I have some good news and some bad news. Do you want the good news first, or the bad news? Well, let’s start with the good news. The good news is….it’s that special time of year again-----the holidays!!! And the bad news is……it’s that special time of year again-----the holidays!!!

If you are like me, you have a love-hate relationship with the holidays. Of course, I love celebrating and spending quality time with my family and friends, and enjoying the special holiday meals and treats, and of course, remembering the significance of what the holidays are all about. But I also can’t deny the fact that the holidays can also be quite stressful, for so many different reasons. I am sure I am not alone in feeling this way. With all this stress, sometimes we tend to let our routine exercise program go by the wayside. This is too bad, because it’s our exercise routine that can help relieve much of this holiday stress. And with a reduction in our routine exercise program, and with the abundance of food that is available around the holidays----well, you know what happens: Wěight Gain.

Well, I have another bit of good news and bad news. The bad news is, most of us do gain wěight over the holidays. The good news, however, is that wěight gain from the period of Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day is not quite as bad as people make it out to be. For some reason, it’s believed that the average person gains 5 pounds or more during the holidays, but actually, it’s only about 1 pound over this time period. Year after year, though, this one pound can potentially add to those other unwanted pounds put on during the rest of the year. But, it doesn’t have to be this way. To help you relieve stress during this holiday season, and to prevent unwanted wěight gain, as well as stay “at the top of your game,” please review this newsletter for some great ideas on how you can prevent from “stuffing” yourself this holiday season, and prevent unwanted wëight gain. In addition, I would love to give you my 20-page report on “Surviving the Holidays,” that includes 12-pages of scrumptious healthy holiday recipes. To get your complimentary copy, simply have three of your friends or family members sign-up for The Step-Power Weigh as soon as possible. Email me their names and I will send all of you this wonderful packet of information. Better do it nŏw before you forget!

Please do read the remainder of this information-packed newsletter. Take as little or as much as you want from it, but I hope you will get some great ideas to help you better survive the holidays. Also, this month is National Diabetes Awareness Month. People with diabetes need to be especially alert to controlling their blood sugars around this time of the year. Refer to the Diabetes Corner for how you can do this even better. And don’t forget to save the sample “everyday” meal plan with recipes in this month’s newsletter and the delicious low calorie egg nogg recipe. Hope you are hungry!

Get a head start on your holiday shopping with a gift cërtificate from HealthSteps Rx in any amount, and if you purchase prior to December 15 th, you or your recipient will get these significant discounts and services, as our gift to you. This gift will become even better, when HealthSteps Rx announces in the December newsletter, how our collaboration with a very well-known and well-respected medical doctor’s wëight loss program can further help you lośe or maintain wëight even easier, and save you monëy at the same time. Don’t forget to look for this announcement in the December 2005, The Step-Power Weigh. You’ll be glad you did!

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Cheryl

General Table of Contents: I.   Wellness Topic II.   Food Focus III.   Recipe Rescue IV.   Meal Plan V.   Diabetes Corner VI.   Take the Challenge VII.   To Leave

I. Wellness Topic of the Month: Adapting Recipes & The Exercise Connection

Which Turkey Are You Stuffing This Year?

Oh, the dynamics of the holidays! For most people sharing food is an important and traditional way to spread the holiday cheer. It is an occasion of happiness marked by extra time spent with friends and family, scrumptious holiday food and a spirit of giving. For others, however, the holidays are marked by dread, fear of overeating and the impending inability to take control of food. There is good news, however. You can choose not to meet the New Year with excess wëight.

Enjoying a traditional meal or celebrating with family and friends need not destroy the healthy lifestyle habits you have developed through the year. With a little meal planning and a few holiday strategies, you can greet the New Year without the dread of extra pounds. Hëre are some suggestions on how you can modify your traditional holiday menu and recipes to reduce the calories, fat, and cholesterol. For even more suggestions on how to better “survive the holidays,” with many delicious holiday favorite recipes, see above on how to get a complimentary 20-page report.

Instead of: Use:

Don’t forget the exercise connection when consuming traditional versus modified holiday versions. See below for how long it might take for a 160-pound person to walk off (at moderate intensity), these selected foods from a holiday dinner.

Turkey

½ cup mashed sweet potatoes

2 T gravy

Pumpkin pie

HealthSteps Rx can help you improve your nutritional and fitness lifestyle, and help you sort through any health or medical conditions. There are many services available at www.HealthStepsRx.com, with various price options to fit your budget. Medicare benefits accepted for some conditions and some medical plans are accepted.

II. Food Focus

• Food Focus Feature: Poultry

III. Recipe Rescue

• Recipe Rescue Feature: Typical Holiday Meal & Egg Nogg

Look for the improved and modified recipes for this meal and more in “ Surviving the Holidays .” ---a complimentary report for you and three of your friends who sign up for “ The Step-Power Weigh.” For a delicious and modified version of Egg Nogg , go hëre. By creating this version of Healthy Egg Nogg, you will save 164 calories and 17.5 grams of fat from the regular “full-fat” egg nogg. Bon Appetit!

If you would like to see your “modified for health” recipe in this section, remember to ask your friends and family to sign up for The Step-Power Weigh ezine, then send me their names. When two people sign up that you have referred, you are eligible to be placed in a drawing to have your recipe modified. You can choose to be anonymous, or provide your name. In addition, you will be sent a copy of the recipe to add to your family recipe book. Don’t you want to start passing down your delicious and healthy recipes to the next generations?

If your recipe is not chosen and you would still like a “healthy modification” for your recipe, HealthSteps Rx offers this service at a very reasonable fee, but this service is also provided complimentary, when you sign up for one of HealthSteps Rx Wellness Programs.

If you would like more great recipe ideas, you will find plenty here: http://www.healthstepsrx.com/shops/books.htm

IV. Meal Plan of the Month

• Meal Plan Feature: 1800 Calorie Meal Plan

Keep in mind that all meal plans are not suitable for everyone. I offer you a sample meal plan in this newsletter because it is the number one request from my clients, but it is my goal to provide you the “tools” for you to be able to eventually design your own meal plans. What’s the old saying? “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Well, that too, is my philosophy and plan for you!

In addition, it is obvious that the calorie levels of these meal plans will not be suitable for everyone, so I encourage you to learn how many calories a day you need to promote a healthy lifestyle by setting up an individualized nutrition consultation with me. You wouldn’t try to balance your checkbook without first knowing exactly what your deposits and expenditures are, so why attempt to balance your "W" without knowing exactly how many calories your body needs? Thanks to technology, I can also easily assess your unique and personalized metabolic rate.

You will have temporary complimentary access to this meal plan for one month, and then it will only be available to all HealthSteps Rx Wellness Program clients via password. Keep your eye out for the next quarterly ezine for another great meal plan in a different calorie level.

V. Diabetes Corner

• November is National Diabetes Awareness Month

If you remember, back in August 2005, I felt it necessary to devote the entire “ The Step-Power Weigh ” ezine to the awareness of a national healthcare crisis we are nŏw facing: the widespread of diabetes in America . So, although, November is considered National Diabetes Awareness Month, “ The Step-Power Weigh ,” feels that everyone, “everyday” needs to be aware of this serious condition facing us all. If you do not have diabetes or do not have a loved one or friend with diabetes, you are undoubtedly still affected by this disease, due to the significant financial burden on our healthcare system. L earn why it is essential to become aware and educated about diabetes in Diabetes Overview: A Society Dilemma.

• Diabetes Corner Lesson: “Another reason not to let your exercise routine slide during the holidays and the winter season”

In a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in March 2005, it was reported that researches working in Veterans Health Administration centers across America , have found a link between cold weather and increased A1C values. The A1C value is a measure of one’s blood glucose control over the past three months, and it is a very important and easy blood test all people with diabetes should have regularly.

The authors of this study are not yet sure how cold triggers a rise in A1C, but it is suspected that it may be due to the same unknown physical response to cold that also causes blood pressure and heart rate to rise. Other studies have also shown that heart attacks and strokes also follow a similar seasonal pattern, and these patterns might influence how diabetes control is maintained.

This information is valuable, for it emphasizes the need for one to be even more diligent during the winter and the holidays, in controlling daily blood sugar. There are big rewards to blood sugar control and reduced A1C values. For every 1 percent decrease in A1C, there is a reduction in the complication of diabetes by 25 to 35%. A person with diabetes should aim for a A1C value of less than 6.5%.

One very important way to improve glucose control and A1C values, is to get adequate activity and exercise. If you find yourself overeating during the holidays, don’t forget how important it will be, especially at this time of year, to go out for an extra walk, or whatever activity you are able to do. To make controlling your diabetes a little easier, hëre is a complimentary Diabetes Self-Care Record. To monitor how many steps you are walking and to get you to your step goal, invest in your health and in a high quality pedometer. HealthSteps Rx will provide you a complimentary 12-page Pedometer Activity Program. And remember, pedometers make excellent stocking stuffers.

Whether or not you have diabetes, or know of someone with this disease, learn why it is essential to become aware and educated about diabetes in Diabetes Overview: A Society Dilemma.

VI. Take the Challenge

What can you do this week that gets you closer to your goal? Taking the “first step” in trying new things or eliminating others, is always the most difficult. But, I promise you, once you are successful at this first step, all the other steps are that much easier. And before you know it, you’ll be wondering what took you so long. :-)

• Challenge: I will increase the number of steps I walk each day during the time period of Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day by 50 steps a day, until I reach my goal. I will walk outside in the neighborhood and enjoy the beautiful lighted decorations, or I will find a warm and safe place to walk, e.g. the mall, a gym, a supermarket, a school.
  
• Rationale: Walking will help burn off those extra calories consumed around the holidays, help relieve holiday stress, plus help reduce A1C values, not to mention the many other health benefits of walking.

VII. To Leave The Step-Power Weigh

It’s quite understandable if you need to unsubscribe to The Step-Power Weigh, for whatever reason. One thing is always for sure: life is always changing, so our needs often change with it.

If someone has thought enough about you to share this issue of The Step-Power Weigh with you and you are not currently on The Step-Power Weigh list, please join.

For those who choose to continue to receive The Step-Power Weigh, be assured that I will not share or sell your name or email address.

Here’s to Your Health!

Cheryl Winter, M.S., R.D., R.N.
HealthSteps Rx
info@HealthStepsRx.com
www.HealthStepsRx.com

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