Tuesday, December 02, 2008

3 Fat Loss Tips for the Holidays

Okay, it's December 2nd, and you have two choices.

A) Give up and pile on the pounds.

B) Get started NOW on losing weight and you'll be two steps ahead of your new year's resolutions on January 1st.

Since I know you'll be choosing "B", here are 3 tips for burning fat over the holidays.

1) Try this pre-party "filler-upper".

One of the most common tips you'll hear is to "fill up" before you go to a party where there will be lots of goodies.

Unfortunately, most people I talk to have no luck with this tip. Most people still go to a party and eat everything in sight.

But recently TT users have told me that having a cup of Green Tea and one ounce of almonds has helped them avoid holiday cravings better than anything ever before.

The fiber from the almonds reduces appetite while the small amount of caffeine from the Green Tea seems to increase mental alertness and keep you "energized" at the party.

Hopefully that might work for you...Here are more nutrition tips:

a) Focus on portion control (and if you have no discipline, forget even trying to eat just one)

b) Nix all drinks mixed with calorie-containing beverages, or better yet, just stop getting drunk. Period.

c) Write down everything you eat to identify your problem spots. Do whatever you need to do to eliminate your weaknesses. If you don't record your nutrition, chances are you'll miss big opportunities to change your diet and lose fat.

d) Also, hit the veggie tray at the party, not the cookie tray.

2) Avoid the cardio confessional

Study after study shows that cardio is not a great way to lose weight and that calorie counters LIE. So don't expect to "burn off" one of your holiday meals doing cardio.

It would take you a couple of hours to burn off a feast, and you'd get an overuse injury. Not the Christmas present you're looking for.

3) Use Short, Burst Workouts to burn fat in the minimum time you have for exercise this holiday season.

Burn fat and have fun this holiday season with the TT Lifestyle,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

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