“They had me on that treadmill — I ate lettuce!” shouted the singer on stage at her concert in May, last year. Mrs. Carter became Sasha Fierce once again, after gaining a “whooping” 60 pounds caused by her baby girl Blue Ivy. By teaming up with trainer Marco Borges who suggested she adopt a partial vegan diet combined with exercise, Mrs. Carter/Sasha Fierce/Queen B/Baddie Bey/Beyonce successfully shed her baby weight and is fiercer than ever.
Some of you may be wondering, what is partial veganism? It is the method where you swap a meat meal with a vegan meal (no animal products) once a day, everyday.
Studies have shown that adopting a plant based diet will naturally produce weight loss and are enriched with antioxidants and fiber (both linked to losing weight!) Cynthia Ross, author of S.A.S.S yourself Slim and advocate for veganism, gives the following steps to easily transition your diet into a plant based one.
1. Eat More Produce. 
Typically the American diet consists of mostly animal products and processed foods (high in calories) and very little produce (low in calories.) If you simply swap a snack of eight cheese cubes and eight club crackers (260 calories) with a dozen baby carrots and a quarter cup of hummus (165 calories), you will be on the right track! Remember baby steps is better than no steps at all!
2. Season Your Greens.
Because the taste of greens can be bland and unsatisfying to our taste buds, adding natural seasoning like cinnamon, ginger, cayenne pepper and garlic will make your greens tasty and delicious. These spices also help boost your metabolism and can lead to greater weight loss.
3. Add Whole Grain.
A small serving of whole grain such as quinoa, black rice or oats provide the body with antioxidants, additional fiber and slow-burning carbs that keep blood sugar and insulin levels regulated.
4. Exercise.
Doing 30-40 minutes of cardio with toning exercises, along with keeping an exercise journal to log how you feel after your workout, will make you SASHA FIERCE!
Here are some of his workout moves that you can incorporate into your exercise routine!
(Do 8 to 12 repetitions move, three times a week.)
fitnessmagazine.com
Atlas Squat:
- Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and hold medicine ball/dumbell overhead between hands, squeezing palms into ball to engage arm muscles.
- Keeping ball overhead throughout, lower slowly into a squat with thighs parallel to floor and knees bent 90 degrees.
Pike Push Up:
- Start on all fours, toes curled under, then move into downward dog position:
- Press hips toward ceiling, straightening legs and walking hands slightly forward until body forms an inverted V. (Keep heels flat on floor.) MAKE IT HARDER: Begin in inverted V position with feet on a step or bench.
- Slowly bend elbows to lower torso about 4 inches toward floor. Press up to return to downward dog.
Lunge twist:
- Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding ball between palms in front of hips.
- Lunge forward with left leg, bending both knees 90 degrees as you rotate torso to left and raise ball diagonally overhead with arms extended.
- Rotate back to center and lower ball; then step left leg back to return to start position. Switch sides and repeat to complete one rep.
Sit and touch:
- Lie face up on floor with knees bent and feet flat, holding ball between palms with arms extended on floor behind head.
- Curl head and shoulders off floor, raising ball overhead and then in front of you as you sit up.
- Briefly place ball on floor between feet; then return to start position, raising ball overhead as you lower torso to floor.
