Glam Slam: Fight Holiday Weight Gain

My mouth is already watering thinking about all the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, squash and pumpkin pie I’ll be enjoying tomorrow. Yummy!!!! On average, people consume between 3,000 and 4,000 calories in one sitting during a holiday meal.

I’m not going to feel guilty about indulging though, because there are plenty of ways to take action against weight gain.

DavidBartonGym (with locations in New York, Miami, Chicago and Seattle… and soon, Los Angeles!) is offering free workouts to the public and a special and very intense class called Carved, to prevent the post-dinner weight gain.

If you can’t get to one of the gyms (where celebs Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, the Kardashians, A-Rod, Pink, and Zac Efron get in shape), David Barton offers his top tricks to avoid weight gain, no matter what you eat. “It’s completely possible to enjoy all your holiday favorites without gaining a pound, if you take the right steps on Thanksgiving Day leading up to your dinner.”

1. Contrary to common beliefs, it’s not about what you do after your Thanksgiving dinner to “burn the calories.” It’s the opposite, in fact. Turn to a weight-intensive workout within two hours of sitting down to your holiday meal. It sets the body into a calorie burning hormonal state that won’t store fat. The workout should target all your muscle groups with heavy weights and multiple sets, while engaging you in active recovery segments. Within two hours, your body will be in a hormonal state that prevents you from storing fat and allows you to feast on your favorites without gaining a pound.

2. Whether you’re going to your local gym or working out at your hotel gym while you visit your family, embrace weights on Thanksgiving. They are the key to your success and the only proven method to change your body composition. Moves that integrate heavy weights, like barbells, are musts.

3. Pass on the carbs during the day of Thanksgiving, leading up to your holiday dinner. That way, when you are lifting weights, your muscles are starving for oxygen and become insulin hypersensitive. Afterwards, whatever you eat will go into your muscles as opposed to fat cells.

4. Just say “no” to the cardio. Cardio is catabolic and won’t create the hormonal state you need to avoid weight gain. Instead, turn to heavy, basic workouts, like squats, deadlifts and bench presses.

For more info, head to www.davidbartongym.com.