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At this time of year, we can use every last tip to help avoid excess weight gain. So here are 5 fat loss tips for beginner & advanced readers.

1) No liquid calories (with the exception of a post-workout drink). Get rid of all the sodas, sugary sports drinks, juices. Sugary liquid is the last thing you need when you are losing weight. Lay off wine and beer and other alcohol drinks, Mixed drinks can sneak up on you (like “Jack and Coke”, which is over 200 calories - 100 calories from booze and 100 calories from mix).

2) No fast food. Avoid fast food restaurants. Even if you choose what you think is healthy, remember this - fast food restaurants are all about profit. And in order to profit while giving you cheap, quick, and easy to prepare foods, the quality of the food ingredients will be poor - especially the protein.

Now you might have read that you can still make healthy choices at fast food restaurants. But you know what, that’s just politically-correct opinion. Fast food is simply not good. Walking into a burger joint and grabbing a chicken breast on a white bread bun with a piece of old lettuce and a half-green, half-pink tomato is “barely” healthy eating.

The politically-incorrect truth is that it’s going to take determination to eat properly. You will have to prepare and serve healthy meals. You will have to spend time cleaning, cutting, and cooking your food. That’s the truth. But believe me, it will taste so much better than fast food, and healthy eating will make you more alert. Eating fast food will sap your energy, and you’ll wind up taking an afternoon nap at your desk. Make one small improvement to your nutrition everyday for the rest of your life.

3) Eat more fruits and vegetables. If you are eating a couple servings per day, then go up to 4 servings per day by the end of the week. And even if you think you are doing great by having 5 servings per day, you still need to double that (take 2-3 weeks to work your way up to 10 servings per day). Stick with fiber-rich fruits and vegetables - organic if possible.

4) Eat 1oz of almonds or walnuts per day (1/2 oz in the AM, and the other half in the afternoon). Most nuts are roasted in oils (possible source of trans fats), so stick to natural or dry-roasted nuts. Don’t panic…this small amount of nuts won’t make you fat, but will fill you up and help you lose weight.

5) Be consistent with your workouts, and make sure your fat burning workouts are efficient and effective. To make it easy for you to follow, stick with the Turbulence Training fat burning workout system. Don’t fret the details.Train consistently, whether it’s morning before or after breakfast, at night before or after dinner, or at 1pm on days when the moon is in line with Saturn.

6) BONUS TIP: Go for a walk after you eat a big meal like lunch or dinner. Any movement is better than sitting around watching TV and snacking, and according to research will help control cholesterol and triglycerides,.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Author, Turbulence Training