Six Tricks for Treating Yourself

Candy corn and malted milkballs make their annual appearance for Halloween -- but the sweet suckables you'll eat between now and New Year's may leave you feeling sour in 2006. Want to avoid one more weight-loss resolution? Try these six tips:

1. Smart Shopping: If you have a sweet tooth, avoid buying sugar-laden snacks. Small, prepackaged bags of plain popcorn, pretzels, vanilla wafers, gingersnaps and animal crackers are typically low in fat and calories. Not your style? For a little more sweetness, try low-fat options like sugar-free candies, licorice and fruit chews. Watch how much you buy, too.
2. Give It All Out: Why hang onto it? Looming leftovers can get you into trouble. When trick-or-treaters arrive, pile their bags full. You'll be the coolest neighbor on the block. Remember, candy out of sight is out of mouth.
3. Take It to Work: Don't keep extra candy around your home, particularly when it's in plain view. Want to see it disappear? Leave them in your kitchen for coffee-breakers. You'll be the life of the party when you bring a bowl to your next team meeting. Give your co-workers a sugar rush and get in good with the boss.
4. Send It to School: Be the dutiful parent. Sign up to bring treats to the next birthday party, science fair or PTA meeting. It's a small gesture with big rewards.
5. Donate It to Charity: Somewhere, there's a family less fortunate than yours. Give back to your community. Package up your extras and take them to a local shelter or halfway house. Larger gifts may even be tax-deductible. Find creative ways to donate in your neighborhood.
6. Throw It Out: When you've exhausted all other alternatives, head to the trash. Guilty? Don't be. You'll feel worse at the scales after eating what's left.

Halloween Tips

Halloween brings back visions of buckets of candy, caramel apples, and tons of sugary snacks. It's only once a year, but afterwards Halloween lingers for weeks as the candy disappears. Choose to let Halloween be a fun family holiday and not just a sugary candy rush. Here are a few great recipes to keep the spirit of Halloween alive without totally blowing all your hard work.

Witches Brew- Mix orange and grape Sugar Free Kool-Aid by directions to create a black drink. Add your favorite sweetener and fill a latex glove with water and freeze. Add the gloved spooky hand to your brew to keep chilled.

Baked Apples- 1 small apple per person, 1 tablespoon Sugar Twin Brown sugar, dash of cinnamon. Core the apples and peel a 1-inch strip from around center of apple. Place upright in baking dish. Pour brown sugar and cinnamon into center of apple. Pour water into baking dish to ¼ inch depth. Bake uncovered 350 degrees until tender, about 30-40 minutes. Spoon syrup created from baking over apple several times during baking. Voila! A great treat and good for you too!

Add Fitness to your Daily Routine

If you find you can't devote enough time to getting in shape as you would like, there are still plenty of ways you can keep your body active while going about your normal routine.

• Try to use stairways instead of elevators whenever possible.
• If you can walk there or take a bike, let your body burn energy instead of taking your car.
• If you are driving, instead of wasting time looking for a good spot, park further away and walk a couple extra blocks.
• Turn your housework into a fitness challenge: Sweep and mop using as much energy as possible, exaggerating your arm movements. Fold your clothes and do a couple sets of squats at the same time. Whatever you're doing try and incorporate in some sort of routine that gets your muscles working and heart rate moving.
• And if you absolutely can't miss your favorite show on TV, try doing some sit-ups and push-ups while you watch or during commercials.

Calorie Burner Tip Sheet

Cutting 100 calories can be easier than you thank with everyday activities.

The following activities will burn 100 calories in a healthy person who weights up to 150 pounds. For the rest of us, our heavier weights mean we will burn more calories.

As always, consult with your doctor before doing any physical activity.

Sunday: Mow the lawn (using manual mower) for 25 to 30 minutes.
Monday: Clean/vacuum/mop floor for 25 to 35 minutes.
Tuesday: Ride your bicycle for 20 to 30 minutes at around 5 ½ mph.
Wednesday: Paint with a brush for 35 to 40 minutes.
Thursday: Stack firewood for 15 to 20 minutes.
Friday: Play tennis for 20 to 25 minutes.
Saturday: Wash and wax car for 20 to 25 minutes.

Tip of the Week

You don't need to work yourself to death on fitness machines or hang out in stinky gyms to get some healthy exercise.What's wrong with just getting out and having some outdoor fun while you burn away the calories? Here's a few fun things to do outdoors this fall that don't involve long workouts or tiresome treadmill treks.

1. Swing With The Kids -- Take the kids to the park and give them a push. Try to get your whole body into it and push with your legs, hips, arms and shoulders. Don't overdo it but see how much stamina you have. You can even make a game of it and try to do 100 pushes. Your kids are sure to have fun with it, too.

2. Pedal Some Pounds Away -- Dust off the old bike and take a ride. Just 30-minutes at a moderate pace will consume about 250 calories. Think what that adds up to if you stay with it several days a week.

3. Throw a Frisbee -- Hey, its fun...and it gets you outside and can really burn some calories. And, its a great way to spend more fun time with your family.

4. Jump Rope -- This will really burn some calories but be sure you are up to it before you try. If you haven't jumped in a while, take a rest every few minutes and cool down before starting again.

So get out in the fresh fall air and have some fun. As always be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any strenuous exercise. If these tips don't appeal to you, you can always take a nice walk.

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza

You couldn't convince your friends to order a pizza with less cheese? Before you dive in, grab a few paper napkins and sop up the oil that's sitting on top of all that melted cheese. You will save yourself several grams of fat (and calories) per slice!

Tip of the Week

How Do You Season Your Food?

You don't have to bore yourself with flavorless fish, chicken and meat. You can easily heat things up with hot peppers and sauce. If you like your foods with a little kick have these on hand for firing up everything from eggs to potatoes. Putting some heat in your food provides low-fat intensity, which eliminates the need for mayonnaise and other fattening additions. If you prefer the taste of sweet in your dishes enhance flavor with sweet tasting spices instead of sugar: allspice, anise, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mace, nutmeg.