"The Skinny"
on Weight Loss!

October 2009

Welcome to "The Skinny", our "new" monthly newsletter! I guess we're not so new anymore, since we're already on issue #8! We have received excellent feedback about our previous issues and hope you continue to enjoy our monthly e-zine! Our goal is to provide you with tips, tricks, and techniques you can use to help you achieve your wellness goals!

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If you have comments, ideas for future issues, or any kind of feedback, I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this e-zine and tell me what you think! You can also reach me through my contact page.

• Autumn is here and with it comes a harvest of hearty fall vegetables! Vow to eat plenty of your old favorites such as cabbage, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, winter squash, beets, and avocados, but also try some that you've never tried before. Enjoy Belgian endive, broccoli rabe, Swiss chard, arugula, kale, bok choy, and Brussel sprouts.

• Try this tip when trying to find the motivation to stay on a diet. Cut up thirty squares of paper for a 30-day diet. On each square, write a reason that you would like to lose weight and place the squares of paper in a bowl. You may want to wear your favorite jeans again; you may want an old ring to fit; you may want your cholesterol to decrease...you get the idea, right? Each morning, as you rise, choose a square of paper, and review that desire. Carry the paper with you if necessary. Keep it in your car if that is where you snack. Post it on the fridge if that will help. Just make that one desire the focus of your day. "I want to remain on my diet so that my ring will fit." "I want to remain on my diet so that my ring will fit." "I want to remain on my diet so that my ring will fit..."

• With so many wonderful vegetables at your disposal this fall, commit to eating "vegetarian" one day each week. If you cook for a family, serve them a wide variety for their vegetarian meals, so that they can explore their favorite flavors. Get the kids to participate by having them explore delicious-looking vegetarian recipes online. Make each family member responsible for coming up with 2 dishes they'd like to try. Fool the meat-eaters in your house with portobello mushrooms disguised as burgers.

• Now that the weather will be getting cooler, look for ways to stay active. Spend time outside raking leaves. Take long walks and enjoy the changing colors of nature. If it gets too cold for you, look for ways to be active inside. Take advantage of pools in city recreational centers. Walk in your local mall. Walk the stairs in a local office building. Check out workout DVDs from your local library, or follow along with the fitness classes on Fit TV. When there's a will, there's a way!

Activity monitors are becoming the new "in" thing in weight loss, especially with the popularity of The Biggest Loser. These monitors are generally worn on the arm and can provide information such as the number of calories burned for daily activities. Many people find the monitors to be motivating, and some studies have shown an increase in weight loss with the use of these devices. Below are some of the most popular activity monitors. Just click on them to read more...

The BodyBugg

The Fitbit

The GoWearFit

CT1 Calorie Tracker

SenseWear Armband

Find out what the experts have to say about these trackers:

Do they work?

And finally...the all-time worst idea for weight loss:

The Tongue Patch!

Click here to check out www.webmd.com. This particular link will take you to a section of their site where you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about winter squash tips and recipes, but when you get there, spend some time and look around. They have all kinds of wellness news from anti-aging tips, to weight loss, to mental health issues.

This timely site was a hit last month, so I'll leave the link for now. If you didn't get a chance before, check out this comprehensive site called Flu.gov

Whether you’ve been on and off diets too many times in the past, or some extra weight has just snuck up on you recently, a diet coach may be the solution to getting back into your skinny jeans!

The key to lasting weight loss is changing your habits instead of going on a diet. As a personal coach, Laurie Beebe is trained to help you realize the easy behavior changes you can make for maximum weight loss with minimum effort. As a registered dietitian for over 25 years, Laurie is educated and practiced in healthy, proven methods of weight loss. You won’t find crash diets, fad diets, or forbidden foods in her vocabulary.

Are you yearning to look better, feel better, improve your self-confidence, and stop obsessing about calories and what you’re allowed to eat? Do you look forward to getting back into a smaller dress size by next month, and improving your medical conditions by your next doctor visit? If so, Laurie can help you achieve those goals!

Laurie, the diet coach, is someone you can count on for accurate nutritional information, support, encouragement, and accountability. Laurie can help you find easy ways to cut calories each day, and turn your focus to making your diet and lifestyle healthy instead of making you feel more deprived. Start taking control of your diet now and go from wishing to weight loss, with the help of your personal diet coach!

Visit Laurie’s website for more information at www.mycoachlaurie.com and be sure to sign up for your free newsletter and tip sheets!

Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash
(from www.eatingwell.com)
Serves 6

3 acorn squash, (3/4-1 pound each)
5 ounces turkey sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 medium red bell pepper,chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several dashes hot red pepper sauce, to taste
one-half cup shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Cut squash in half horizontally. Scoop out and discard seeds. Place the squash cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add sausage and cook, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, beans, salt and hot sauce, scraping up any browned bits.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the tomatoes are broken down, 10 to 12 minutes.

When the squash are tender, reduce oven temperature to 325°.

Fill the squash halves with the turkey mixture. Top with cheese. Place on the baking sheet and bake until the filling is heated through and the cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

Per serving: 259 calories; 7 g fat (4 g sat, 1 g mono); 29 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbohydrates; 15 g protein; 7 g fiber; 482 mg sodium; 884 mg potassium

Check out these delicious autumn recipes:

Pumpkin Chili

Vegan Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin Pancakes

Weight Loss-vs-Weight Maintenance: Get the Results You Want!

I would love to include a "Subscriber's Success Story" each month. If you would like to be featured here or if you know someone who would, please reply to this email or use my contact page. Pictures aren't imperative, but they sure are inspiring!

• Winter squash, which includes acorn squash, butternut squash, and spaghetti squash (three of the most common varieties) are high in vitamins A and C, and rich in potassium, fiber, folate, and thiamin. Choose a squash that is heavy for it's size, with a thick, hard skin that has few blemishes. Basic preparation involves cutting the squash in half, scooping out the seeds, and roasting the sides on a cookie sheet for 30-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
  
  
• Winter squash varieties are the most concentrated vegetable forms of ALA omega-3 fatty acids, which can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. So if fish and flax seed don't excite you, then get your Omega-3s with winter squash!
  
  
• The history of Halloween dates back 2000 years! All Hallows Eve originated with the Celts to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of the New Year.
  
  
• According to Dr. Mao, a Yahoo!Health Expert, pumpkins help in the prevention of cataracts and macular degeneration with their high content of lutein and zeaxanthin, which scavenge free radicals in the lens of the eye.
  
  
• One of the very best diet motivators is to track your food and exercise. Keeping a food and exercise journal may actually double the number of pounds that a dieter loses according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. If writing down every calorie you eat is too labor-intensive, don't despair! Recording your food and the approximate amounts is just as effective as long as you record everything you eat. It's no surprise that those tastes and bites add up! For a convenient way to record this information, see our Easy Weight Loss Tips' 30-Day Food & Exercise Log!

Thank you for subscribing, and I hope you enjoyed this issue of "The Skinny" on Weight Loss! Please join us again next month for more weight loss fun!

Remember, if you have comments, ideas for future issues, or any kind of feedback, I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this e-zine and tell me what you think! You can also reach me through my contact page.

For comprehensive information about weight loss and wellness, please visit, Easy Weight Loss Tips!