Dear Friends,

Welcome to my Get Fit Newsletter!

In this edition, I cover the most effective method for burning fat with your cardio workouts ... HIIT.

Most people believe you have to spend a lot of time (1 hour plus) in the fitness center doing cardio workouts in order to get beneficial results.  This is not true.  In fact, if you spend too much time doing a cardio workout, you may start to burn muscle instead of fat during your workouts.  As a result, a person may even get fatter from too much cardio.  Sounds weird, but it's true.

All you need is about 15 - 40 minutes.  That's it.  But you have to do it the right way.  I cover this method in detail in my e-book "Build A Better Body," which is due to be released in January.  Here is a sneak preview ...

Also, here's some recipes right before the holidays.  Hope you like them!

Take your cardio workout to a new level with HIIT
Can you think of anything more torturous than spending an hour pedaling away on a bike or plodding along on the treadmill? You're not alone. Most exercise enthusiasts dread conventional cardio - why?

Because it's b-o-r-i-n-g.

So why do it at all? The goal of a cardio workout is to lose the unwanted inches and to develop the efficiency of your heart and lungs. But new studies are out that show our slow-go cardio sessions may not be as effective for burning off that holiday bulge as we thought.

When you plod along on the treadmill at an even pace, your body enters what is called a steady state. This means that your body has adjusted to the pace and is now trying to conserve energy.

Conserve energy? But I thought the point was to burn energy?

And so your dilemma goes: You can't stand the monotony of traditional cardio and it leaves you with less than satisfactory results. So what should you do?

The answer is HIIT, a new training technique that blasts both boredom and fat.


Check out what experts are saying:

"In research, HIIT has been shown to burn adipose (fat) tissue more effectively than low-intensity exercise - up to 50% more efficiently."

"HIIT speeds up your metabolism and keeps it revved up for some time after your workout. The bottom line is that HIIT training burns a greater number of total calories than low-intensity training, and more calories burned equals less fat on your body."

What is HIIT?

High-Intensity Interval Training: is an exercise strategy that improves performance with short training sessions. These sessions involve a warm up period, several short, maximum-intensity efforts that are separated by moderate recovery intervals, and a cool down period.

In other words, your 60 minutes of low-intensity cardio is replaced with more effective, High Intensity Interval Training for as little as 15 minutes. The addition of explosions of speed into your comfortable pace will increase your power, muscle tone, speed, strength, endurance and best of all will melt the inches off.

Here is an example of a HIIT program - this can be done on any form of cardio equipment or even jogging outside or swimming laps:

• Start with an easy 4 minute warm up, casually increasing your pace to the one that you usually maintain for your workout.
• Once you are sufficiently warm, sky rocket your intensity for 30 seconds.
• Return to your normal pace for the next 30 seconds and then sky rocket again.
• Repeat this 30-30 interval for 6 minutes and then gradually decrease your intensity as you enter a cooling off pace.
  
  

• Start with at least a 5 minute warm up, casually increasing your pace to the one that you usually maintain for your workout.
• Once you are sufficiently warm, increase your intensity for a full minute.
• Return to your normal pace and remain here until you have recovered enough to go again.
• Repeat this 1 minute interval with full recovery time between each one for the full extent of your workout and then gradually decrease your intensity as you enter a cooling off pace.
  
  

• Start with at least a 5 minute warm up, casually increasing your pace to the one that you usually maintain for your workout.
• Once you are sufficiently warm, change your speed and intensity for 2 minutes.
• Return to your normal pace for 2 minutes and then change your intensity and speed again. The key is to keep your body guessing - you aren't doing full intensity work, but you also aren't staying at the same pace for the entire length of the workout.
• Repeat this 2 minute interval for the full extent of your workout and then gradually decrease your intensity as you enter a cooling off pace.
  

Foods that are rich in fiber fill you up without fattening you up! Take time this holiday season to enjoy whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Enjoy fibrous food as a nutritious and beneficial snack!

The holidays are here& - and that means rich deserts galore. Try this Pumpkin Carmel Flan as a lighter alternative. You probably know that most of the fat in pies is found in the crust - well this delicious dish gives you all of the pumpkin taste that you love without the guilt-ridden crust. Yields 10 servings.

Ingredients:

Carmel:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

Flan:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
• 1 (12 oz) can evaporated skim milk
• 3/4 cup egg substitute
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the sugar and water in a heavy-gauged saucepan over medium heat. Stir while sugar melts. Let mixture boil without stirring for at least 5 minutes or until the liquid turns golden brown. Immediately pour into a 9” baking dish.

2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl - set aside. Mix the pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg substitute and vanilla in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients and blend well. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

3. Place the dish in a larger pan and pour hot water into the larger pan until the water comes halfway up the edge of the baking dish. Bake for 1 hour or until flan is set.

4. Cool at room temperature and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day before serving. Before serving run a sharp knife around the edge of the flan and invert onto a platter, making sure that the caramel runs down the top and sides. Garnish with sprinkled cinnamon and chopped nuts. Enjoy.

Nutrition facts: Here by popular demand, I will now be displaying the nutritional facts for the healthy recipes included in each newsletter. Check out how our Pumpkin Carmel Flan measures up against Traditional Pumpkin Pie - 120 fewer calories and 16 grams less fat.

Pumpkin Carmel Flan
Calories: 200
Total fat: 1g
Protein: 6g
Carbohydrate: 43g

Traditional Pumpkin Pie
Calories: 320
Total fat: 17g
Protein: 6g
Carbohydrate: 47g

Know anyone who could use these valuable tips and ideas? Give them a subscription to this newsletter by using the "refer a friend" link below!

Thanks for reading again.  Have a great holiday season!

Best Wishes,

Louis Moore, M.S.

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