Bootcamp

6 tips for a fat free holiday

With Christmas just around the corner, I see trainees getting anxiety attacks about it. They train hard but have to give in when it comes to family brunches and diner parties. All those hard earned hours in the gym will go to waste in a matter of days. But it is possible to minimize the damages done by this repeated partying. The number 1 and quite obvious trick for over doing it is moderation, so with that in mind, here are my top 6 lists.

1. Take a week off during the holidays: If you are as serious with your training as you are with your food intake, chances are you will keep the cheating to a minimal. But overtraining and serious dieting has its drawback. That’s why holiday season can help your results more than impair them if you are this type of training advocate. Planned cheating can help rebuild those glycogens stores, thus increasing your energy levels, improve your results in the gym, and believe it or not still lose body fat. It can trick your body to use his own stored body fat as energy. If you’ve been on a diet for more than 6 to 8 weeks, don’t be surprised to shed 1-2% bodyfat in a matter of 24 hours.

2. Keep the fat off with planned overtraining: trick #1 was oriented towards the serious trainees, the ones that life turns around their gym time. This one’s for average people who go 3 to 4 times a week, watch closely what they eat, but cheat once in a while. Hitting the gym harder for 4 to 6 weeks prior big parties will help deplete those glycogens store. So when cheating time comes, the body will store the excess calories as energy instead of fat. You can even shed a couple of pounds on the scale.

3. Stay away from the booze: Let’s be honest, last time I checked, few people have just one drink. So you could be looking at 4 or more ounces of alcohol in a typical “Social” evening, clocking in at a likely total of somewhere between 256 to 328 calories and I’m being conservative. But as long as the carbs are zero, do we need to care? You bet. Think of alcohol as a kind of presidential motorcade. All the other cars pull over to the side to let it through, and traffic can’t continue moving till the “all clear” signal has been given. Similarly, the body can’t store alcohol, so it has to use it up first. The metabolizing of fat and glucose has to be put on hold while the body gets rid of the alcohol. Once the “motorcade” has left the street, things can proceed normally. But during that time fat– like traffic– isn't going anywhere. Unsexy as it is, Moderation is the answer. Drinking with food lowers the possibility of hypoglycaemia for most people. Sticking with red wine and unmixed drinks is also a good idea. “In small amounts alcohol is benign”, says Dr Bernstein. “ But if you’re the type who can’t limit drinking, it’s the best to avoid it entirely “
''The dose makes the Poison'' There is more than an accidental connection between sugar addiction and alcoholism. Some people just can’t manage moderation. If this is you, forget about the health benefits, they don’t apply to you.

4. Stay away from simple carbs, keep the meat coming: The big problem during holiday time is the carbs and excess sugar from booze, cakes, pastries, you name it. People, who can hold the temptations, can stick with meats, cheeses, and veggies go without saying. This trick alone will keep your weight stable and hard earned muscles without any effort, and will keep the results coming.

5. Do not starve before the big meals: One of the biggest mistakes I see is people who starve before big meals. They do not eat at all during the day just because they want to make sure that they don’t max out their calories, or make place for the nice meals to come, or whatever the reason is. That’s just making matters worse. They are so hungry when they get to the party that they snack on hors d’oeuvres before the meal and get bloated even before the fun starts. If they pass on the small snacks, when meal time arrives, they go for the easy stuff, breads and pasta. You usually find those people sleeping on the couch while the woman does the dishes, I’m not sexist, it’s what happens.

6. Stay on track with your supplements: The most important supplements during the holidays are HCl(hydrochloric acid) and multivitamins. HCl is highly corrosive but is of great use when it comes to digestive aid. Our body is protected from this acid by the mucosal barrier in our intestinal tracts. Many times people think they have too much acidity when in fact they have too little barrier and not enough acid. The main utility of HCl is to help us break down the food we eat into usable nutrients. That is why so many people think they have excess acidity when they eat big meals, especially in the holidays. Taking OTC acidity blockers will only decrease your ability to absorb essential nutrients and create an environment that is prone to disease. Even if you don’t use these drugs, studies have shown that our ability to secrete acid decreases as we age. Multivitamins on the other hand will make sure that every organs, glands and immune system will be in optimal shape for the holiday beatings.

It goes without saying that the holiday season is the best time to overeat, less rest, lots of bacteria and germs in the air. So making sure everything works properly in your body will keep the doctor away, and keeps the party going and going and going....

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrochloric_acid
H.A. Rafsky and M. Weingarten, “A Study of the Gastric Secretory Response in the Aged,” Gastroenterology May (1946): 348-52
D. Davies and T.G. James, “An Investigation into the Gastric Secretion of a Hundred Normal Persons over the Age of Sixty,” Brit J Med i(1930): 1-14
J.H. Baron, “Studies of Basal and Peak Acid Output with an Augmented Histamine Meal, “ Gut 3 (1963):136-144
M. Murray and J. Pizzorno, Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Rocklin, CA. Prima Publishing, 1998 pps. 134-137