PUMPKIN Workout For Charity!

Essential Fitness Presents…

HALLOWEEN BOOTCAMP 1.0

Featuring The Freaky Fat Loss Total Body PUMP-kin Workout!

Essential Fitness is happy to announce our first annual Halloween Charity Boot Camp. The workout will cost $15/attendee and all proceeds will go to the Missouri Humane Society. We’re looking to provide a killer workout before the holiday while supporting a good cause.

The event will be 2 hours consisting of a 60 minute group workout which ALL exercises will use your pumpkin! Followed by another 60 minutes of fun activites which include a raffle for tons of great prizes, protein shake samples, lots of great giveaways, and lots more.

We are proud to announce that we have also paired with 2 other St. Louis area based fitness boot camps. With our three boot camps partnering together, we will be able to raise more money for the Humane Society. Steve Long, owner of Complete Fitness Results, and Jared Woolover, owner of Edwardsville Better Body Boot Camps, has agreed to work with us in supporting a good cause. So if you know anyone in the Edwardsville Illinois area looking for a good workout, please send this info their way.

Here are some of the details you may need to know:

When: Saturday October 31st, 2009 at 11 AM.

Where: Christ Church Cathedral 1210 Locust Street St. Louis MO, 63103

What to Wear: Costumes are optional. You can be as simple or as elaborate as you want, but please remember you need to be able to move in it. Wear orange or black if you do not wear a costume.

What to Bring: Your own pumpkin! Females/smaller individuals should bring a medium sized pumpkin (about 10 lbs.) and men/larger individuals should bring a large one (about 20 lbs.). A water bottle is also a good idea.

If you would like to pay in cash, please send an email to ian@esssentialfitnessSTL.com and in the subject line put “Pumpkin Workout” and you will be contacted.

If you have any questions please send an email, or call 314.878.1348.

This will be a fun workout for a great cause! I look forward to seeing you there!

Recipe of The Week

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Yet another Essential Fitness approved recipe!

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
4 ounces linguine whole wheat pasta
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced into thin strips
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 green onion, minced
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguini whole wheat pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
2.Meanwhile, place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl, and toss to coat.
3.In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in olive oil until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add green and red bell peppers, sliced mushrooms and green onions; cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat, and stir in evaporated milk. Season the sauce with basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper, and heat through.
4.In a large bowl, toss whole wheat linguini with sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Modified from allrecipes.com

Working Hard to Get Nowhere!

I can't put a value on the importance of a healthy diet. With my most dedicated of clients I have only 3 maybe 4 hours of contact with them a week that leaves them with somewhere in the neighborhood of 164 unsupervised hours to undo everything they worked towards.

While your workouts are the tool to shape and sculpt your body the true progress is made outside of the gym. If you've ever known a competitive bodybuilder you'll hear them say at some point that abs are made in the kitchen not the gym and that rings just as true for significant weight loss. Understanding your eating habits and your triggers for unhealthy eating are just as important as getting in consistent workouts.

For most people I meet with the exercise part comes easier than supportive eating. So a couple of quick tips to help you eat supportively.

1) Small changes equal big results-By focusing your effort on one small change each week over the course of a few weeks you can make a big impact on your healthy eating plan. For example drinking more water. And don't just say "I'll drink more water." Make it quantifiable like I will drink 64 ounces of water each day for the next week.

2) There is no place for fast food in a healthy eating plan.- Plain and simple if you want to lose weight don't event think about setting foot in one of these establishments. Most of us struggle with the willpower to say no in these places so why even test yourself.

3)Don't Catastrophize When You Cheat.- So many people get in the mindset of "Oh I ate like crap Friday night I might as well just scrap the whole weekend and start fresh on Monday" Why not just start fresh the next morning. One bad meal is not going to blow your whole weight loss effort just get back in the saddle and refocus.

Dedicated to Your Health,

Ian

Exercise of The Week

Recipe of The Week

This sounds delicious to me but I am also a lover of anything pumpkin!

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 pound ground turkey
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 2 cups pumpkin puree
* 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 dash salt
* 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup sour cream



1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the turkey, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

This recipe is from www.allrecipes.com