The holiday crunch starts this week, and it’s about that time where people either get ridiculously strict with their fitness and fat loss plan or take the easy way out and say “To hell with it, I’m gonna wait till the New Year”.  The latter never fails to surprise me, because there really are a lot of reasons and excuses to not stick with your fitness plan.

Holidays bombard us with work parties, holiday shopping, holiday exclusive treats like pumpkin spice lattes, and the biggest potential culprit to your lean body – the family get togethers.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love and look forward to spending time with family, but I’ve witnessed time and time again that most family members are unsupportive and blurt out responses like “C’mon live a little, it’s the holidays!”

Well, if you’re trying to improve your health and lose excess belly fat then “living a little” isn’t going to cut it – period.

Here’s a plan to get you through this Thanksgiving week with a few extra strategies sprinkled in to help you also game plan for Christmas and New Years.

Monday

- Cut out all breads, pastries, liquid sugars (milk, juices, soda), and similar carb sources, and replace with fruit.  You’re gonna have to go cold turkey on all processed sugar, and go with the natural sources, hence the fruit.

- Focus on building this weeks meals and snacks around protein first with lean meats, chicken, fish, jerkeys, and last case scenario protein drinks (without the carbs).  More protein will stabilize your blood sugar levels and help keep cravings at bay.  In addition, have as much veggies as you can throughout the day, without the ranch dressing!

- Aim for 80 oz of water today.

- Get a full body workout in incorporating non-competing supersets with heavier weights.  The 4-exercise circuit below will do just fine, and takes only 10-minutes.

1) Dumbbell Thrusters (aka Squat to Shoulder Press)

2) Plank Crawls

3) Dumbbell Renegade Rows

4) Dumbbell Swing

Perform each exercise for 30-seconds with no rest between each exercise.  Rest 1-minute at the end of each circuit.  Complete 3 rounds.

**Perform as many reps as possible within your 30-second set, but maintain good form.

Tuesday

- Keep everything the same with the exception of now cutting out all the fruit, and going with veggies only, think unlimited portions and choose only your favorite veggies.

- Aim for 80 oz of water today.

- Perform some light stretching, and go for a 20-30 minute walk.

Wednesday

- Keep nutrition the same as Tuesday

- Aim for 80 oz of water today.

- Get a full body workout in.  Try out this bodyweight only bootcamp circuit.

1) Inch Worm to Plank Get-ups to Renegade Row

2) Prisoner Split-Squats (30 seconds each side)

3) Spiderman Pushups

4) Grasshoppers

Perform each exercise for 60-seconds with no rest between each exercise.  Rest 1-minute at the end of each circuit.  Complete 2 rounds.

**Perform as many reps as possible within your 30-second set, but maintain good form.

Thursday

- Workout first thing in the morning with a fun group circuit training class at your local gym or a local fitness boot camp.  Have fun, sweat it out with some of your closest friends, it’s Thanksgiving!

- Have a carbohydrate and protein rich post workout meal.  Here are some ideas,

- Eggs, turkey bacon, 2 pieces of whole wheat toast or 1 bowl of oatmeal and fruit

- Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal mashed with non-fat greek yogurt, or non-fat plain yogurt

- “In A Hurry” Migas: scramble 2-3 eggs, when the eggs are about 90% done, crush about a handful or so of blue corn tortilla chips into the mix and scramble some more.  Put it all on a plate then top it off with your favorite chunky salsa and 1 oz of shredded mild cheddar or monterey jack cheese, and add your favorite fruit as a side.

- Aim for 80 oz of water today, and limit the alcohol intake to 1-2 drinks.

- For the rest of the meals before your Thanksgiving feast, stick to the nutritional guidelines from Monday through Wednesday.

- To maximize your metabolism during your Thanksgiving feast, focus on having 2/3rds of your plate being protein and fibrous veggies, the other 1/3 being complex carbs.  Have a small serving of your favorite Thanksgiving dessert to satisfy the craving.

- Today’s guidelines sound simple, but acknowledge that it will be a challenge to apply given the situation, but be strong and committed to your fat loss goals.  If you are going to partake in leftovers, don’t graze, just simply make another small plate with the guidelines above and make it another meal.  Doing this will keep you fuller for longer.

Friday through Sunday

- Perform another bodyweight boot camp workout, preferably first thing in the morning on Friday or Saturday

- Resume nutritional guidelines from Monday through Wednesday schedule

- Aim for 80 oz of water per day

- Rest and enjoy the rest of the weekend

Other tips,

- If you’re a coffee lover you’re gonna want to switch to Americano’s or drip coffee, and no sugar substitutes either like Splenda, etc.  Studies suggest that sugar substitutes may still play a role in telling your brain to release insulin the same way processed sugar does.  This process gives energy to fat cells which translates into making more fat cells – stop it!  If you’re a tea lover, then switch to green tea (again without any sugar).  Green tea is debatable in it’s fat burning effects, but it’s still an easy way to get your caffeine fix and antioxidants.

- Go Fishing!  Supplement with fish oils in liquid or capsule form to assist your fat burning potential. A study done at the University of Georgia found that fish oil with DHA helps stop the conversion of pre-fat cells into fat cells by causing them to die. This significantly decreases the accumulation of fat. [Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 136:2965-2969]  Aim for 3-6 grams per day.

There you have it!  A holiday guide to keep you on track with your fat loss goals.

- Rommel