Get Your Dream Body with Fitness and Nutrition Tips From Hot Bod Guru and Influencer Nicole Mejía

Bikini season is approaching: Oh, the terror! There is no need to panic. There are still a few weeks left before summer to shape up and get fit. If you want to lose a few pounds or just polish those abs, gain a little wisdom from fitness influencer Nicole Mejía. The Colombian American beauty —who has over a million followers on Instagram, you can follow her @nicole—mejia and @getfitandthick— is the founder of the Fit+Thick app. Through it, the hot bod guru has reached over 20,000 with her meal and exercise plan, which is rooted in the notion that a healthy body can also be thick. The former nursing student, who lives in Miami, shares great tips on how to get a fit figure without losing your Latina curves. Ready to get inspired?

It’s all about balance! In an Instagram post, Mejía shared this about her workouts: “My recent approach towards fitness: I’m focusing on moving my body for a minimum of 30 minutes/day, whether that’s with yoga, walking, or sweating it out in the gym with weights. Just like with food, I’ve been trying to pay attention to what my body needs instead of working out to achieve a certain ‘look’ or physical goal. I feel that focusing on how things feel, and giving my body what it needs, has contributed to a new ‘look’ for me that feels balanced and sustainable. I still love weights and plyos; I’m just now incorporating them into a more holistic approach to my fitness. Still got my heart-shaped booty, still rocking my curves, but now with a more sustainable body fat percentage and improved mobility and posture.”

Mejía also shares step-by-step workouts like the one below, so put on your favorite playlist and get moving!

She is a big supporter of plant-based nutrition. In her Instagram account, she shares recipes for delicious healthy recipes like a chunky potato leek soup with coconut cream, kale and garbanzo salad, quinoa and greens salad and mighty lentils.

If you have a sweet tooth, she also shares the receta for a deli breakfast —or snack— consisting of a jar filled with oats with peaches, cinnamon, cashew butter and agave nectar.

“I started omitting animal products from my life over 3 years ago after learning about the negative environmental impacts of the meat and dairy industries and how making different food choices could offset some of those effects”, she posted, recommending documentaries like Forks Over Knives and Cowspiracy as eye-openers.

Mejía also enlightened us on how to shut down body-shamers and sexual harassers online. During a PEOPLE CHICA panel presented at People en Español’s Poderosas Live! last year, the fitness model shared that while doing a live stream on exercise techniques, she got “disgusting, disrespectful” responses from male followers. “I went through the comments and I blew a cap. I just lost it,” she admits. Mejía added that she felt a responsibility to defend herself. “What kind of example does that set if I don’t stand up for myself?” the influencer says. “I used to post very sexy pictures. I always just thought because I put myself out there like that, this is just something I have to deal with.”

However, the online fitness coach says a woman has the right to celebrate her sensuality on social media without getting harassed. “We need to stand up for ourselves in person, at the workplace, in our families, in social media,” she added. “Part of being an empowered woman is to embrace your sexuality.”