Posted by Eric Twitty on January 1, 2009
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By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
Motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps it’s because escape is easier than change.”
Success psychologists say that 95% - 97% of the people in the world do NOT have written goals and fail, while 3-5% have written goals and succeed.
If these statistics are correct, then Mr Rohn’s observation really IS quite fascinating isn’t it?
Unfortunately for most people, the odds for success are actually even lower, because out of the few people who do set goals, most don’t take goal setting seriously, they don’t do it scientifically and they only do it once a year.
Goal setting is so important, that I always teach goal setting and mind dynamics first, and only THEN, do I teach nutrition and training second.
It doesn’t matter how much you know about nutrition or exercise. Until specialized fitness knowledge is linked with goals and directions, the knowledge is useless and you won’t accomplish very much or keep the changes long term.
In fact, I devoted the entire first chapter of my book, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (www.burnthefat.com) to the subject of goals and constructive “mind programming” for successful, permanent behavior change.
I’ve also studied neuro linguistic programming (NLP) for many years and more recently spent many months researching the latest information about neuroscience to see just how much of the traditional self help and goal setting wisdom is actually backed by brain research.
As you start thinking about your goals for 2007 right Now, I’d like to help you start the year off right by sharing two very valuable, science based tips on achieving your goals:
SCIENTIFIC GOAL SETTING TIP #1: Repetition is an effective way to “plant” a goal in the non-conscious mind
Why don’t most resolutions stick? Psychology and neuroscience today are giving us the answers.
Thanks to new technologies in brain imaging, such as PET scans, SPECT scans and functional MRI’s, we can now actually see your thoughts as electrochemical impulses and we can see the formation of new neural connections in real time right before our eyes.
We can also see where, geographically, in your brain, a particular type of thought is occuring.
most importantly, we can see how long it takes to form strong neural patterns and what types of stimuli cause the patterns to form more quickly
Here’s what we’ve discovered:
Setting a goal once is a conscious activity. Willpower is also a conscious activity. But research has shown that at least 5/6 of your brain power is in the non conscious mind and that the information and instructions that reach the non conscious mind are responsible for your automatic behavior.
Some psychologists believe that 95% of our behaviors are unconscious and automatic… more commonly known as habits.
Long term behavior changes don’t take place when you set goals one time as with most new years resolutions. There’s an old saying in “self help” circles that it takes at least 21-30 days to form a habit. This has now been proven to be fairly accurate on a neurological basis.
New neural patterns begin to form only after they’ve been repeated enough times. They continue to strengthen with further repetition. If you make resolutions on January 1st and you don’t continue to repeat and reinforce your desire for those “goals,” no new neural connection is formed, no new habits are formed, no new behaviors are formed….
Your resolutions wither away and die and any results obtained through willpower (trying to force the new behaviors through conscious effort), are quickly lost when you slip back to your old ways.
What you repeat over and over again is programmed into the subconscious mind and begins to take root. On a practical level, this means RE-writing your goals everyday and thinking about them in positive terms and in mental pictures, every day, repeatedly until the habit is formed and turned over to “auto-piliot.”
In 1956, when Earl Nightingale wrote “The Strangest Secret is that we become what we think about most of the time,” we didn’t know what we know now about the brain.
Nevertheless, Earl was right.
You don’t change your body by trying to change your body. You change your body by creating new habitual patterns of thinking and visualizing.
Trying to force new behaviors with willpower while continuing with your old ways of thinking will always fail because your automatic behavior is mostly under non-conscious control.
Its not the resolution you set once… its the goals (mental thoughts and images) you focus on all day long that create the long term (and automatic) behavioral change… when you change your behaviors, you change your body and your life…
SCIENTIFIC GOAL SETTING TIP #2: Emotion is a goal-turbocharger
Is there any way around this tedious process of “mental programming” through repetition? Not really. The fields of NLP and hypnosis have given us some tools for creating more rapid changes, but ultimately you have to begin to “run your own brain” and change your habitual way of thinking. No one else can do it for you and there’s no way around it.
there is however, a scientifically proven way to to speed up the process and that is with the use of strong emotion.
Since modern imaging technology can see activity in the brain and scientists have located the seat of emotions in the brain, we know that the strength and number of neural connections associated with a thought or behavior are increased when you’re in a highly emotional state.
The neuron connections are also stronger, longer lasting and it takes longer to lose a neural connection when it was formed with great emotion.
With this knowledge, we see another reason why new years resolutions fail: They are set casually with no emotion and no strong emotional “reason why” that gives you the leverage to you need to make a change permanent.
On January 1st, you may think you’re setting “real” goals, but if you’re like most people, you’re not only doing it a mere once a year and then losing focus, you’re also likely to be making flimsy, wishy-washy, emotion-less “resolutions.”
Zig Ziglar once said that, “A goal casually set and lightly taken will be freely abandoned at the first obstacle.”
You might want to back up and read that quote again, maybe even write it down or print it out, because this one hits the bull’s-eye!
This truly explains why New Year’s resolutions almost never work, and why so few people can keep off the pounds after they get rid of them.
Goal setting should not be casual or lightly taken. Goal setting is an important and serious matter. This is not a game - this is your life, and you only have one life to live.
Goal setting is also not a one time event - it is an ongoing process of literally “re-wiring your brain.” With the discovery of brain plasticity, we now know that this is science fact, not self-help fiction.
Make the time to set REAL goals, today! Take it seriously, do it scientifically, re-write your goals every day, think about them constantly, and then take massive action
Do it and this will be the most successful year of your life!
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling e-book, “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to burn fat without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com.
Posted by Eric Twitty on December 29, 2008
By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com
Happy New Year! In this article, I’m going to predict your future and forecast exactly what kind of results you’re going to get in the next 12 months. Sylvia Browne, step aside… I’m pretty good at this.
Several years ago, a public relations firm in New York City asked me to write an article for one of their publications about fitness trends and predictions for the coming year.
It turned out that my “crystal ball” was pretty darn accurate. I nailed most of the predictions I made about aerobics classes, yoga, core training, “holistic” approaches, online personal training technology, the baby boomer market, increasing obesity and many other subjects.
I do confess, it wasn’t that difficult, because instead of just guessing, I actually did some research on industry statistics and I also had some “inside insights” because I’d been a health club manager for so many years and was privy to fitness business trends.
This year, instead of making predictions for the whole fitness industry, what if I could take out my crystal ball again and predict with 99% precision exactly what kind of results you will achieve with your body by the end of the year?
Well, no problem, I can do that too!
I would claim that I have some kind of “gift” for this, but to be honest, you and I don’t need to be psychic to make predictions like these.
There are two things you can always count on: (1) Nature’s laws of cause and effect, and (2) human nature.
On that basis, here are my 20 fitness predictions for the new year:
I PREDICT that if you can reach into your pocket on any day this year and pull out a card or piece of paper with all your body and fitness goals written on it in vivid detail, the odds are 95 to 1 in favor of you achieving every one of those goals before the year is out.
I PREDICT that if you focus your thoughts on your goals and how you are going to achieve them, all day long, you will reach your goals so fast this year, it will make your head spin.
I PREDICT that if you focus your thoughts on health woes and body fat problems and if you think about what you don’t want, all day long, your problems will get worse than ever this year.
I PREDICT that if you made a new year’s resolution, but you didn’t turn it into a specific, written goal with a deadline and a strong reason why you must achieve it, you will freely abandon it the moment the going gets tough.
I PREDICT that if you can tell me all the reasons why achieving your health and fitness goals are important to you, you will be motivated from within to stick with it when the going gets tough.
I PREDICT that at times, the going is going to get tough.
I PREDICT that if you can tell me today what is your life purpose and what is your lifelong vision for your body and your health, you will still be as motivated and driven at the end of the year as you were at the beginning.
I PREDICT that if you don’t have long term goals and a “big picture” vision for your life that you will lose your New Year’s enthusiasm and motivation in a matter of months or even weeks.
I PREDICT that the way you see yourself in your mind’s eye today will be an exact reflection of what you see in the mirror at the end of the year.
I PREDICT that if you have a setback that seems to get in the way of you reaching your health and fitness goals and you tell yourself “this just is temporary; this too shall pass,” then it will pass and it won’t set you back.
I PREDICT that if you believe the way your body looks today is out of your control and you feel helpless or powerless to change, you won’t even make much of an effort this year.
I PREDICT that if you accept complete responsibility for the way your body looks today and you believe that you have the power to change, that you will take action and keep taking action, even through the tough times.
I PREDICT that if you’re unhappy with your physical condition and you say, “it’s not my fault” or you blame it on genetics, hormones or age, then your body will look pretty much the same at the end of this year as it did on New Year’s day.
I PREDICT that the more you have patience, a long term perspective and the ability to postpone immediate gratification, the more likely you are to be a success one year from now.
I PREDICT that the more you seek “miracle pills” or “quick fixes,” the more likely you are to be a failure one year from now.
I PREDICT that you will be tempted by many quick fixes this year.
I PREDICT that if you hang out with losers and negative people this year, you will become just like them.
I PREDICT that if you hang out with winners and positive people this year, you will become just like them.
I PREDICT that you will run into more negative people and losers this year than positive people and winners.
I PREDICT that if you recruit just one friend or support partner that stands behind you and the lifestyle changes you want to make this year, you will double your chances for success. If you surround yourself with numerous support partners, you will become virtually unstoppable.
So how does your future look for the year ahead?
Based on my “predictions,” if it doesn’t look as bright as you’d like it to be, then don’t worry, because a prediction is not predestination.
You can’t do anything to change the past, but by changing your thoughts, attitudes and actions in the present moment, the future is yours to create.
Your friend and coach,
Tom Venuto
To see a complete fat burning system that takes you by the hand, step by step and shows you what to eat, how to exercise and how to stay motivated, all year long, visit: www.burnthefat.com
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com
Posted by Eric Twitty on December 22, 2008
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
Not long ago, one of the members of my health club poked her head in my office for some advice. Linda was a 46 year old mother of two, and she had been a member for over a year. She had been working out sporadically, with (not surprisingly), sporadic results. On that particular day, she seemed to have enthusiasm and a twinkle in her eye that I hadn’t seen before.
“I want to enter a before and after fitness contest called the “12 week body transformation challenge.” I could win money and prizes and even get my picture in a magazine.”
“I want to lose THIS”, she continued, as she grabbed the body fat on her stomach. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”
Linda was not “obese,” she just had the typical “moderate roll” of abdominal body fat and a little bit of thigh/hip fat that many forty-something females struggle with.
“I think it’s a great idea,” I reassured her. “Competitions are great for motivation. When you have a deadline and you dangle a “carrot” like that prize money in front of you, it can keep you focused and more motivated than ever.”
Linda was eager and rarin’ to go. “Will you help me? I have this enrollment kit and I need my body fat measured.”
“No problem,” I said as I pulled out my Skyndex fat caliper, which is used to measure body fat percentage with a “pinch an inch” test.
When I finished, I read the results to her from the caliper display: “Twenty-seven percent. Room for improvement, but not bad; it’s about average for your age group.”
She wasn’t overjoyed at being ‘average’. “Yeah, but it’s not good either. Look at THIS,” she complained as again she grabbed a handful of stomach fat. “I want to get my body fat down to 19%, I heard that was a good body fat level.”
I agreed that 19% was a great goal, but told her it would take a lot of work because average fat loss is usually about a half a percent a week, or six percent in twelve weeks. Her goal, to lose eight percent in twelve weeks was ambitious.
She smiled and insisted, “I’m a hard worker. I can do it”
Indeed she was and indeed she did. She was a machine! Not only did she never miss a day in the gym, she trained HARD. Whenever I left my office and took a stroll through the gym, she was up there pumping away with everything she had. She told me her diet was the strictest it had ever been in her life and she didn’t cheat at all. I believed her, and it started to show, quickly.
Each week she popped into my office to have her body fat measured again, and each week it went down, down, down. Consistently she lost three quarters of a percent per week – well above the average rate of fat loss – and on two separate occasions, I recall her losing a full one percent body fat in just seven days.
Someone conservative might have said she was overtraining, but when we weighed her and calculated her lean body mass, we saw that she hadn’t lost ANY muscle – only fat. Her results were simply exceptional!
She was ecstatic, and needless to say, her success bred more success and she kept after it like a hungry tiger for the full twelve weeks.
On week twelve, day seven, she showed up in my office for her final weigh-in and body fat measurement. She was wearing a pair of formerly tight blue jeans and they were FALLING OFF her!
“Look, look, look,” she repeated giddily as she tugged at her waistband, which was now several inches too large.
As I took her body fat, I have to say, I was impressed. She hadn’t just lost a little fat, she was “RIPPED!”
During week twelve she dropped from 18% to 17% body fat, for a grand total of 10% body fat lost in three months. She surpassed her goal of 19% by two percent. I was now even more impressed, because not many people lose that much body fat in three months.
You should have seen her! She started jumping up and down for joy like she was on a pogo stick! She was beaming… grinning from ear to ear! She practically knocked me over as she jumped up and gave me a hug – “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Don’t thank me,” I said, “You did it, I just measured your body fat.”
She thanked me again anyway and then said she had to go have her “after” pictures taken.
Then something very, very strange happened. She stopped coming to the gym. Her “disappearance” was so abrupt, I was worried and I called her. She never picked up, so I just left messages.
No return phone call.
It was about four months later when I finally saw Linda again. The giddy smile was gone, replaced with a sullen face, a droopy posture and a big sigh when I said hello and asked where she’d been.
“I stopped working out after the contest… and I didn’t even win.”
“You looked like a winner to me, no matter what place you came in” I insisted, “but why did you stop, you were doing so well!”
“I don’t know, I blew my diet and then just completely lost my motivation. Now look at me, my weight is right back where I started and I don’t even want to know my body fat.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you back in here again. Write down some new goals for yourself and remember to think long term too. Twelve week goals are important, but fitness isn’t 12 week program you know, it’s a lifestyle - you have to do it every day, for the rest of your life.”
She nodded her head and finished her workout, still with a defeated look on her face. Unfortunately, she never again come anywhere near the condition she achieved for that competition, and for the rest of the time she was a member at our club, she slipped right back into the sporadic on and off workout pattern.
Linda was not an isolated case. I’ve seen the same thing happen with countless men and women of all ages and fitness levels from beginners to competitive bodybuilders. In fact, it happens to millions of people who “go on” diets, lose a lot of weight, then quickly “go off” the diet and gain the weight right back.
What causes people to burn so brightly with enthusiasm and motivation and then burn out just as quickly? Why do so many people succeed brilliantly in the short term but fail 95 out of 100 times in the long term? Why do so many people reach their fitness goals but struggle to maintain them?
The answer is simple: Health and fitness is for life, not for “12 weeks.”
You can avoid the on and off, yo-yo cycle of fitness ups and downs. You can get in great shape and stay in great shape. You can even get in shape and keep getting in better and better shape year after year, but it’s going to take a very different philosophy than most people subscribe to. The seven tips below will guide you.
These guidelines are quite contrary to the quick fix philosophies prevailing in the weight loss and fitness world today. Applying them will take patience, discipline and dedication and they will put you in the minority. Just remember, the only thing worse than getting no results is getting great results and losing them.
1) Don’t “go on” diets. When you “go on” a diet, the underlying assumption is that at some point you have to “go off” it. This isn’t just semantics, it’s one of the primary reasons most diets fail. By definition, a “diet” is a temporary and often drastic change in your eating behaviors and/or a severe restriction of calories or food, which is ultimately, not maintainable. If you reach your goal, the diet is officially “over” and then you “go off” (returning to the way you used to eat). Health and fitness is not temporary; it’s not a “diet.” It’s something you do every day of your life. Unless you approach nutrition from a “habits” and “lifestyle” perspective, you’re doomed from the start.
2) Eat the same healthy foods consistently, all year round. Permanent fat loss is best achieved by eating mostly the same types of foods all year round. Naturally, you should include a wide variety of healthy foods so you get the full spectrum of nutrients you need, but there should be consistency, month in, month out. When you want to lose body fat, there’s no dramatic change necessary - you don’t need to eat totally different foods - it’s a simple matter of eating less of those same healthy foods and exercising more.
3) Have a plan for easing into maintenance. Let’s face it – sometimes a nutrition program needs to be more strict than usual. For example, peaking for a bodybuilding, figure, fitness or transformation challenge contest requires an extremely strict regimen that’s different than the rest of the year. As a rule, the stricter your nutrition program, the more you must plan ahead and the more time you must allow for a slow, disciplined transition into maintenance. Failure to plan for a gradual transition will almost always result in a huge binge and a very rapid, hard fall “off the wagon.”
4) Focus on changing daily behaviors and habits one or two at a time. Rather than making huge, multiple changes all at once, focus on changing one or two habits/behaviors at a time. Most psychologists agree that it takes about 21 days of consistent effort to replace an old bad habit with a new positive one. As you master each habit, and it becomes as ingrained into your daily life as brushing your teeth, then you simply move on to the next one. That would be at least 17 new habits per year. Can you imagine the impact that would have on your health and your life? This approach requires patience, but the results are a lot more permanent than if you try to change everything in one fell swoop. This is also the least intimidating way for a beginner to start making some health-improving changes to their lifestyle.
5) Make goal setting a lifelong habit. Goal setting is not a one-time event, it’s a process that never ends. For example, if you have a 12 week goal to lose 6% bodyfat, what are you going to do after you achieve it? Lose even more fat? Gain muscle? What’s next? On week 13, day 1, if you have no direction and no long term goal to keep you going, you’ll have nothing to keep you from slipping back into old patterns. Every time you achieve a short term goal (daily, weekly and 12 week goals), you must set another one. Having short term goals means that you are literally setting goals continuously and never stopping.
6) Allow a reasonable time frame to reach your goal. It’s important to set deadlines for your fitness and weight loss goals. It’s also important to set big, ambitious goals, but you must allow a reasonable time frame for achieving them. Time pressure is often the motivating force that helps people get in the best shape of their lives. But when the deadline is unrealistic for a particular goal (like 30 pounds in 30 days), then crash dieting or other extreme measures are often taken to get there before the bell. The more rapidly you lose weight, the more likely you are to lose muscle and the faster the weight will come right back on afterwards. Start sooner. Don’t wait until mid-May to think about looking good for summer.
7) Extend your time perspective. Successful people in every field always share one common character trait: Long term time perspective. Some of the most successful Japanese technology and manufacturing companies have 100 year and even 250-year business plans. If you want to be successful in maintaining high levels of fitness, you must set long term goals: One year, Ten years, Even fifty years! You also must consider what the long term consequences might be as a result of using any “radical” diet, training method or ergogenic aid. The people who had it but lost it are usually the ones who failed to think long term or acknowledge future consequences. It’s easy for a 21 year old to live only for today, and it may even seem ridiculous to set 25 year goals, but consider this: I’ve never met a 40 or 60 year old who didn’t care about his or her health and appearance, but I have met 40 or 60 year olds who regretted not caring 25 years ago.
Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) is a fat loss program which acknowledges the simple truth that going “on diets,” entering “Fitness challenges” or competing in “Transformation contests” without having long term goals and a lifestyle attitude, is a recipe for failure. Don’t let yourself be part of the latest fitness dropout statistics: visit the Burn The Fat website for more details on how to change your lifestyle… and keep the change! www.burnthefat.com
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide. For information on Tom’s Fat Loss program, visit:
Posted by Eric Twitty on December 3, 2008
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training for Fat Loss
I couldn’t be any simpler with my nutrition recommendations for fat burning. You will get have the most energy and the best body and fitness level possible if you eat whole, natural foods. I always ask Dr. Chris Mohr, author of the Turbulence Training for Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines if I ever need help with nutrition information.
You must avoid processed foods, which is pretty much anything in a bag or a box. So cut out muffins, donuts, pre-packaged cereals, white bread, pasta, chips, crackers, cookies, etc.
We need to return to a time of simpler eating, focusing on fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean proteins, and healthy fats. It will take some “bad habit breaking” to rid yourself of your addiction to processed foods, but in your journey you will learn to appreciate the taste of REAL food again.
You don’t have to eat meat to lose fat and build muscle, but it’s not unhealthy to eat beef, chicken, and fish. In fact, fish contains essential fatty acids we can’t do without.
You might have heard about the importance of healthy fats, which is a big turn-around from the low-fat mentality of the 80’s and 90’s. We now know eating fish and nuts won’t make us fat, but will in fact make us healthy and help control our appetite.
So just focus on foods that haven’t been processed, and you’ll start to see changes in your body and energy levels in a matter of days. Get rid of the processed foods and you won’t be tired anymore!
I strongly believe nutrition is the MOST important factor in fat loss and in health. If you’re eating processed foods, trans-fats, and too many calories, you won’t get maximum benefits from your exercise program, no matter what you are doing. Nutrition can either heal you or kill you, so choose wisely. Fortunately, the right choices are the simple choices.
I’ve had clients that switched to whole, natural foods and almost overnight they’ve reported changes in their bodies and huge increases in mental energy. So stick with the simple nutrition approach for fat burning.
About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training for Fat Loss WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
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Filed Under: Diet
Posted by Eric Twitty on November 25, 2008
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com
My mom makes the most amazing Christmas cake in the world; it’s been a tradition in our family for as long as I can remember. First, she mixes up a light, fluffy, vanilla cake mix, pours it into the pans and then pops it in the oven. After it’s been baked, she stacks the cake in two layers with whipped cream spread generously between each layer. She then pours on red and green Jell-O, which gets soaked up inside the cake. Next, whipped cream is smothered all the way around for frosting. And finally, she garnishes it with red and green sprinkles. A few red and green-striped candy canes are stuck in the top as the finishing touch, and off it goes to the refrigerator so it can be served chilled later.
Now let me tell you, as a bodybuilder, I have a lot of discipline. But when that moist, delicious, red and green, Jell-O-filled, whipped-cream covered cake is sitting on the table in front of me on December 25th, it takes every ounce of my willpower to keep from calling it a “VERY high carb day” and devouring numerous very large slices.
Despite the temptation, I don’t “pig out” nor do I deprive myself. Instead, I’m content with eating my single piece, savoring every mouthwatering bite, all the while repeating my mantra, “Nothing tastes as good as being lean feels.”
The next day, on December 26th, I’m on the bike or Stairmaster at the crack of dawn, followed by six perfect meals of lean protein and complex carbohydrate - just like every other day of the year.
A week later, on December 31st, I usually go out for a nice dinner (very naughty food, I must admit), and then we toast champagne to the New Year at midnight. I’m in bed at a reasonable hour shortly thereafter.
Unless it’s a scheduled day of rest on New Years day, I’m not groggy and hung over like many of my friends are. I’m in the gym squatting, bench pressing, curling, or “stairmastering” just like I usually am.
And here’s the point: You can and should enjoy the holidays. You can enjoy being with family and going out with friends. You can go to holiday parties and have fun. You can enjoy a few “naughty” meals. You can have a piece of cake and a glass or two of champagne. There’s no reason why you can’t enjoy yourself AND stay healthy, lean and fit through the holidays. All it takes is some planning, some goal-setting and little dose of old-fashioned discipline.
I’d like to share with you 10 ways that you can follow your diet and stay in great shape over the holidays without turning into a “miserable Scrooge.” If you follow this advice, then you’ll be one of the proud few with a New Year’s resolution to be the best you’ve ever been in the new year to come - instead of one of the guilt-ridden many who must resolve to reclaim what they lost over the year that’s just passed them by.
1. Expect to stay on your program over the holidays
“Fail to plan and you plan to fail” is a time worn and cliché statement, but it’s still some of the best success advice you will ever hear.
Not only do most people fail to plan, they consciously plan to fail over the holidays. Most people expect to “blow” their diet and skip workouts over the holidays. They expect to eat more, to exercise less and to gain weight. As a result, they don’t even make the effort.
Instead of taking control, they resign themselves to maintenance at best, or back-sliding at worst. This negative expectancy leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy. By the first week of January, they’re in the worst shape they’ve been in for a year and they frantically make New Year’s resolutions to shed the excess fat they’ve gained.
You can avoid this trap by planning to succeed during the holidays. Set up a positive expectation. Resolve now that you will not tolerate slipping backwards. Keep your standards up and don’t settle! Not only can you plan to “stay in shape” over the holidays, you can plan to improve! All you have to do is make the decision and expect success.
2. Plan all your workouts in advance
You know your schedule is going to get hectic over the holidays. You’ll be cooking, shopping, wrapping gifts, sending cards, going to parties, traveling, visiting family, and so on. To stay on your training and nutrition regimen is definitely going to take some sound time management skills.
Plan your schedule in advance. Anticipate what’s coming up. Write it down. Put it on your calendar. By doing so, you won’t be caught unprepared.
Use a schedule book or monthly calendar and “make appointments” for ALL your workouts for the entire holiday season. Then, post a copy where you will be forced to look at it every day. This is a powerful exercise that will keep you focused and force you to think about and prepare for each upcoming workout.
If you try to “wing it” and squeeze in your workouts and meals whenever you have time left over, you’ll find that there never is any time left over! Somehow your daily activities always seem to “expand” to fill the hours in every day. So schedule your workouts and meal times in your calendar just like you would any other appointment or event. Once you’ve done that, stick to your schedule religiously.
3. Set some compelling training and fitness goals over the holiday period
Don’t wait until January 1st to set your goals just because you think it will be harder to achieve them over the holidays. On the contrary, studies on personal achievement have shown that you’ll usually reach 80% of the goals you put onto paper. The problem is that few people set any goals at all, and fewer still set them during the holidays.
Why wait? Why not do it now? Set some big goals that you can start working on during the holidays:
Set a goal to lose the 25 lbs you’ve always wanted to lose NOW Set the goal to gain 10 lbs of solid muscle NOW Been contemplating a competition in bodybuilding, fitness or the new ladies figure division? Pick an early spring show and GO FOR IT - START TRAINING NOW!
Goal setting should not be a once a year affair, it should be a continuous process. You should always have your goals in writing and your list should be regularly updated and rewritten. If you only set goals once a year, you’re not going to accomplish much in your life.
4. Give yourself permission to have “free meals” - and schedule them in
A planned “free meal” or “re-feeding day” helps you to stay on your program better in the long run. If you’re too strict all the time, you’re setting yourself up for cravings and binge eating.
A few free meals per week will have very little effect on your physique. Also, if you’ve been on a strict, low carb and/or low calorie regimen for a long time, a full day of maintenance level calories might actually be good for you! It will boost your metabolic rate and give your body the signal that you’re not starving and that it’s ok to keep burning a lot of calories.
Over the holidays, schedule your dinners and parties so they become your “free meals.” Then, for the rest of your meals, be steadfast! Just the fact that you know you have free meals coming up will relieve the pressure of staying on a strict diet for a long time.
Also, when you do have your free meal – ENJOY IT! If you’re going to eat it and feel guilty, then don’t have it at all. If you’ve stayed with the program all week long, then when your free meal rolls around, you deserve it!
5. If you fall off the wagon, get right back on it
So you had about a dozen too many of those Christmas cookies did you? Don’t worry; because you have free meals built into your plan, you shouldn’t let guilt immobilize you. Even if you fall completely off the wagon, don’t beat yourself up. All you have to do is get right back on your program without missing another beat.
Too many people mess up once and then think their entire diet is ruined. They feel as if everything they’ve done prior to that day was wasted and there’s no sense going on. Or even worse, they rationalize to themselves, “Well, I already cheated, so it doesn’t matter now, I might as well keep pigging out.”
That’s nonsense. If you threw in the towel every time you didn’t score 100% on your diet, most people would never get through more than a few days on any structured program. Just because you slip up once doesn’t mean you should quit! You’re only human. Don’t let one small slip keep you derailed. Firmly plant your wheels back on the tracks and start rolling again.
6. Maintain your consistent eating schedule
If there’s one thing that all people who successfully get lean and stay lean have in common, it’s consistency. Without it, you never get any momentum going. It’s like taking two steps forward, only to take three steps back.
Many people allow the busy holidays to throw them off their regular eating schedule. They completely veer off their usual meal frequency, or they start eating foods they would normally never eat (because “it’s there”).
Once you have a habit or pattern going, it’s fairly easy to keep it going. But once you lose momentum, it’s very difficult to get it going again because you must overcome inertia all over again. (An object at rest tends to stay at rest!)
On the major holidays, when there’s a big dinner scheduled, many people think that skipping their morning and afternoon meals to “save room” for the big one later is a good idea. It’s not. This is actually a good way to invite a binge that could set your back for days.
Don’t lose your consistency or your momentum. Continue with your pattern of eating small, frequent meals all year round. All you have to do is count your holiday dinners as one of your regular meals and keep them small.
7. Control your portion sizes
You can have your cake and eat it too – you just can’t eat the whole thing! One of the most important rules to remember this holiday season is the law of energy balance, which states: To lose body fat, you must consume fewer calories than you burn up each day.
There are two corollaries to the law of energy balance:
1. A caloric surplus gets stored as fat – even healthy food.
2. Small amounts of anything – even junk food – will NOT get stored as fat if you stay in a calorie deficit.
There’s no reason to deprive yourself of things you enjoy. Just make sure you don’t overindulge. As long as you enjoy your favorite foods in moderation, and you keep working out, it won’t end up around your waistline.
8. Don’t buy into the low standards and expectations of others
Keep your standards high, but don’t expect other people’s standards to be as high as yours. Remember that most people have already planned in advance to fail at fitness over the holidays. You’ve decided to stay strong (haven’t you?) Don’t let their negative influence drag you down.
When you’ve reached your pre-ordained drink limit, say “When” and switch to water or a non alcoholic, non caloric beverage. When they offer you seconds on dessert, politely say, “No thank you, it was absolutely delicious, but I’m full, I can’t eat another bite.” And when the wee hours of the morning start to roll around, and your friends are egging you on to keep partying, politely tell them you need your sleep. Tomorrow is a work out day. If they’re really your friends, they’ll understand.
9. Make the best choices possible in every situation.
You know those tables you see at holiday parties that are covered with yards of chips, dips, pretzels, cookies, salami, candies, punch, liquor, and a seemingly endless assortment of other goodies? Well, did you also notice that there is usually a tray full of carrot sticks, cauliflower, celery and other healthy snacks too?
No matter where you are, you always have choices. Sometimes you have to choose between bad and worse. Other times you can choose between good and better. But always make the best choice possible based on whatever your options are. If nothing else, you can choose to eat a small portion of something “bad” rather than a huge portion, thereby obeying the law of calorie balance.
Chances are good that there’s probably something healthy on the menu at every holiday gathering. As you know, lean proteins and fibrous carbs are a great for getting lean, so fill up on the turkey breast, try to get a vegetable in there, and go easy on the desserts.
10. If you drink, enjoy alcohol in moderation
If you enjoy having a few drinks on special occasions, then go ahead and have a drink or two. But if you’re serious about your fitness goals, then drink infrequently and in moderation. Alcohol puts fat oxidation on hold while providing a large amount of calories. When there’s alcohol in your bloodstream, you’re not in fat burning mode.
I’ve never met anyone who was truly serious about fat loss or bodybuilding who was a heavy drinker. Alcohol and muscles just don’t mix. The impact goes beyond added body fat; your energy levels and workouts can be affected for days after a night of heavy drinking. A glass of wine may have health benefits, but there’s never any reason or excuse for binge drinking or getting drunk.
So go ahead and toast to the New Year, but know when to say when.
In conclusion, there’s no reason to let your exercise and nutrition program spoil your holidays, but there’s also no reason to let your holidays spoil your exercise and nutrition program! Put these 10 holiday tips into practice and you can start losing fat today, not next year.
Train hard and expect success,
Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com
Comments:
Filed Under: Diet
Posted by Eric Twitty on November 16, 2008
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Straight to it. Here are five of the biggest fat loss mess-ups that
I see men and women doing everyday…fix these, and you’ll lose fat.
1) Not having back up.
Trying to lose fat without social support is the wrong way to go
about this. Ideally, you’d have your doctor, an RD, a trainer, your workout partner, your spouse, your workmates, and your friends all behind you. Research shows that you’ll benefit most from a health professional (i.e. a trainer) and a workout partner that is also successful. Get those two people on your team first, and then work on the rest of the group.
2) Not using a structured program
If you ever go into the gym and wonder what you are going to do first, you’re already wasting your time - even before you choose. Get a plan, know what you have to do, stick to it, and see it through. That way, no wasted time wandering around the gym deciding where to start.
3) Not changing your workout after 4 weeks.
That’s the longest you should go on one program. If it’s been
6-months, give your head a shake. If it hasn’t worked yet, why do you think it’s magically going to start now. Change it up
frequently. You’ll get more results and you’ll have more fun.
4) Not realizing your results will come from nutrition more than
they will from training.
You want to lose fat? You have to eat right for fat loss. You can’t
train like an animal and then eat junk and expect to lose fat. No
program is that good. None. Diet beats training everytime, like
scissors beats paper. Eat whole, natural foods in 6 smaller meals
each day. Get lots of fiber, lots of protein, lots of vegetables.
Eat healthy fats, avoid trans fats. Drink lots of water and tea. So
simple, so effective. Eat for energy, not for gluttony.
5) Not knowing when to quit.
I get emails everyday from readers asking if they can add even more cardio and more lifting to their current workout plans. After all, if some is good, more training must be better?
Listen, you have to draw the line somewhere. You can’t keep adding more and more exercise. First, there is diminishing returns from each additional set you do, and from extra cardio. Second, your body can breakdown fast from too much work, particularly when you are dieting. Overtraining and low calories go together like oil and water. Neither of these combos will make your engine run optimally.
And finally, focus on quality over quantity. The “volume approach to fat loss” from the 1980’s (characterized by lots of cardio and lots of carbs) didn’t work. For good reason. Stick to high quality nutrition, and high-quality training.
The only thing that matters is results. Not muscle soreness, not
feeling exhausted after each workout, and not feeling deprived of food.
Quality work and quality food for a better body.
About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Posted by Eric Twitty on November 13, 2008
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com
Fat burner supplements are advertised everywhere these days - on the internet, in magazines and even on TV. The ads almost always feature a very lean fitness model or bodybuilder and claim that these products, usually pills, were the secret to their six pack abs and very low body fat levels. Some of these ads suggest that the only way to get as lean as the “hot bodies” you see in the ads is by taking their “miracle pills” and that proper nutrition and exercise alone is not enough.
While I won’t dismiss the fact that there are ingredients in some fat “burner” products that might help a little bit, I take great displeasure in seeing misleading advertising claims as well as the misleading use of models who are often paid to endorse the product even though they may never have even used it (they’re just models!)
Many “fat burner” companies have been sued by the Federal Trade Commission for false advertising, false claims and falsifying before and after photos.
The best you get is a slight thermogenic effect and possibly some slight appetite suppression. A few products might work through other mechanisms like improving thyroid, but if you forgive me the generalization, I consider the effects of all these “fat burner” products to be minutia.
In one of my previous newsletters, I said that in my opinion, 97% of your results come from nutrition and training and maybe you get an extra 3% advantage from supplements. Just so you know those numbers arent something I just pulled out of thin air, lets take an example:
I have reviewed scientific data that EGCG, the active ingredient in green tea extract, if consumed in enough quantity, could increase thermogenesis / metabolic rate by an average of about 75 calories in 24 hours. Since ephedrine was taken off the market, green tea extract appears in many ephedra-free formulas these days. What is a typical calorie expenditure for an active male in 24 hours? lets say 2700 calories per day. 75/2700 = 2.7%.
That little extra doesnt hurt, especially when it’s delivered in a healthful package such as green tea (rather than central nervous system stimulants), but it’s minutia in the bigger picture. Another way to put this into perspective is to make a list of what other things would burn 75 calories (for 150 lb person:)
- walk your dog for 15 minutes
- walk for 5 minutes at normal casual pace three times a day
- 30 minutes of ironing
- bagging leaves and grass clippings for 14 minutes
- re arrange your furniture for 10 minutes
- wash your car, 15 minutes
- vacuuming for 15 minutes
- 7.2 minutes of walking up stairs (could be spread throughout the day)
Ah yes, but why move your body when you can take the pill and metabolism increases while you sit and watch TV? How about for your health? A body that is not moved, rots away. Unlike a car which only has so many miles on it and wears out from over-use, people are the only “machines” on earth that fall apart from under-use.
Here’s what any good personal trainer will always tell you: No amount of calorie restriction or pill-popping will ever give you FITNESS. It willl never give you STRENGTH. it will never get you MUSCULARITY. It will never give you FUNCTIONALITY. At best it will help you reduce body mass slightly.
On one hand, I’m tempted to say that everything counts and that yes, 75 calories here and 75 calories there, it ALL adds up, because it does. After you’re exercising regularly and all your fundamentals are in place, details and little things do matter.
I’m simply asking you to put the benefits of any fat burners in proper perspective and realize that (1) there is no “need” for taking them and (2) the claims made in the ads are often erroneous or exagerrated.
My advice on fat burners:
1. NEVER buy a fat burner unless you get independent verification of the claims made for the product.
How do you KNOW they really work? Are you SERIOUSLY going to take the advertisers word for it? Are you SERIOUSLY going to take someone else’s testimonial as fact? Get verification for yourself by going to the pub med data base and looking for the primary research.
2. Put it in perspective
With those products that work, such as those providing a small thermogenic effect, put that in perspective as compared to how easily you could burn that many calories with even light exercise like walking or housework. Keep in mind the additional fitness and strength benefits you will obtain from exercise as opposed to doing nothing and popping a pill.
3. See if there are any side effects or health warnings.
With all supplements and especially with prohormones or stronger thermogenics like the ephedrine and caffeine stack, (if you still have access to them), understand the risk to benefit ratio, and be certain you know the dangers and contraindications.
4. Read the label and see if the product contains enough active ingredient to even work.
A classic scam is when a “fat burner” advertisement quotes research that a certain ingredient boosts metabolism, which might be true. What they may not tell you is that all the research with positive results used a large dosage of the ingredient, which might not be cheap. So the supplement company includes a “pinch” or “light dusting” of that ingredient just so they can say it’s in the bottle, even though it’s nothing more than “label decoration.” Then they have the audacity to invoke the research studies in their advertisements when the amount of the ingredient in their product is no where near what was used in the research!
5. Proprietary blend scam.
Some companies don’t let you see how much ingredient is in the product formula, because it contains multiple ingredients and they say their formula is a “trade secret” aka “proprietary”, so they list what is in the product but not how much. Well, if you don’t know how much is in there then how are you supposed to know whether it contains the proper dosage? (answer: you don’t!)
6. Make sure there is human research, not just rodent research.
In many cases, advertisements cite studies on rats and mice as “proof” under the assumption that the product will produce the same results in humans. Animal research is an important part of the scientific method, as it is often used to help find areas of research where human study should be pursued, or in the other direction, to trace back the mechanism that makes something work. However, for obesity research in particular, a positive finding in rats does not mean the same thing will happen in humans.
7. Look for more than one human study.
Consider trying a supplement after it has human research that has been replicated by different research groups which are not industry-sponsored. My policy is that I will usually only give a “buy” rating to a supplement when a product has an initial well-designed human controlled trial published and then similar research has been replicated by another research group that is not supplement-industry funded.
Actually, I think it’s a good thing that nutrition and supplement companies fund and sponsor some of the research. They should. They should not only back up their claims with published clinical trials, they should share some of the cost of this expensive research.
However, a basic principle of the scientific method is replication. Other researchers should be able to duplicate the findings. Therefore, while the funding source does not necessarily prove bias, if there is only one study available on a supplement and it is company or industry sponsored, I usually take it with a grain of salt and put an asterisk next to it while I wait for confirmation from another study. (You might be surprised at how infrequently this type of confirmation occurs).
Do you really need “more” than nutrition and exercise?
Now, when you weigh the fact that even the products with research backing them only help a little, with the fact that many of the ads lie to you about research, exagerate claims and hide vital information about ingredients, and with the fact that you can do a few more minutes of exercise per day and get the same results for free, how enthusiastic are you about fat burners? Yeah, that’s why I’m not real excited about them either and based on the fact that I use no drugs and no “fat burner” supplements and I compete in bodybuilding - very successfully - I’d say that the assertion, “it takes more than nutrition and exercise to get six pack abs” is patently false.
Train hard and expect success,
Tom Venuto
www.burnthefat.com
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com
Comments:
Filed Under: Diet
Posted by Eric Twitty on November 10, 2008
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
I was at a big event last week and was reminded how important it is to have strategies for this season of high-calorie parties and busy schedules. But I get ticked off by the tired old suggestions you find on the Internet or in magazines like Woman’s World.
Often the suggestions are lack any substance, because the writers don’t want to imply you actually have to make a sacrifice to succeed. They make fat loss sound easy, as if all you had to do was park at the far end of the parking lot and you’d burn all the calories from 5 shortbread cookies.
Well it doesn’t work that way…So here are my politically incorrect, unique Turbulence Training strategies to help you keep off the holiday pounds.
By the way, I “borrowed” a few ideas from contestants in my Turbulence Training Transformation Contest. The Transformation is rocking with social support and success stories right now, even while the rest of the world struggles with weight gain, these TT users are losing fat over the holidays.
Click here to get started with Turbulence Training for Fat Loss:
==> http://www.turbulencetraining.com
Strategy #1 - Green Tea & Almonds
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…
Strategy #2 - Don’t waste your time on any fancy cardio programs
Listen, the bottom line over the holiday season is that your success depends almost entirely on your nutrition.
You can’t expect to hit the cardio confessional and burn off last night’s 2000 calorie smorgasboard. That’s a 4-hour workout. Instead, don’t get into that situation in the first place.
Here are more nutrition tips:
- Focus on portion control (and if you have no discipline, forget even trying to eat just one)
- Nix all drinks mixed with calorie-containing beverages, or better yet, just stop getting drunk. Period.
- Write down everything you eat to identify your problem spots. Then 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.
Strategy #3 - Take care of yourself first.
My friend Holly Rigsby (of http://www.fityummymummy.com) is always reminding busy moms to take care of themselves first, and I think that suggestion applies at this time of year to everyone.
So take a deep breath. Ask yourself as you’re running around to please everyone else, “Have you set aside time for yourself”
Be selfish. Make sure you have had some exercise time, some good nutrition, and some rest before overextending yourself and doing too much for other people when you haven’t taken care of yourself and your goals first.
Strategy #4 - Get on a roll
This one comes from a TT Transformation contestant who is too busy losing fat to get off track over the holidays.
Don’t procrastinate till January 1st. Get started now. Dozens of men and women are doing their Turbulence Training Transformations right now - through the heart of the holiday season.
They aren’t waiting for Jan. 1st to show up. They are taking control now, and getting on a roll, and not letting anything (from work parties to peer pressure) get in their way.
Strategy #5 - Exercise in short bursts whenever you can
Don’t be afraid to dance at your Christmas party. Don’t worry, there is bound to be at least one worse dancer than you out on the floor. Have fun and get down!
On a more serious note, here’s how to avoid falling off the fitness program during the busy holiday season.
Get your butt out of bed 15 minutes early so you can have 3 minutes to wake up and 12 minutes to do the December 2007 Turbulence Training 12-Minute Workouts.
Get this workout as part of your bonuses when you start using
Turbulence Training today: http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Stay healthy and fit over the holidays,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
About the Author
Learn about the “Dark Side of Cardio” in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Posted by Eric Twitty on November 5, 2008
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com
Alcohol has been implicated as a factor that may hurt your efforts to lose body fat. Whether alcohol is “fattening” has been a very controversial subject because technically speaking, alcohol is NOT stored as fat; it is oxidized ahead of other fuels.
Whether moderate drinking is healthy has also been a subject of controversy. Many studies show that cardiovascular health benefits are associated with moderate beer or wine drinking (which has been of particular interest lately with reservatrol in the news so much), while other studies show improved insulin sensitivity. Some experts however, say that alcohol has no place in a fitness lifestyle.
A recent study published in the journal Obesity adds new findings to our knowledge about alcohol, insulin resistance and abdominal obesity. Analysis of the results as compared to other studies also gives us some insights into why some people seem to drink and get fat while others seem to drink and get thin!
The truth about the beer belly phenomenon
This new study, by Ulf Riserus and Erik Inglesson, was based on the Swedish Uppsala Longitudinal cohort. The researchers found that alcohol intake in older men did not improve insulin sensitivity, which contradicted their own hypothesis and numerous previous studies.
They also said there was a very “robust” association between alcohol intake, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio. They pointed out that a high alcohol intake, especially hard liquor, was closely associated with abdominal body fat, not just overall body mass.
Abdominal fat accumulation is not just a cosmetic problem, it can be a serious health risk. Abdominal fat, also known as “android” or “central” obesity, increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, glucose intolerance and elevated insulin levels.
Many other studies have also found a link between alcohol intake and abdominal fat, but this too has been controversial. A study that was widely publicized by the BBC in 2003 dismissed the concept of the “beer belly.”
Nevertheless, it looks like there’s some scientific support to it after all (or at least a “liquor belly” according to this newer study).
Hormones may be strongly involved because high alcohol intake has been shown to decrease blood testosterone in men, and also increase cortisol levels, which can lead to visceral fat accumulation.
Why is there so much controversy? Why the discrepancy in research findings about alcohol’s influence on obesity, abdominal fat, and insulin sensitivity?
Well, here’s the real story of why some people don’t get fat when they drink:
A lot of the confusion is because epidemiological research cannot show cause and effect relationships and mistakes can easily be made when drawing associations based on limited data.
With the nature of these longitudinal studies, you have to look at the lifestyle and nature of drinkers in general (or in this study, hard liquor drinkers). Also, the Swedish study focused on older men, so age may have been a factor. You may be more likely to deposit alcohol right on your belly as you get older.
When you hear that alcohol increases belly fat, you also have to look at what else is going on in the life of the drinker, particularly what the rest of a person’s diet looks like, and how alcohol intake affects appetite and eating habits.
Research says that alcohol can mess up your body’s perception of hunger, satiety and fullness. If drinking stimulates additional eating, or adds additional calories that aren’t compensated for and which lead to positive energy balance, then you get fat. You may also get fat in the belly, no thanks to what booze does to hormones.
Another thing that confounds the reports on whether alcohol contributes to weight gain is the fact that the game changes in heavy drinkers. We know that alcohol contains 7.1 calories per gram and these calories always count as part of the energy balance equation… or do they? With chronic excessive alcohol consumption, it’s possible that not all of these calories are available for energy. Due to changes in liver function and something called the microsomal ethanol oxidizing system (MEOS), alcoholism may be a real case of where some calories don’t count. Many alcoholics also skip meals and eat less with increasing alcohol consumption.
Alcohol metabolizing pathways notwithstanding, even if binge drinkers, daily drinkers or heavy drinkers consume most of their calories from alcohol, if they eat very little, and remain in a calorie deficit, they will not get fat. Compound this with the hormonal effects and you witness the skinny, but under-nourished, unhealthy and atrophied alcoholic (the person you’d think would be most likely to have a beer belly).
It’s the calories that count
The bottom line is, the idea that alcohol just automatically turns into fat or gives you a beer belly is mistaken. It’s true that alcohol suppresses fat oxidation, but mainly, alcohol adds calories into your diet, messes with your hormones and can stimulate appetite, leading to even more calories consumed. That’s where the fat gain comes from.
If you drink in moderation, if you’re aware of the calories in the alcohol, if you’re aware of the calories from additional food intake consumed during or after drinking, and if you compensate for all of the above accordingly, you won’t get fat.
Now, with that said, you might be wondering: “You mean I can drink and still lose fat? I just need to keep in a calorie deficit?”
Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. But before you rush off to the pub for a cold one, hold that thought for a minute while you consider this first: The empty alcohol calories displace the nutrient dense calories!
When you’re on a fat loss program you have a fairly small “calorie budget”, so you need to give some careful thought to how those calories should be “spent.” For example, if a female is on a 1500 calorie per day diet, does she really want to “spend” 500 of those calories – one third of her intake - for a few alcoholic drinks, and leave only 1000 for health-promoting food, fiber and lean muscle building protein?
I realize some people may answer “yes” to that question, but then again, if some people spent their money as frivolously as they spent their calories, they would be in deep trouble!
To summarize this into some practical, take-home advice, here are 7 of my personal tips for alcohol consumption in the fitness lifestyle:
(1) Don’t drink on a fat loss program. Although you could certainly drink and “get away with it” if you diligently maintained your calorie deficit as noted above, it certainly does not help your fat loss cause or your nutritional status.
(2) Drink in moderation during maintenance. For lifelong weight maintenance and a healthy lifestyle, if you drink, do so in moderation and only occasionally, such as on weekends or when you go out to dine in restaurants. Binge drinking and getting drunk has no place in a fitness lifestyle (not to mention hangovers aren’t very conducive to good workouts).
(3) Don’t drink daily. Moderate drinking, including daily drinking, has been associated with cardiovascular health benefits. However, I don’t recommend daily drinking because behaviors repeated daily become habits. Behaviors repeated multiple times daily become strong habits. Habitual drinking may lead to heavier drinking or full-blown addictions and can be hard to stop if you ever need to cut back.
(4) Count the calories. If you decide to have a bottle of beer or a glass of wine or two (or whatever moderation is for you), be sure to account for the alcohol in your daily calorie budget.
(5) Watch your appetite. Don’t let the “munchies” get control of you during or after you drink (Note to chicken wing and nacho-eating men: The correlation to alcohol and body fat is higher in men in almost all the studies. One possible explanation is that men tend to drink and eat, while women may tend to drink instead of eating).
(6) Watch the fatty foods. When drinking, watch the fatty foods in particular. A study by Angelo Tremblay back in 1995 suggested that alcohol and a high fat diet are a combination that favors overfeeding.
(7) Enjoy without guilt. If you choose to drink (moderately and sensibly), then don’t feel guilty about it or beat yourself up afterwards, just enjoy the darn stuff, will you!
To see a complete fat burning system that takes you by the hand, step by step and shows you what to eat, what to drink (and what not drink), how to exercise and how to stay motivated, visit: www.burnthefat.com
References:
(1) Alcohol Intake, Insulin Resistance, and abdominal obesity in elderly men. Riserus U, Ingelsson E., Obesity. 15(7): 1766-1773. 2007
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com
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