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New Years resolutions are fast upon us and so are those holiday pounds.
So we teamed up with our friends at Health.com for a fat blasting New Year's special.
Here's the 50 fastest ways you can burn that blubber.
1. Catch the Running Bug
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You'll continue to burn fat after your jog: People who run for at least four hours a week melt more calories than non-runners, even when they're not running, a Yale University School of Medicine study reports.
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Working out harder during the first half of your workout and taking it easier during the second burns up to 23 percent more fat than doing the opposite, according to a study from The College of New Jersey.
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Staying at 80 percent of your max heart rate for 40 minutes can amp your metabolism for 19 hours afterward, research published in Obesity notes. And doing a shorter workout at 75 percent of your max aerobic capacity will give you a greater metabolic boost than sweating longer at 50 percent, a Colorado State University reveals.
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More muscle equals mega metabolism boost. Strength training can help you trim major fat, research reveals - and doing super-slow (versus normal speed) reps increases strength by 50 percent. Plus, using dumbbells activates more muscle fibers than using machines, explains Gregory Haff, PhD, an associate professor in the exercise physiology department at West Virginia University.
<br><br><a href="http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20352009,00.html">More at Health.com: 7 Foods that Fight Fat</a><br>
8. Speed Up, Slow Down
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Alternating bouts of high-intensity and low-intensity cardio has been shown to torch pounds.
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Listening to up-tempo songs actually makes you run faster and harder than listening to slower-paced music, British scientists say.
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Not only does working out with kettlebells build muscle, but doing it for 20 minutes burns as many calories as running at a 6-minute-mile pace for the same amount of time.
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As few as 80 minutes a week of aerobic or weight training helps keep you from regaining belly fat after losing weight, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
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Doing strength training before cardio can torch more fat than cardio alone. And if you do one move after another without pausing, "you'll see more gains in strength and muscle mass," says Pierre Manfroy, MD, consultant for the book 100 Ways to Supercharge Your Metabolism.
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Exercisers who inhaled strawberry and buttered-popcorn scents torched more calories than those who sniffed neutral odors, according to research from the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.
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Playing soccer not only torches more fat and builds more muscle than jogging, but it feels less tiring, Danish research reveals.
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Eating a protein-packed breakfast and lunch helps you burn more post-meal fat than if you eat lower-protein meals, according to Australian research.
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Downing five 5-ounce cups of green tea a day boosts metabolism, says Lyssie Lakatos, RD, author of Fire Up Your Metabolism. Two cups of coffee will also do the trick, one study shows.
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Eating two eggs for breakfast while dieting will help you trim more weight and body fat than if you ate the same amount of calories noshing on a bagel, scientists say.
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"The average person's body goes into starvation mode if she eats fewer than 1,200 calories a day," says Eric Berg, author of The 7 Principles of Fat Burning. "That's stress, and stress creates more belly fat."
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Eating a low-glycemic-index breakfast (such as muesli and peaches) will help you burn more fat during a subsequent workout than eating a high-glycemic-index meal (like waffles), researchers from the University of Nottingham reveal.
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Women who go without eating for long periods are more likely to have higher body-fat percentages than women who nosh more regularly, one study notes.
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Eating a diet rich in monounsaturated fat (think olive oil, avocados) can help trim both weight and fat, research published in the British Journal of Nutrition shows.
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Your body can only handle so much food at a time, so stick to 600 calories or less per meal to maximize fat-burning, says Leslie Cooper, co-author of Flip the Switch: Proven Strategies to Fuel Your Metabolism and Burn Fat 24 Hours a Day.
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Reaching for an apple instead of apple juice is not only better calorie-wise, but it'll also do a better job of boosting your metabolism, Dr. Manfroy explains.
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Researchers found that fitness-friendly offices (think treadmill desks, mobile headsets) helped people trim pounds and fat, as did wearing jeans to work, since dressing casual encourages you to move more. Wear comfy clothes when you can, pace while on the phone, and stand while chatting with co-workers.
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Keeping nontraditional hours lowers levels of hormones that trigger satiety, increases blood glucose and insulin levels, and raises levels of the stress hormone cortisol (which can drive you to eat more), scientists say.
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Your body may not digest food - and burn fat - as efficiently if you down a huge meal right before bedtime, especially because your metabolism is slower while you sleep, Dr. Manfroy says.
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Wake up your metabolism - and get fat-burning started - by doing some sort of exercise within the first few hours of being awake, Cooper suggests.
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Sleep for a solid 8 1/2 hours instead of 5 1/2, according to research published in
the Annals of Internal Medicine, and you'll lose more fat. Sweet dreams!
