Just like everyone else, this year I pledged to finally start working out and eating better. Part of it is vanity — who doesn’t want to look good in a bikini at the beach this summer? — but the other part is knowing that, as I get older, I have to start taking care of myself if I want to live a long, healthy life.

The problem is, I’ve always had a hard time getting (and staying) motivated — but not anymore! I recently signed up for an online fitness tool, MyFitnessPal, which helps me eat better and lose weight by keeping me accountable for what I’m eating.

When you’re creating your free account, MyFitnessPal will have you input your current weight and then enter your weight loss and fitness goals to come up with your calorie goal for the day. Note that this is only a suggestion and you should find what works best for you based on your lifestyle — I actually raised my calorie goal a little bit because I felt mine was too low and I was starving, and now I’m having no trouble staying within my allotted calories (and I’m still losing weight). Read More »

Get flat abs in between class breaks!

5 reasons to love the incline

30 easy ways to boost your energy

Do locker-room saunas actually help in losing weight?

The lazy girl’s guide to losing weight

What snacks you should be eating in between workouts

Lose fat, keep the muscle

The handy guide to finding out your personal caloric needs

Have your chocolate cake and eat it too (without the guilt)

During the school year, eating well and exercising can feel like a real challenge. Going out with friends or sleeping in late is often so much more appealing than dragging yourself to the gym, and at 2:00 a.m. after hours of reading, that bag of chocolate chip cookies is just…so…tempting!

We’ve all heard that we should try to avoid the dreaded “Freshman Fifteen” (which is actually more like the “Freshman Seven”), but there are other important benefits to maintaining a good nutrition and exercise routine. The better you treat your body, the better you will feel. The better you feel, the more successful you’ll be in school and the more energy you’ll have for the really fun stuff. Read on to learn how you can use the latest discoveries in health and fitness to stay healthy, happy, and motivated this school year.

1.     Cut down on time at the gym with interval workouts.

Intervals have long been an important part of many exercise routines. But a new study has shown that intense interval workouts may be just as effective as time-consuming endurance training. The study divided its subjects, healthy college students, into two groups. One group rode a stationary bike at a sustained pace for 90 to 120 minutes three times per week. The other group pedaled as hard as they could for 20 to 30 seconds, with short breaks in between, for a total of about six minutes of intense riding per day. The result? The students who rode intervals showed just a much of an increase in their endurance as the students who did sustained training, and showed the same molecular indicators of increased fitness in their muscles. Read More »

Up until I was 19-years-old, I lived my life as a happy carnivore. I ate meat daily, just like most people do. I always preferred a plate of vegetables over a hot dog, but I never really imagined cutting it out of my life entirely. And then I read a book called Skinny Bitch, discovered what apparently really goes on in slaughter houses, and changed everything about my eating habits.

If you’ve never heard of Skinny Bitch, it’s  a really popular book by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. The authors are two strict vegans trying to educate readers about how to live a healthier lifestyle. One day I was eating bacon with breakfast, chicken for lunch and steak for dinner, and the next, I was reading a paragraph about what was found in meat in slaughterhouses. When I was finished reading, I immediately went home and announced to my family that my meat-eating days were officially over. In the span of two hours, I decided to cut red meat and chicken out of my life for good.

I still eat fish sometimes, so I am technically a pescetarian and not a vegetarian. However, life as a pescetarian is still pretty difficult. For one thing, I never knew how many people had opinions about what I ate until I stopped eating meat. For another thing, I never realized how many things have meat in them. Here’s my story of what life is like when you cut out red meat and chicken… Read More »

Foods that help combat fat, including cheese!

How to make your workout more effective

Helpful running lessons from the fabulous Heidi Klum

Get healthy and fabulous in under 5 minutes!

Does your personality determine what you weigh?

Foofy to fierce smoothie recipes

Home remedies for those pesky bites and stings

Top diet rules to get rid of

Taking your fitness routine to the next level

Beat the system by boosting your metabolism

Exercise is not just good for the body, but also for the brain!

Organic products that go too far

Why you should be eating breakfast daily

GET IN MY BELLY.

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. This month, Khalea is giving up....wait for it....FRIED FOOD. She tripped up a bit in the beginning, then she embraced the faux fry, and now? Let's find out!]

Well, this is it. My last week of a whole month without deep-fried goodies.

It’s been beneficial, but it’s also been pure hell.

Coming from a place where battered items are nearly a food group, I basically had to change the way that I shopped and ate completely. Sure, finding new recipes was fun but it was also super expensive! $6.99 for a block of mozzarella cheese? I could’ve paid half of that for an order of cheese sticks at White Castle!

Maintaining a balanced diet messed with my pockets. It was difficult finding foods that were healthy and cheap in Manhattan where I began working. The battle between a $2.99 cheeseburger and a $6.99 wrap was a hard one to overcome.

Without French fries and chicken nuggets, foods that I usually turned to for my broke college student budget lunch, I came home and went to bed with my stomach rumbling. Yeah, I know I said I’d try a side salad instead, but that’s just not me. I’ve never been the small salad, no meat kinda gal anyway. Read More »

I had a really happy moment recently: I tried on my bikini and it not only FIT, but I felt really PROUD of my body. The nagging critic in my head was speechless and all I could hear was internal praise. I mean, I better get some kudos after working my ass off, literally, for the past 2 months!

But somehow I feel like I’ve only won the battle, not the war, aka, Summer BBQs. With Memorial Day just around the corner, they’re a-comin’ and with them, beer, hot dogs, potato salad, chips and dip… It’s all going to tempt me beyond belief, especially once I have a few cocktails. So in an effort to maintain what I’ve worked so hard for, I’ve come up with a BBQ Game Plan.

This may sound deep, but setting an intention before I begin my day has really helped me stay on track. So why not set one before I head to any summer gathering where not-so-healthy food is involved?

Promise yourself to be kind to your body. Treat it like a temple; after all, it is what allows you to function normally everyday. Doing this will keep you conscious of your noshing choices.

Be sure healthy options are available. Find out if your friends, especially guy friends, are serving anything other than artery clogging fare. If they’re not, bring a veggie platter, and maybe some chicken or shrimp. That way you won’t be forced to eat a greasy cheeseburger. Read More »

I don't need no stinkin' fried food!

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. This month, Khalea is giving up....wait for it....FRIED FOOD. She tripped up a bit last week, but it looks like the fried tide may be turning.]

For the first time in weeks, I don’t have any dreams about mozzarella sticks.

I don’t wake up longing for the crunchy taste of hash browns in my mouth. I don’t even want a chicken wing….that much.

Even though I miss them, I’m really getting used to life without fried foods in my diet. I feel like I’m cutting so many calories from my daily intake and it feels amazing!

You guys know that the beginning was a struggle. But the comments from the readers in my last post really helped me get through this week. I’ve been having so much fun finding ways around my restrictions. At first I was afraid that everything would taste really bland without my favorites, but I was totally wrong. Read More »

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. This month, Khalea is giving up....wait for it....FRIED FOOD. Let's see how she's holding up....]

I’ll admit it. I cheated.

On Wednesday, I had 13 fries and two chicken nuggets from McDonald’s.

I feel like Kanye the morning after he dissed Taylor Swift at the Grammys.

Until then, I was doing really well. No fried foods at all. I lost the urge to dig into a drummette and enjoyed an apple or a granola bar instead—out of sight, out of mind. After I nixed fried foods, I made better choices in my diet like I thought I would.

Until Monday’s office party when I had a spoonful of shrimp fried rice.

I know, I know. Cheating twice in seven days doesn’t scream commitment. When the fried food is right in front of my face, staring me down, it’s like I can’t say no.  I’m ashamed of myself—I thought I was stronger. But other than those two weak moments, I really think I can do this. My family, friends and Facebook acquaintances were all rooting for me when I wrote about my first week. Read More »

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. For April, Jill gave up restaurants. This month? Khalea is giving up....wait for it....FRIED FOOD. Can she do it? We shall see.....]

I’ve lived in the South for a good portion of my life, which means that everything is deep fried – vegetables, candy, cookies and my absolute favorite – chicken. If it doesn’t have a crispy, golden brown finish then I usually stay away from it. From the bacon and hash browns I have in the morning to the French fries I eat with my dinner, I can honestly say that I don’t have the healthiest diet at all. And when my physician told me that I’m at risk for diabetes, it was obvious that something had to change. African Americans are the leading race plagued with diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol. The lack of exercise and greasy, indulgent soul food has to be a factor. I don’t want to be a statistic – I have too many dreams for my future…and too many clothes to buy.

So I decided it was time to make a change. A big one. A one-month one.
For the entire month of May, I’m giving up fried foods. I won’t be eating any of it. At all. Not one fried thing.

I think that cutting fried foods out of my diet will begin a slew of healthy habits. I already workout (Flirty Girl Fitness works wonders), but I still indulge in the occasional Chick-fil-A sandwich or a Bloomin’ Onion. Talk about counter productivity! I’m hoping that cutting out fatty fried foods will cut major calories from my diet and leave me with more energy to exercise. It’s quite a healthy change, and just the change I need  for myself, my family and Strappy, the Dolce and Gabbana number I want to fit into one day. Why not start now? Read More »