How to nail the perfect body shot on Instagram

Sweet, fun, and with a killer body just made for the Gram – Mariah McAlpin is an up-and-coming lifestyle influencer that you can’t help but take a liking to. Hailing from Florida but now semi living in Cape Town, the blonde bombshell spends her time travelling and blogging (while also keeping on track with her health and fitness #goals).

Rocking a bikini like nobody’s business – we decided to grab Mariah for a quick chat about all things health, quizzing her on everything from what she eats in a day to tricks for getting a ?? IG body shot…

What are your five top health rules?

Find a way to exercise everyday. Even if you can’t fit a workout in, you can do little things like park further away in a parking lot, do calf raises while standing in line, do some jumping jacks in between emails… anything like that can actually make a big difference.
Source healthy recipes you LOVE (or you won’t like eating healthily)
Treat yourself once in a while
Save the sugar and calorie count for food (or treats) and stick with just drinking water all day. I like to challenge myself to drink 100 oz of water a day
Find a sport/activity that you love that makes you want to workout.

Can you talk me through a day on your plate?
I am a HUGE breakfast lover, so one of my largest meals is breakfast. I have been really into Matcha pancakes and pumpkin muffins recently (both are vegan and gluten free). But on an average day, I have a smoothie of some sort with an omelet. Lunch is usually something like beef carpaccio or seared tuna with some veggies. Dinner is always different but I like a pretty balanced meal – a meat, a carb and veggies.

What foods do you try and avoid?
Fast food.

And guilty pleasures?
What isn’t my guilty pleasure! I suppose my biggest guilty pleasure is sweets. I love candy, chocolates, gourmet desserts – really anything sugary. It’s sooo bad but sooo good!

Best place to find healthy recipes?
Pinterest is my go-to.

What is your normal exercise routine?
During the week: weightlifting and cardio
During the weekend: yoga and/or some sort of circuit training class.

How do you create a fitness routine?
I am constantly switching up my fitness routines. Muscle For Life has some awesome workout routines. I also like to get ideas from Instagram fitness accounts and Pinterest.

Any fitness articles or books you’d recommend to anyone?
Yes, Thinner, Leaner, Stronger by Mike Mathews was SO great and an easy read.

And what about fitness Instagram accounts? What are you five favourite to follow and why?

@jassyfitt: She’s a girl I went to highschool with who has been killing it in the fitness game. I love watching her fitness journey – gives me awesome ideas for workouts and motives me to go to the gym
@alexia_clark: I love switching workouts up and she has so many different variations
@whitneyysimmons: She loves lifting weights and hates cardio, and that’s so me – so I love following her exercise routine
@meggan_fit_music: She makes cute workout videos
@sarahs_day: Love her healthy recipes

How much time a week do you spend exercising?
At least one hour a day.

Have you always been interested in health and fitness?
To be honest, it wasn’t until I hit my 20’s when my body started changing that I became interested in health. I have always been interested in exercise and was always really involved in some sort of sport. I did competitive gymnastics, dance, soccer, cheerleading and weightlifting from the age of 4 till the age of 21. Now I stick to mostly weight training and cardio.

Do you have any tricks for taking the perfect ‘body’ shot on Instagram?
There are always little tricks like taking photos in the morning (when your tummy is flat) or twist your body up in a certain way to make your bum look better, but in all honesty – I just like to take photos that feel natural. These days people are using so many body editing apps to have the ‘perfect body shot’, but nothing makes the shot more perfect then showing off your real body. <3

What are your three top tips for looking your best on the Gram?

Use a variety of photo styles (ex: selfie, body shot, outfit shot, etc.) and poses
Use natural lighting in your photos
Make sure the photo is of nice quality – maybe even jazz it up with a filter!