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Weight Loss Tips From Biggest Loser Trainers
Posted on Dec 1st 2009 10:41AM by Men's Health
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Bob Harper may be the "nice" trainer on "The Biggest Loser," but there's serious intensity behind his southern drawl. And while his no-nonsense counterpart, Jillian Michaels, is known to make grown men weep with her tough workouts, she admits she doesn't like the gym. Click through the gallery to learn their tips for dropping your gut for good.
Go Topless
An easy way to cut 100 calories? Take the top off your burger. Four more ways to slash 100:
1. Low-calorie dressing: These can reduce a salad's cal count by 200.
2. Forgo french fries: Get just the sandwich instead of the combo meal: You'll save 250 calories or more.
3. Sauce on the side: "If you put 2 tablespoons [on your meal] instead of 7 or 8, you can drastically cut your calories," Harper says.
4. Use more mustard: "It's a great way to put spice in food and keep calories low," Harper says.
Lose Your Gut
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Go Topless
An easy way to cut 100 calories? Take the top off your burger. Four more ways to slash 100:
1. Low-calorie dressing: These can reduce a salad's cal count by 200.
2. Forgo french fries: Get just the sandwich instead of the combo meal: You'll save 250 calories or more.
3. Sauce on the side: "If you put 2 tablespoons [on your meal] instead of 7 or 8, you can drastically cut your calories," Harper says.
4. Use more mustard: "It's a great way to put spice in food and keep calories low," Harper says.
Do Pull-ups
"Pull-ups are the most important exercise," Harper says. "If you can somehow find a way to do pull-ups and pushups in your house, then you have one of the best workouts you can do."
The power behind these bodyweight super moves: "You have to ... lift your whole body," Harper says. "You show your true strength if you can do a pull-up because of all the muscles that are involved in the movement."
Try This Last-Chance Workout
Want to burn more in less time? Try Harper's interval workout: Run on a treadmill for 10 minutes, then move to the ground: Do upper-body moves -- like pushups, shoulder-press pushups, and planks -- for two minutes. Get back on the treadmill for another two minutes.
Alternate two-minute sessions between the treadmill and the floor for 30 minutes -- you'll be soaked with sweat, and closer to your goals.
"If you only have a half an hour to work out, you have to press that gas pedal all the way down to burn as much fat as you can," Harper says.
Stretch Like a Girl
Want to ward off injury and look thinner with one workout? Try yoga -- but don't think it will be easy.
"It's not just about sitting on a mat and meditation," says Harper, who is a trained yoga instructor and often practices with contestants on the show. "It's very physical. At the end of the day, you're on the ground on a mat utilizing your own bodyweight. You'll be sweating your ass off."
In order to lose weight, Harper recommends transitioning through the positions quickly to keep your heart rate up. When done this way, yoga becomes an intense aerobic exercise while unlocking its age-defying powers.
"Keeping your body flexible and agile as we get older is key to looking younger," Harper says.
Stick With These Snacks
"If you want chips, find smaller, kid-sized portions of food," Harper says. "The last thing you want is one of those large servings of anything in your house, because you're going to eat it all."
The trainer says 100-calorie packs are a preferable, portion-controlled evil: "[They're not the most nutritious] snack, but at the end of the day you know it's only 100 calories."
Eat Beans
"[Losing your gut] is not about abs contractions," Harper says. "It's got to be diet first."
His favorite fat-fighting food? Black beans. He eats a black bean burger after his workout most days, and combines quinoa with black beans and salsa for an anytime snack packed with carbs and protein.
Eat Unlimited Foods
Michaels says what your Mom would: To lose weight, eat your vegetables.
"You can fill yourself up, you're getting tons of fiber," she says, "and you can eat in unlimited fashion to manage your hunger."
Her favorite? Brussels sprouts: "They were punishment for me when I was a kid, but now roasted garlic Brussels sprouts taste good to me."
How to Get Her to Join You
The Biggest Loser has changed, adding spouses and girlfriends and friends to the mix for a "couples" approach. But can a regular guy convince his wife or girlfriend to join his weight-loss mission without earning a spot in the dog house?
"It's a difficult thing," Michaels says. "First, you have to show them it's worth it."
Translation: Start alone and stick to your plan to make it work. When she sees your progress, she'll be inspired and you can introduce the idea.
"Make them feel like it was their idea," Michaels says. "Then offer them an education -- a book, a Web site subscription, a workout download, or a few sessions with a trainer."
The added accountability, she says, can both build your self-esteem and push you towards your goals.
Give in to Yourself
"Will power is like a tank of gas -- it gets depleted throughout the day," Michaels says. "Stay motivated by allowing yourself to have something you like every day, and work it into your calorie allotment."
Stop Walking
Contestants on The Biggest Loser do hours of low-impact cardio training in addition to grueling workouts with Michaels and Harper.
"But I think of low-impact like gravy," Michaels says. It's extra training for after high-intensity work. "If you're not morbidly obese or injured, I'd get rid of low impact entirely."
"If you're going to the gym for an hour a day, move your ass for as long as possible, as intensely as possible," she says.
