EAT MORE PROTEIN TO BURN FAT:
Protein isn't just for building muscle. It's for burning fat, too. A good way to keep the holiday weight gain at bay is to greatly increase your protein intake over the holiday season. While protein helps build and preserve muscle, it also helps to control your appetite as well as boost your metabolism. Eating more protein to burn fat was confirmed in a study published in the American Journal of Physiology. One group was fed a high protein diet (just over one gram per pound of bodyweight per day) while the second group consumed a protein diet near equal to that of the RDA. The group eating the high protein diet burned more fat than the group consuming protein near equal to the RDA. One reason for the ability of protein to burn fat could be an increased "thermic" effect. The thermic effect of the RDA group was elevated 16% after eating. However, in the high protein group the thermic effect increased a lot after eating, almost 3-times that of the RDA group. This thermic effect of digesting your food peaks approximately one hour after eating. By adding more protein to each meal, you increase your metabolism, which is the basic theme of this guide. Your body requires more energy (i.e. calories) to process protein than it does carbohydrates. So go ahead and indulge a little in those high protein holiday foods such as the deviled eggs, shrimp cocktails and of course the holiday turkey! LET'S LOOK AT SOME OF THE FOOD SOURCES YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON: High Protein Foods: * Whey protein * Eggs (Deviled during the holiday season) * Egg whites * Chicken breasts * Turkey breasts * Lean beef * Fish (tuna, salmon, shrimp cocktail) * Protein bars * Egg protein powder * Casein (cottage cheese) * Milk High Carbohydrate Food: * Potatoes * Sweet potatoes, yams * Oatmeal, cream of wheat, cream of rice * Rice * Beans * Any green leafy vegetable * Bread * Pasta Healthy Fats: * Coconut Oil * Olive oil * Sunflower oil * Safflower oil * Flaxseed oil * Walnuts * Avocados * Almonds HOLIDAY TABLE STRATEGIES: When planning strategies to keep your diet intact throughout the holidays, there are two main fronts you need to wage on the Battle of the Bulge. First, you need to work on diet strategies for events that you host and second, strategies for events that you do not host. Hosting holiday events can be a lot of work, but it does give you a tremendous advantage in terms of managing your diet. Many people are reluctant to even attempt incorporating their diet plans into the foods they offer at holiday get-togethers because they are concerned they will offend their family and friends. First, not everything that you offer on your holiday buffet table needs to be diet related. Just make sure you have enough of the items that fit into your plan so that you have plenty to choose from without straying into forbidden territory. Also, consider ways that you can make traditional foods diet friendly. In many cases, your guests and family will never even know the difference; unless you tell them. Cocktail parties are always a big hit and it’s easy to incorporate diet friendly foods into such a party with low calorie dipping sauces, lean meat skewers, fresh vegetables and fruits. Now secondly, You will have less control over events that you are not hosting; but that doesn’t mean that you have no options. One of the best ways to defend yourself against the onslaught on tempting foods at most holiday parties is to eat a sensible small meal before you attend the party. This will take a significant edge off your appetite and you will be less likely to cheat when you arrive. Another strategy that can work well is to bring a dish that fits in with your diet plan. Don’t make a big deal out of it or force it on anyone else and you’ll likely find that no one is really paying much attention to the fact that you brought your own food. Also, be sure to drink plenty of water; which can be a great tool to help you feel full. Finally, don’t forget to incorporate the help of a weight loss buddy to get you through any moments of temptations. Chances are, there will be at least one other person in attendance who is also trying to stick to their guns in terms of diet resolutions. Support one another by staying away from the food table and taking a brisk walk after the event to work off anything you just couldn’t resist sampling. FASTING Another strategy for combating weight gain that you can look into is including some intermittent fasting during the holiday season for serious fat melting. This can be a great option, if you are up for it. There are a lot of variations of intermittent fasting which can get quite technical. However, It's the holiday season, you're already extremely busy. So keep things simple. Use intermittent fasting on the days you know you have parties or dinners to go to in the evening, whether it's office parties or a holiday party at a friends. On those days, don't eat until the party! Yes, this can be tough, but it will really help you keep the fat off during the holiday season. Of course, be smart about it. If you are one of those crazy social people that has five party days in a row, you probably don't want to do this. But if you have one or two, it will work just fine. Another version, which is easier for most people to follow, is described in many books or articles as the 16:8 plan. You basically eat in an 8 hour window and fast the other 16 hours. The good news is, about half of those fasting hours are when you are sleeping! Basically, you just fast until lunch time if you can't handle an all day fast, and you stop eating around 8 PM.. This will still help! A great way to remember is Eat Between 12 PM and 8 PM Don't Eat Between 8 PM and 12 PM the Next Day The really good news about intermittent fasting is that we are all so busy during the holidays, many of us struggle to get in regular meals anyway! Now, we are just doing so in structured way so we can maximize fat burning! Come back tomorrow at 9am to find out more about Melting Holiday Fat with High Intensity Interval Training!
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