With barbecue season in full swing, and tailgating parties coming fast, the beer will be flowing freely. This may be fun in the short-term but in the long-term it will wreak havoc on your physique. If you have enjoyed yourself too much this summer and have accumulated a beer belly, use these six tips to get your gut back on track.
<p class='slide-count'>1 of 6</p><img width="1109" height="614" src="/uploadfile/2024/1208/20241208190458980.jpg"><p class="photo-credit">Dougal Waters / Getty</p>Drink One Glass of Water Per Beer
To go cold turkey and shut the beer tap altogether may be asking too much. You also want to have a life and enjoy yourself. To make this work, you just need to control your consumption. For every beer that you drink, take a break and have a glass of water. This will help control the volume of beer that you drink and it will also keep you better hydrated. Staying hydrated is a key element to staying lean so you help this factor out as well.
Hinterhaus Productions / Getty
Try Intermittent Fasting
Various methods of fasting can be beneficial when trying to lose fat. My favorite methods are the Warrior Diet (20 hour fast/four-hour feed), Leangains Method (16 hour fast/eight-hour feed) and the 5/2 method (eat regularly five days a week and two days a week only eat 400 to 800 calories). By fasting for a period of time, you control your hunger hormone Ghrelin, control insulin sensitivity and reduce overall calories to help aid in fat loss.
Westend61 / Getty
Increase Protein. Reduce Carbs
Beer has a lot of sugar from the alcohol and carbohydrates. Both of these are sure to put fat loss at a halt. By increasing your protein intake to at least one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight and decreasing your carbohydrate intake to one gram of carbs per pound of body weight, you’ll help accelerate some fat loss.
By reducing your carbs, you will help burn fat as fuel and reduce the amount of water you may be holding from all of the beer consumption. Increasing your protein intake will have a more thermic affect on your metabolism, reduce hunger and improve your ability to build muscle, which aids in fat loss.
Manuel Breva Colmeiro / Getty
Only Drink Beer Once a Week
As mentioned in tip earlier, it will be hard to go cold turkey so I recommend picking just one day a week to enjoy beer. This has worked well for my clients that want to improve their physique but also want to have a life and enjoy themselves at a summer outing. The best thing to do is pick that one day or event to enjoy some cold ones. This helps you mentally by having something to look forward to and reduces the urge to cheat more often.
Hero Images / Getty
Put In Some Extra Work
Sneaking in some extra movement in each day can add up to a lot of caloric burn and increased metabolism over time. If you’re already getting in three to five solid workouts in each week that includes hitting the weights hard and a little metabolic work, it’s now time to do a little extra. My suggestion is to take 10 minutes each day and perform a mini-workout at any time during the day.
My favorite is the kettlebell swing and burpee combo. This mini-workout won’t tax your muscles so much that it hinders your recovery but hits the metabolism hard and helps improve work capacity and conditioning.
For 10 minutes, alternate 10 kettlebell swings and five burpees. Rest as needed, and try and get as many reps and rounds in as possible.
Emilija Manevska / Getty
Ditch the Beer for Two Weeks
If you listened to tip number one and four and followed through with them, your body and mind should be ready to take it to the next level. If you commit to taking two weeks off from drinking any beer or alcohol, your body will make some dramatic improves in a short amount of time. You will help increase fat mobilization, insulin sensitivity, testosterone, growth hormone and many other metabolic factors. In a sense you will be pushing the “reset” button for your body and metabolism and your will prime your body to go to the next level.