6 Ways to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com 

Obesity has worldwide problem. In fact, almost 2/3 of Americans need to lose weight and over 1 billion people in the world are overweight. If you are overweight, you need to lose weight and improve your health and fitness. And yes, this can still be done over the holiday season. Don't wait for New Year's day to start your weight loss resolutions.

There are a number of reasons for the increased incidence of obesity and overweight individuals, as suggested by American statistics, but also a number of workout and nutrition tips that can counter the effects of each bad nutrition and exercise habit that we have:

* It has been estimated that for every high-sugar drink you consume, you increase your risk of obesity by 60%! Soft drinks provide 33% of all added sugars in American diets.

Tip #1: Avoid drinking calories!

* In the USA, sugar consumption has increased from 26 to 32 teaspoons (between the 1970’s and 1998).

* Americans eat an extra 150 kcal per day now in comparison to 1980. In theory, this could lead to 15 lbs. of weight gain per year!

Tip #2: Avoid over-eating treats at parties. If you can't have just one, don't have any at all!

* Your obesity risk increases 6-fold if you watch more than 2 hours of television each day.

Tip #3: Stay active. Walk around the mall a couple extra times if it means you'll avoid the couch and overeating at home. Stay busy, stay active, stay lean.

* Only 25% of individuals exercise moderately for 30 minutes each day, whereas 25% of the population does no exercise at all.

Tip #4: It's not all or nothing. If you can only do 15 minutes of exercise, that is still better than nothing. Don't stop all exercise just because you can't do 30 minutes that day.

* Obesity continues to increase in the USA despite a continued decrease in the consumption of dietary fat. In 1994-96, fat accounted for 33% of total calories compared with 40% in the late 1970's.

* In 1994-96, just over half of the population reported eating fruit each day while the consumption of processed carbohydrates (such as bread, snack foods, and cereals) has increased 110% since the late 1970's.

Tip #5: Avoid processed carbs. Hit the veggie tray, the protein offerings, and the calorie free beverages at parties. If its rolled in pastry, don't eat it.

* Milk consumption has decreased in children by 16% since the late 1970's, while consumption of soft drinks increased by 16%.

Tip #6: Don't keep soda in the house. If you don't buy it, neither you nor the kids will drink it.

Stick to these 6 simle tips and you'll stay lean over the holidays. Add in a little more exercise and you could do the impossible - you could lose fat over the holidays! Get started on a fast, efficient and effective program of strength training and interval training today!  www.TurbulenceTraining.com 

Top 7 Weight Loss Mistakes

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com 

Seven Mistakes People Make When Trying to Lose Fat

1. They fail to consider the consequences of their actions.

Alwyn Cosgrove (one of the top trainers in the business) once told me, "I get my clients to think, "Will this help me or not? Is this a positive step or not?" If you can see that every action that you take is either helping you lose fat or stopping you from losing fat, then you will start to make better choices. So remember that everything you put in your mouth is either for or against fat loss. And every exercise choice you make is either for or against fat loss. "Get that", Alwyn says, "and you’re a hit."

2. They neglect to control their insulin and blood sugar levels - 2 key factors in determining whether or not the body fat will come off.

If you eat processed foods you are guaranteed to elevate your insulin & blood sugar levels. If you do that, your body sends the message, “Store fat!”, and you won’t make any progress. So avoid white-flour based bakery products, sugary drinks, and almost any carbohydrate snack that comes in a bag or a box.

3. They train like it’s the 80’s.

Yes, I know. Eighties music is popular again. But that doesn’t mean ineffective training methods from the 80’s like light weights, low intensity steady state cardio, and endless low-intensity ab work should also make a comeback. That type of training should stay buried in the back issues of cheesy muscle magazines. Stick to strength training and interval training for efficient and effective body changing routines.

4. They don’t take 30 minutes to plan their next day’s food intake.

If you fail to do this, you will set your fat loss efforts back by a minimum of 72 hours. Without a good meal plan, you are left to hunt and gather food in the modern world. And that’s a recipe for fat loss disaster. You are bound to eat something processed if you aren’t prepared. You will lose the fat burning benefits from yesterday’s workout and it will take until the end of the following day to get back on track. An entire 72-hour period wasted.

5. They don’t eat enough vegetables.

We can thank John Berardi for making it common knowledge that you should eat fibrous vegetables at every meal to assist your fat loss efforts. By doing so, you’ll control your blood sugar and insulin - thus supporting the optimal hormonal situation for fat loss.

6. They screw up their hormones with poor lifestyle choices.

If you are out boozing and staying up late on the weekend, you are shutting down your fat loss and messing up the optimal hormonal environment for fat burning. I will talk a lot more about the optimal hormonal levels for fat loss, as I believe this is the underrated key to building your best body ever.

7. They don’t plan and monitor their training sessions.

If you are still going to the gym without a plan, then you are going to have a hard time losing fat. And if you aren’t recording your workouts and eating habits, then you aren’t losing as much fat as you probably can. To fix this mistake, start by getting on track with strength training and interval training. It’s guaranteed to get you lean. www.TurbulenceTraining.com