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Hey collegiettes™!
Are you familiar with that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine claims opening a store of just muffin tops is a million dollar idea? It’s because we all know that muffin tops are the best… when eating a muffin only. 
Having a muffin top is a totally different idea/nightmare. My very own muffin top is (knock on wood) continuing to melt away as each day of my diet passes. Need a little help in that personal bakery department of yours too? The best way to avoid baking that special muffin for you to wear, or even get rid of the one you have is to choose ingredients that steady hormones and elevate fat burn!
For SELF‘s Jump Start Diet, Jillian Michaels created a special list of fat burning food items, but here are 2 special lists to consider:
11 foods to avoid:
- Bamboo shoots
- Butter, shortening
- Dried fruit
- Granulated sugar
- Millet
- Noniodized sea or kosher salt
- Peanuts, pine nuts
- Processed foods with artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, butylated hydroxytoluene, trans fats, MSG or high-fructose corn syrup (basically, everything I used to eat on a daily basis)
- Processed soy
- Swordfish, shark
- White flour
5 to use in moderation:
- Alcohol (2 glasses of week max each week)
- Full-fat cow cheese and dairy products (not including Greek yogurt)
- Oils (opt for olive and cocoonut though)
- Table salt
- Tuna
Don’t let these two lists fool you into thinking it’s taking away from a tasty diet and leaving you with bland, uninspiring food! It’s not, I promise.
A while back, I made a document of the grocery guide list found on SELF.com for the items needed to make the meals suggested by Jillian Michaels. Check it out because planning your grocery list ahead of time makes shopping and meal planning easier on a journey to lose the freshman 15 and melt away that horrid muffin top!
Do you have muffin top issues? What are you doing to get rid of it? Let me know! Leave a comment below, e-mail me at allylopez@hercampus.com or Tweet me (@allylopez).
If you’d like to join me in my healthy, happy weight loss (and please do), go register for the Jump Start Diet on SELF.com and be sure to use the SELF logs to keep track of your daily workout and meals, which is an awesome way to keep track of your calorie intake and how much you’re burning off!
Love, Ally
To follow Ally’s journey on the Jump Start Diet, check out her out on Twitter (@allylopez), and while you’re at it, follow the latest news from SELF (@SELFmagazine) and Her Campus (@HerCampus)!