If you’re like most people, the holidays are a time of mixed emotions. You’re excited and anxious to spend time with family, and you’re dreading the extra weight that you know you’re bound to gain. Are these holiday pounds inevitable?

Lean in close to catch these seven secret ways to help you fend off extra weight through the holidays. And once you’re done, don’t keep it a secret. Go tell somebody!

Holiday Secret #1: Listen to Your Body

It may not speak quickly enough all the time, but you know your body is constantly telling you things. Sometimes it tells you to stop a certain activity before you get hurt. During the holiday season, it tells you to put the brakes on your eating before you go beyond the point of no return. When your body tells you it’s full, listen up! A single bite after you’re full will lead to extra calories and eventually, extra pounds.

Holiday Secret #2: Confine the Holidays

For some, holidays become weeks and even months of poor eating. Be careful to avoid this pitfall by digging into your holiday foods only on the actual holiday. Treat the other days like normal days—even if you’re off of work. And when the holiday is over, let someone else take the leftovers home and go to your own house without any pudding or gravy in tow.

Holiday Secret #3: Eat First, Party Second

You read right—it’s good to eat before heading out the door. Have a healthy, well-rounded meal at home with fruits, vegetables, and your protein source of choice. And drink a tall glass of water. Why? So when you get to that holiday party that is overflowing with cookies, cakes, candies, and calories, you’re not hungry for it. Your stomach is full of healthy goodness and has no room for the fattening stuff.

Holiday Secret #4: Plan Your Escape

Getting away from food isn’t easy. If you expect to be able to walk away from delicious thigh- and gut-growing foods without any forethought, think again. Before walking into a potentially fattening situation, plan out what you’re going to eat and take your own dish to share if necessary. Any time there is a particularly difficult eating situation, make plans an hour or so after the dangerous-to-your-diet event begins and excuse yourself.

Holiday Secret #5: Exercise Everywhere

One of the best excuses to gain weight is that you have to travel to visit family and don’t have access to your personal trainer. Well, guess what? Just because your trainer isn’t staying in the hotel with you doesn’t mean you aren’t accountable! Scope out the area where you’ll be traveling and take advantage of whatever exercise opportunities are available. There may be a gym or pool at your hotel, a pay-as-you-go gym, or a nice park nearby where you can walk or run with or without family members.

Holiday Secret #6: Pay Attention to People

Holidays are about family and friends…right? Then stop focusing on food! When you go to a party, there is no need to hang out by the food table when there are people all around you! Ignore the grub and go for the meaningful stuff that you’ll remember and cherish. Besides, it’s much easier to talk without munching and you even listen better when you’re not stuck thinking about how good the next bite is going to be.

Holiday Secret #7: Drink Instead

No, this isn’t a license to drink as much alcohol as you can find. Doing that will add lots of useless calories to your waistline. Instead, do your best to make friends with a glass of water everywhere you go. As you mingle with your water glass, you’ll find it challenging to grab more than a couple of finger foods here and there, and the fact that it is water will help you remember to watch what else goes in your mouth!

Wouldn’t you love to make 2016 the year that you transform your body?

Wouldn’t it feel great to throw out all of your fat clothes? To look forward to bathing suit season? To be given a clean bill of health from your doctor? And to be showered with compliments by family, friends and that special someone?

It’s all more possible than you think.

But you’ll need to take massive action.

My programs are designed to quickly and efficiently get you into the best shape of your life.

Call or email now to schedule your first body transforming workout.

Go on, do it now and secure your spot before the New Year’s rush.

Red and green decorations are out, nostalgic tunes fill the airways and the kids are hard at work on their letters for Santa.

I know what's on your list this year and it isn't found at your local department store.

You're wishing for washboard abs—so I've put together "The Twelve Days of Christmas –Washboard Abs Edition" just for you.

On the First Day…Give yourself the gift of Burpees.
Created in the 1930's by psychologist Royal H. Burpee, the burpee is an intense full body exercise that helps burn fat and tone muscles. A burpee is done in the following 5 steps: 1) Stand with feet shoulder width apart. 2) Drop to a squat with your hands on the ground. 3) Kick feet back while lowering into a push-up. 4) Return to squat position. 5) Jump up with arms overhead.

On the Second Day…Give yourself the gift of Fiber.
Stocking up on fiber will do wonders for your abs. High fiber foods are nutrient dense and low in calories. Try these high fiber favorites: raspberries, pear (with skin), artichoke, peas, apples (with skin), broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and carrots.

On the Third Day…Give yourself the gift of a Medicine Ball.
The first medicine balls were created in Persia over 3,000 years ago, made with sand filled bladders and used by wrestlers as part of their conditioning. Today you can get the same rippling abs by incorporating medicine balls into your exercise routine. Do a sit-up holding a medicine ball at your chest then throw it to a partner as you raise your chest toward your knees; or hold a medicine ball with arms straight up in the air as you do crunches.

On the Fourth Day…Give yourself the gift of Reduced Salt.
Too much salt leads to water retention—and that spells disaster for your six pack. Pay attention to the sodium content of your food. Limit salt intake by not eating packaged foods and by putting down the salt shaker.

On the Fifth Day…Give yourself the gift of Oblique V-Sits.
Who really wants a muffin top? You don't, so incorporate Oblique V-Sits into your routine in 3 simple steps. 1) Lie on your side with legs straight and hands behind your head. 2) Raise your arms and legs simultaneously, while exhaling and squeezing your obliques. 3) Repeat on the other side.

On the Sixth Day…Give yourself the gift of Lean Protein.
Along with fiber, your meals should be packed with lean protein. This will help support muscle growth while controlling blood sugar – all important factors when it come to washboard abs.

On the Seventh Day…Give yourself the gift of Sprints.
The days of long slow cardio sessions are long gone. We now know that short intense bursts of cardio is the ideal way to melt fat. Run 60-90 second sprints in between resistance training sets to really kick your fat burning mechanism into high gear.

On the Eighth Day…Give yourself the gift of No Sugar.
Sure, sugar tastes good, but indulging in it causes your body to store layers of fat. Enjoy fresh fruit, rather than refined sugar. If you really want washboard abs, then say no to sugar.

On the Ninth Day…Give yourself the gift of Hanging Leg Raises.
This is one of the most effective ways to strengthen your abdominals. 1) Hang from pull-up bar with legs fully extended. 2) Exhale and drive your knees up toward your chest. 3) Inhale as you slowly lower your legs back down.

On the Tenth Day…Give yourself the gift of No Grain.
If you're serious about that six pack then put down the bread basket. Grains are full of insulin-spiking carbohydrates—the perfect combination for fattening you up. Learn to love grain-free meals that center around lean meats and vegetables.

On the Eleventh Day…Give yourself the gift of Mountain Climbers.
Here's another intense exercise that really targets your abs while also burning fat. 1) Get into push-up position. 2) Exhale as you alternately drive your knees in toward your chest, keeping your back flat.

On the Twelfth Day…Give yourself the gift of Washboard Abs.
Contact me about my tummy flattening programs that will get you those washboard abs that you're wishing for. Call or email today to get started.

A big part of eating for fat loss is keeping your metabolism going all day long with small, sensible meals and snacks. In theory, this is simple and easy: eat a little something every 2-3 hours throughout the day.

Unfortunately very few people do it right, resulting in frustrating weight gain.

The content of your snacks and small meals is of utmost importance. If you’re eating the wrong thing every 2-3 hours then it’s easy to gain weight quickly, rather than what you want, which is to drop fat and clothes sizes.

Let’s jump into the 3 Essential Snacking Tips that I have for you today to keep you on track and burning fat all day long…




Sugar is the biggest problem when it comes to fattening snacks, and so this needs to be the number one nutrient that you check. Your frequent snacks should contain very little, or zero, added sugars.

This is a pet peeve that I have: many ‘health’ foods have massive amounts of added sugars, which will destroy your results. Items like protein bars, jerky, dried fruit, green juice, and trail mix often have added sugars and preservatives that you need to watch out for and avoid.

Your snacks should have little to zero added sugars, and should be a nice blend of protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates.




When your snack comes in a package, after you make sure that it isn’t filled with sugar, check the serving size. It’s a popular technique for food manufacturers to give the nutritional facts for 2 or even 2.5 servings, on an item that you will likely polish off the entire package.

If the servings are more than just one then you’ll need to do some quick math. Calculate the total calories, sugar, carbs, fat and protein. Make sure that the numbers line up with your target nutrition sums.

Always be aware of how many servings you are eating in a single sitting. Do the math if you’re eating more than one serving – be honest with yourself!




As convenient as packaged health snacks are, you will always see better results by eating whole foods found in nature, or snacks that you’ve made at home with real food ingredients. Even the healthiest packaged protein bar from the store is going to contain preservatives and additives that are completely avoided in homemade foods.

A handful of raw nuts, a piece of fruit with fresh nut butter, a hard boiled egg, a homemade fitness muffin (recipe below), some chicken breast on veggies or chopped flank steak on a salad are all better options than any packaged snack.

When possible, stick with whole foods found in nature and snacks and meals that you make at home.

Are you participating in a consistent, challenging exercise program? If not then give me a call or shoot me an email today. Let’s get you started on the best exercise program that you’ll ever try!