The holidays mean a lot of things … Overeating, weight gain, being thankful for what we all have, giving gifts to others, holiday parties and, many times, drinking a little more alcohol than you usually do.  Whether you’re a social drinker or someone who just enjoys having a cocktail in the comfort of your own home, drinking usually makes most people feel better about life.  It makes them feel more happy, less stressed and allows them to unwind from all the things that are going on in their lives.  The bad news is that regardless of whether you’re a social drinker or someone who drinks at home, all of those extra alcoholic beverages lead to weight gain … And it’s usually going to be right around your mid-section.

So why does alcohol make you pack on the extra pounds and give some people the “beer belly” look?  Well …

How Alcohol Affects the Body

As you may know, one gram of alcohol is equal to 7 calories, whereas one gram of carbohydrate or protein is only equal to 4 calories.  While it’s still less than the 9 calories in a gram of fat, alcohol is MUCH worse for you.  Unlike the three macro-nutrients that you body needs to carry on daily metabolic processes, when you consume alcohol, your body gives it “first priority”.  Instead of burning off those extra calories you may have eaten earlier in the night, your body pushes alcohol to the front of the line and begins to burn all of that alcohol off before anything else gets burned.

Pretty understandable, since alcohol is pretty much like poison and your body tries to remove it from your system the instant that you consume it.  So now you’re burning those alcohol-based calories off as soon as you take your first sip.  Great, right?  Well … Not exactly.  Because alcohol takes precedence over your protein, carbohydrate and fat calories, all of those calories sort of just take a “back seat” while your body works to burn off all the alcohol.  The end result?

Those other calories get stored as fat … And that six pack is suddenly destroying your chances of having a six pack.  Before you know it, you’ve got a little keg nesting in your mid-section and your looking like you’re a couple months along, but you’re not even pregnant!

Bye Bye Beer Belly!

For many people, alcohol is just a part of life.  Many of my current and past clients consume alcohol and that doesn’t make them bad people.  It just means that in order to reach their (and your) weight loss or fitness goals, they need to have a game plan to combat the potential negative affects of alcohol.  Try implementing a couple of the following strategies and you’ll reduce the impact that the holiday season has on your waist line.

The Holiday Booze Defuse Plan:

1. Have a plan when going into a drinking situation.  If you know that there is going to be alcohol at a party this holiday season, and you’re trying to stay on track with your fitness goals, show up with a plan of having no more than one drink.  I know it can be tough when everyone else is drinking and laughing and having a great time, but if you need alcohol to laugh and mingle with them, then maybe your biggest concern isn’t calorie restriction …
2. Volunteer to be the “DD”.  What better way to restrict your alcohol consumption than offering to be the designated driver.  Drink water all night, play some darts, mingle and when everyone’s ready to go home, you’ll be in shape to get everyone where they need to be safely.  AND … You’ll wake up the next morning feeling MUCH better than everyone else
3. Let everyone know ahead of time that you’re trying to stay on track with your weight loss or fitness goals.  By letting everyone know that you’re trying to lose weight, they’ll be less likely to urge you to have another drink and if they do see you drinking more than you anticipated, hopefully they’ll ask you what happened to that goal of your.
4. If you do plan on drinking more than one, incorporate it into your “cheat day”.  By doing this, you don’t have to stress about how many drinks you’re having and you can let loose and enjoy yourself.  The downside to this strategy is that if you let loose a little too much, you’re going to have a tough time getting back into routine the following day.

Fattest Alcoholic Beverages

There are so many alcoholic beverages on the market these days, it’s hard to keep track of them.  And like all foods, they aren’t all created equal.  You’ve got liquor, beer, wine, champagne, alcohol-infused energy drinks and mixed drinks just to name a few.  Here are a few of the more common drinks and the depressing calorie numbers that go with them …

• Budweiser Bottle = 145 calories
• 5-ounce glass of wine = 110 calories
• Gin and Tonic = 175 calories
• Frozen Margarita = 245 calories (or more depending how big it is, and where you get it)
• Sam Adams Winter Lager = 190 calories
• Vodka & Cranberry Juice = 185 calories

As always, if you do drink this holiday season do so in moderation and make sure you arrange for a ride home!

Committed to Your Health & Fitness,

Corey

You know it’s coming … And you can’t avoid it.  It’s the holiday season.  It rolls around every year, usually right after Halloween and with it comes the dreaded weight GAIN that the typical American experiences.

Before I go on, quick question for you – With research indicating that MOST people do NOT lose the weight they gain over the holidays, how long will it take you to pack on 18 pounds?  Let me help you —> less than 10 years.

Now that I’ve depressed all of you, onto the 5 ways you can stop this from happening this holiday season!

Do these 5 things and this will be a season of GIVING, not gaining

1. Eat LOTS of Protein! We all know that protein is great for the rebuilding of muscle and that in order to recover from a workout and build new muscle, we need to get an adequate amount of protein each day.  Usually when you’re at a holiday party, you’ve got a few different options to make this happen.  The buffet may have shrimp, turkey, ham or some other lean meat packed with protein.  Here’s what you do … eat lots of it.  It’s a known fact that protein is not only requires more calories to digest, but it also assists in the release of the hormone glucagon, which helps to control blood sugar and curb the fat storage properties of insulin.  But before you raid the protein table…er, I mean the buffet table, make sure you ….
2. Drink LOTS of Water! Grab a huge bottle of water on your way to that killer holiday party and drink the whole thing down before you arrive.  Afterward, wait at least 15 – 20 minutes before you eat anything.  Go say hi to everyone at the party, catch up on all the juicy gossip, and find out who the “new guy” is at the party and whose date he is!  Doing this is going to fill you up and help to suppress your appetite for at least a little while, which is going to affect the amount of food you eat while you’re there.  Pretty simple right?  Chances are, you’re not going to be working off those extra calories you consume that night until the next day, so this is a good way to keep them at a minimum.
3. If You Do Plan On Eating a Lot, Plan Ahead! If you know that the party you’re going to, or the dinner
   

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   you’re having over the holidays is just too delicious to restrict how much of it you eat, then it’s time to plan ahead.  How can you do this?  Easy, my friend!  Just make sure you “deplete” the day before.  By that, I mean that you try to completely deplete your muscle stores of carbohydrates and fats through depletion workouts the day before, and by restricting your diet on that day before to just protein and healthy fats … NO carbs!  This is going to set you up for a great “Cheat Day” the following day, and you won’t have to worry about what you eat, or how much you eat … So gobble gobble and enjoy, friend!  AND, don’t forget to jump on the scale the morning right after your feast and make note of how your weight is actually LESS than it was the morning before

4. Go Green! Nope, I’m not talking about the New York Jets here (I’m actually a Patriots fan, sorry).  I’m talking about making sure you still eat plenty of vegetables on the days when you’re not choking down a turkey leg and 3 pieces of pumpkin pie … That reminds me, I DOOO love pumpkin pie   It’s very important to make sure you’re eating your vegetables.  They’re good for you, packed with essential vitamins and minerals, are a great source of fiber, they’re low calorie and they’ll make you feel full.  Buy lots of ‘em, store them on the top shelf of your refrigerator, and eat ‘em all before they go bad.
5. Cut Back On Cardio! Did I just say that?!?  Yep.  Anyone who does about 30 minutes of  traditional cardio at the gym with the goal of fat loss is doing about 30 minutes too much of traditional cardio.  I’m talking about the person who jumps on the treadmill or the elliptical, sets it at a moderate intensity, and goes into hamster mode.  We’re not hamsters people.  We’re people, people!  You don’t need to be jumping on an elliptical, a treadmill, a cross training or a nordic trac.  What you DO NEED TO DO is begin doing body weight circuits or supersets that work your entire body.  Enough of the biceps curls and crunches.  You’re not going to see your abs anyway unless you shed the layer(s) of fat that have been keeping them a secret.  And the BEST way to get that done is to incorporate strength training that works your entire body, gets your heart rate elevated, burns a ton of calories and gives you an afterburn that will continue to burn calories the day AFTER you did the workout.  Oh yeah …. PLUS it’s going to build strong, lean and toned muscle.  Can a 30 minute stroll on the treadmill do that for you?  I think not.

And lastly … if you’re a drinker, drink in moderation.  Nobody likes the lush at the holiday work party

Have a great weekend everyone!

Committed to Your Health & Fitness,

Corey

So as you may or may not know, I’m in the midst of a little “experiment” with an extreme fat loss diet that I was referred to by another trainer whose main focus is fat loss and nutrition.  I’ve been leaving posts on my facebook wall updating the whole process, and so far so good.  I will admit, though, that the “fasting” days are mentally & emotionally tough if you’ve never done it before!

I got to thinking about the articles that are in my online magazine and I figured I’d do a post about this “experiment” that I’ve undergone, since it goes hand in hand with my “Refined Carbs” article in the online magazine.

I’ve actually gotten quite a bit of criticism from my facebook friends about this whole thing, which I’m hoping just means they’re concerned for my well-being

Before I continue, I’ll give you a quick background on this diet …

"Saddle Up Partner ... It's Cheat Day!!!"

• First, it’s called an “extreme” fat loss diet because it’s just that … very, very extreme
• The entire program is 25 days in length, divided into 5 cycles of 5 different days
• The diet begins with a “cheat” day, where you can eat whatever you want, within reason.  You’re not going to stuff yourself to the point that you feel sick and need to vomit
• The “cheat” day is then followed by a “fasting” day, where you consume nothing but calorie-free liquids (lots of water), and supplement with BCAA’s (branched chain amino acids … A.K.A. protein on steroids) and a multi-vitamin
• The next 3 days are a “shake & smoothie” day, “moderate carb” day and a “depletion” day
• I am also running an average of 3 miles each day, as well as doing either a H.I.I.T. workout, Dynamic Strength workout or a Power workout

The logic behind this diet is based upon a few different factors …

1. In order to experience CONSISTENT and CONSIDERABLE fat loss (notice I didn’t say, “weight loss”), the body must NOT be able to adjust to whatever program you’re undergoing.
2. In order to experience “extreme” fat loss results, or any fat loss results actually, you need to have high levels of the hormone, leptin. Normally, your body is primed for fat burning and your leptin levels are exactly where they should be … until you start dieting.  About a week after dieting, your leptin levels decrease by almost 50%!  When this happens, the abdominal fat-storing hormone cortisol skyrockets, as well as other “appetite-stimulating” hormones (ghrelin, anandamide & neuropeptide-Y … don’t worry, there won’t be a quiz on this later)
3. You must create a MASSIVE calorie deficit to lose fat rapidly.  Period.  There’s no way around the fact that 3,500 calories = 1 pound of fat.  If you want to lose that pound, you MUST create a calorie deficit of at least 3,500 calories.
4. You need to implement DIET & EXERCISE TOGETHER for this to work.  If you do both of these, the end result will be considerable fat loss (and some water loss too, but that’s inevitable because you’ll lose some water when you lose fat).  If you diet only, you’ll not only lose fat and water, but you’ll lose muscle mass too … NOT GOOD!

So now that you know that basics of the program, you may have a better understanding of why this “experiment” that I’m doing is not only working … it’s MELTING FAT from my entire body!  After just 1 1/2 cycles (7 days), I was down 5.5 pounds and 1.5% body fat.

These numbers are actually great … for someone who’s been training for an entire month.  Now consider that I’ve been training for just 7 days.

Now I don’t want you to misunderstand me, and I don’t want to mislead you in anyway.  Is this diet something that I’m going to continue past the 25 days?  NO.  Is it something that can be sustained and considered common practice as a daily plan of eating?  NO

BUT, it is this – It’s a REAL solution to lose fat rapidly.

AND, it is not some “quick-fix” pill or piece of equipment being sold on an infomercial.

So what happens after you (or “I” actually) finish this “experimental” fat loss program?  The answer isn’t as simple as, “I’m going to be doing this, or I’m going to be doing that” unfortunately.  If I decide that I’ve reached my fat loss goal (which is presently 8% body fat), then I’ll be transitioning into a program that will focus on building muscle mass.

At the end of that program, I will most likely transition into another phase where I’m “cutting” again, which basically means that I’m shedding body fat again, which I put on as a result of additional muscle mass gain.

If I decided that I didn’t reach my fat loss goal, I would then transition into another program where I implement strategic “cheat” days into my diet, coupled with strategic high intensity training days.

I’m excited to see the final results and compare the “before” pictures to the “after” pictures.  I’ll be sure to share them with you on here so you can judge for yourself if this “experiment” is “fo real”

In the meantime, I will be starting up my uber-popular “21-Day Rapid Fat Loss Boot Camp” at both the Albany & Saratoga Springs locations on November 29th so you can burn tons of fat after Thanksgiving and look GREAT for the New Year.  The cost is $97, and you can sign up by clicking the link below …

21 Day Rapid Fat Loss Boot Camp

Until next time,

Committed to Your Health & Fitness,

Corey