight onto my right arm, and then twist my body to that side. Make sure you are slightly twisting, and not sticking your butt up in the air! Do this to your other side. Repeat thirty times.
Stretching and how to become flexible fast.
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1. Sit on the ground on your butt. Move your legs as far apart as possible. If you can't do a split, your legs probably create a little pizza shape. Keeping your legs still, try to touch your right foot. Then, try to touch your left foot. If you feel this in your legs and thighs, it's working.
2. This stretch is called the butterfly. If you don't know what to do, start with sitting on the ground pretzel legged. Then, slowly move your legs apart and make your feet touch. It should look like two wings. Then, bend down and try to touch your head to your toes. You should feel this in your thighs if it's working.
3. This one takes a while to be able to do. Lay on your stomach and sit up, almost how a mermaid sits. Then, bend your head back and your feet up and try to touch them together. I know you think I'm crazy, but if you do this everyday, you'll eventually be able to do it!
4. If you have a staircase in your house, or some kind of rail, just put your leg on top of it, bend, and try to touch your foot. This is like what you do on the ground. Make sure you stretch out both legs and not just one.
5. Keep your legs together, and try to touch your toes. Then, put your right foot over your left and try. Switch, and try again. After that, keep your legs apart while standing up still. Keeping your legs planted on the ground, try to touch your right foot. Then, try to touch your left. If this is too easy for you, try to touch your nose to your knee. That's a little bit harder.
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If you want to eat healthier, that doesn't mean no more McDonald's or Chickfila. All you have to do is not eat it as often. Start slowly by only having fast food once a week. Then, try to only have it every two weeks.
Instead of eating a candy bar, eat a fruit. Try only having a candy bar once a week instead.
Look online for easy, healthy recipes. It could be fun and easy!
If you read Seventeen magazine, it shows you a bunch of healthy meals to make! You can find recipes anywhere!
One of my favorite healthy snacks is an apple and peanut butter. Wash an apple and then cut it into little pieces. Put a scoop of peanut butter on the side of your plate, and dip the apple slices in there. It tastes really good!
Bagels are low in calories and are a great idea for breakfast.
Strawberries are so good, and if you want to, you can sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar on there to give it more flavor. Make sure you use low calorie sugar, though.
If you are a coffee drinker, you could try switching to tea because Lipton Tea Bags are zero calories!
Also, if you are a big soda drinker, just start to drink more water instead.
Remember, you can eat and still be skinny. There are healthy alternatives to everything!
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