52 Ways to Cut Fat in 2012

It's the new year and I'm looking to get re-motivated and back on track. The New Year is a great time to get energized and ready to lose weight. I mean, isn't that the majority of resolutions out there? 

My WIW posts feature a weekly challenge. I know what my faults are and it's a good reminder to re-focus on those faults. But what about those that I don't know about? Because it's the New Year, there are tons of articles that talk about "10 steps to a flat belly" or "lose 20 lbs in 5 days". Yeah. Right. 

This article from Fitbie.com, though, is an interesting one. There are 52 weeks in a year, so basically, this is giving you one new challenge per week throughout the year. This is definitely something I can look to when I'm looking for a new weekly challenge! 

As I was going through the list, I was happy to see that there are quite a few that I'm already doing. But there were others that were new.....and some that were surprising. Here are just a few:

•  Have a glass of wine. Rat studies show that resveratrol, a compound in red wine, may help fight weight gain when eating a high-fat diet. The same seems to hold true in humans. Harvard researchers found that women who drank about two glasses a day gained less weight and were less likely to become overweight than teetotalers.
•  But avoid vodka. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that drinking even as little as 1 ounce of vodka can slow your metabolism by as much as 73%.
•  Drink chocolate milk. McMaster University researchers compared the effects of downing low-fat chocolate milk, fat-free soy protein drink, and a traditional carbohydrate recovery drink after exercise. Not only did the milk drinkers gain more muscle than those who drank the soy and carbohydrate beverages, but they also lost twice as much fat.
•  Sweeten with cinnamon. An in vitro study by the USDA found that the spice can increase the rate at which sugar is metabolized by 20-fold. Eating 1/4 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of cinnamon a day has also been shown to lower blood sugar levels. The spice is also a great low-calorie alternative to sugar to sweeten your coffee.
•  Load up on lobster. Arginine, an amino acid found in lobster, nuts, seeds, and watermelon may help you burn more fat, according to a study in the American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism. Researchers followed two groups of people on a diet and exercise program. One group received an 8.3 g arginine supplement daily. While both groups lost about 7 pounds in 21 days, those who took the arginine supplement lost only fat, while 57% of the weight loss of the control group was from muscle.