All posts by Mike Shannon

The holidays are traditionally a time when everyone packs on a few pounds, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Rather than joining the masses and loosening your belt another notch, use these 5 Holiday Fat Loss Hacks for Thanksgiving and the upcoming Christmas season to avoid putting on a single pound. These hacks could even result in a few pounds lost before New Year’s.

Holiday Fat Loss Hack #1: Eat a sensible meal before the party.
Arrive on Thanksgiving or holiday party with a full stomach, or at a minimum, not in starvation mode. Having a light snack or late lunch will curb your appetite and help you eat a reasonable dinner without going off the deep end. Fasting before the party, or saving your calories for one big meal will backfire on you. Eating once a day messes with your metabolism, and is not a healthy way to stay on track.

Holiday Fat Loss Hack #2: Bring a healthy dish to share.
Even if the party isn’t a potluck—the hostess will love you for being so thoughtful, and you’ll have a healthy option to enjoy. Bring a roasted veggie salad, a hummus platter, or an arrangement of fresh fruit, which are all delicious choices. Healthy dishes that are filled with fiber would be a welcome addition to any holiday menu. For example, this White Bean Hummus is tasty and healthy as well as a crowd pleaser.

Holiday Fat Loss Hack #3: Never drink calories.
Calories add up quickly when you’re sipping them from a glass. Alcoholic beverages and sweet holiday drinks are simply packed with calories. Further, these beverage calories don’t take up much room in your stomach, so you’re left wide open for even more calories. Your best strategy is to avoid these beverages altogether, and stick with water. Aim to drink 2-3 glasses of water at the party. If you must indulge, stick to one drink and consume it with a meal.

Holiday Fat Loss Hack #4: Fill your plate, but only once.
I’m certainly not going to tell you that you shouldn’t eat anything at the party! By all means, go and fill up your plate. But only once. That’s right. No going back for seconds. Since you’ve already eaten a sensible meal before arriving, this rule is going to be easier to keep than you think. Eat slowly and enjoy every bite.

Holiday Fat Loss Hack #5: Taste dessert, just a taste.
The holidays are all about sweet treats, so go ahead and partake. But just a taste. Look at desserts as something to savor, not something to fill up on. Since you ate a sensible meal before you came, then you filled up your dinner plate once you’re probably going to be full at this point anyway. So, pick a favorite, and take a small taste. Sharing a dessert is a good option to go along with this strategy.

Clients will often ask, ‘what’s the single most impactful thing I can do to lose weight?’ The answer is, ‘there are three things’. You see, there is no silver bullet. I like to refer to them as the three legs of the fitness stool; strength training, cardio and proper nutrition. It’s the combination of these three attack modes that are most effective in the weight loss process.

Strength Training

In order to burn fat, resistance training is needed to strengthen your muscles and raise your metabolism. In fact, it elevates our metabolism for hours after we engage in it, and long term it will raise your metabolism permanently.  This is because muscle tissue burns fat – even when resting! Consider this:

• 1 lb. of muscle burns about 50 calories a day
• 1lb of fat burns 4 calories a day

Since we know that muscles consume more energy than fat, it is safe to assume that when you increase in muscle, you will also decrease in fat.  But, ONLY if your caloric intake does not increase.

Strength training is also one of the BEST activities to strengthen bone density. This is because strength training increases calcium absorption in bones which makes them stronger. Here’s how it works: When your muscles are resisting against the weight that is pushed or pulled, your bones are also being tugged on by your tendons and ligaments. This tugging results in your bones building themselves stronger to compensate for your muscles being stronger.

Cardio Training

Your body’s decision to store fat is based on the equation of Energy In vs. Energy Out. Cardio work, which raises your heart rate and increases the rate of blood flow takes a lot of energy. This increased ‘energy out’, equates to less fat stored on your waist, hips and thighs.

Cardio also strengthens your heart, protecting against heart disease (the leading cause of death in America) such as stroke, hypertension and diabetes. Another great side benefit of cardio is increased endorphin release. When our bodies are under stress our brain produces neurochemicals called endorphins, which are natural pain killers. Endorphins are structurally similar to the drug morphine to give you an idea of their strength and effect on the body. The upside is that it’s an all-natural high. The overall effect is that they bring about feelings of euphoria and general well-being.

If you have knee, hip or foot issues that tend to make cardio difficult, or even impossible for some people, there are alternatives. Elliptical training still provides an excellent cardio workout while minimizing impact on the joints. Rowing is another fantastic cardio exercise, which works the upper body and almost completely eliminates impact on any leg joint.

Proper Nutrition

Nutrition is needed to sufficiently fuel your body for workouts, but it can also help you burn fat effortlessly while you sleep!

Even minor changes in the way you eat will jump start your metabolism and turn you into a calorie burning machine (even overnight). Begin changing your relationship with food by eating small meals throughout the day. This simple act can increase your metabolism! Eating every 3 – 4 waking hours will speed up your metabolism and reduce fat storage. It’s very important to note that the opposite is also true. Eating too few meals throughout the day will shift your metabolism in hibernation mode. When you don’t eat enough, or eat just once a day, your body isn’t sure when the next meal is coming. To compensate, the body slows down your metabolism to conserve energy. This is why ‘starving yourself’ doesn’t work!

Eating at home goes a long way toward proper nutrition (and a healthy pocketbook as well!) Eating out usually leads to overeating, and restaurant food typically contains high amounts of sodium, which will cause you to retain water and interfere with your metabolism. Begin any new dedication to eating better by taking a 30-day hiatus from eating out, and you will see a dramatic difference in your weight loss. Instead, select foods that have not been processed or were touched the least amount of times on its way from the farmer’s field to your mouth. 

Hydrate!

Last, but certainly not least, proper hydration is one of the most important factors to a healthy lifestyle. What I’m talking about is water, water and more water. Not sugar-laden soda, iced tea, fancy coffee or energy drinks, which all contain loads of sugar and caffeine. These two ingredients will wreak havoc on your health, sleep rhythms and weight loss efforts. Water intake can also help keep you feeling more awake during the day, fuller between meals, and prevent cramping during a workout or cardio session.
 

I commonly refer to strength training, cardio and proper nutrition as the three legs of the stool, because in the absence of just one your foundation falls out from under you. Why not make a clean slate and commit anew to reengaging your fitness efforts to build a better foundation, and a better you!?

One of the most common concerns women express when they begin a personal training regime is, “I don’t want to get too big.” The apprehension is in thinking that lifting weights will result in huge muscle mass and make them look too bulky. Being in the business for over two decades, I can honestly say I’ve never seen that happen with a female or male client. The reality is that strength training, especially for women, has multiple health benefits, and acquiring muscle tone from lifting weights is a gradual process. As the process unfolds, body fat is replaced by muscle tone, which yields a similar body mass with the benefit of tissue transforming from fat to muscle, resulting in a more compact physique.

1. Increased Metabolism and Weight loss

The first and obvious benefit to strength training is weight. A regular strength training regimen is a double attack on calorie intake. First, we burn calories during the workout. Second, even when we are at rest, muscles burn more calories than fat. So, after you begin to tone and strengthen your muscles, you have a built-in fat burning machine going all the time. In fact, your body will burn more calories in the 24-hours after a strength training session than after a cardio session.*

2. Muscle Tone

The beauty of strength training is that it goes beyond skin deep. Lifting weights and exerting muscles beyond their current thresholds actually tears the muscle fibers. The body responds by going to work to repair the tears.  The repair process rebuilds the muscle with stronger fibers, resulting in a bigger, denser and stronger muscle.

3. Stronger bones

Women can begin losing bone density as early as age 30. Maintaining or increasing bone density is important because fragile bones increase the risk of broken bones. The good news is that bones respond in a similar fashion to muscles when stressed.  When we bear additional weight onto our skeletal system, it responds by creating new bone, thereby making them more solid and stronger.

4. Better Balance and Reduced Risk of Injury

Increased muscle mass and bone density work together to help improve balance regardless of age, however this is especially important as we grow older when balance can become an issue. Maintaining a good weight, toned muscles and making positive steps to increase bone density are the triple attack to preventing falls. A stronger muscular-skeletal framework also reduces the risk of injury in household tasks such as carrying grocery bags, cleaning, walking up steps, bending, stooping and picking up laundry baskets.

5. You’ll Feel Better and Have Fun

It’s also a good idea to mix up your fitness routine because our muscles and bones can get used to certain activities and stay the same size in response. When we vary our workouts, whether by area of the body, type of exercise or increasing weights, these new ways of stimulating the tissue ensures that muscle and bones continue to respond by getting stronger. The sum result is that you will feel great, and your clothes will fit better too, and who doesn’t want that!?  Trying different workouts also adds a component of fun and community to our hard work.

Full Spectrum Fitness offers a variety of ways to vary your workouts; strength training, spinning, group fitness classes and multiple options in the cardio room. Schedule your next appointment now!

* The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research