Contents
-	Another Reason Yo-Yo Dieting Is for Yo-Yos
-	Sean Pashley in Your Diet Magazine
-	Recipe: Sean Pashley's Mexican Frittata
-	Tip of the Week

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try."

Beverly Sills

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington provided yet more evidence in favor of the healthy-diet-and-regular-exercise method of weight loss with a new study indicating that yo-yo dieting, where a person loses and regains weight over the years, may have a negative impact on immune function.

The study, published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, looked at the dieting history of 114 overweight but otherwise healthy sedentary, postmenopausal women over the past 20 years. "Frequent weight loss episodes were associated with significantly decreased natural-killer-cell activity," said Cornelia Ulrich, a Ph.D. who worked on the study. "Those who reported losing weight more than five times had about a third lower natural-killer-cell function."

Conversely, women who maintained the same weight for five or more years had 40 percent greater natural-killer-cell activity as compared to those whose weight had remained stable for fewer than two years.

Natural-killer cells, or NK cells, are the commando soldiers of the immune system. In addition to killing viruses and suppressing colds and infections, they have been shown to kill cancer cells in laboratory tests.

While the report is definitely intriguing, Ulrich notes that the results are preliminary. Much more testing will have to be done over a longer period of time to prove anything conclusive.

Researchers also note that this isn't an excuse to just stay fat. Study co-author Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., explained, "The overwhelming evidence is that weight loss among the overweight or obese improves various aspects of health such as risk for diabetes, coronary disease and perhaps cancer. Therefore, it is still recommended that overweight and obese people try to lose weight but preferably avoid weight regain."

Easy for her to say, right? Well, actually, losing the weight and keeping it off is easy. It's just a matter of finding a sensible, balanced diet and augmenting that with plenty of exercise. "General guidelines would include consuming an abundant array of non-starchy vegetables and fruits, moderate amounts of lean protein and dairy products, moderate amounts of legumes and whole grains, and few or no refined carbohydrates and saturated fats," McTiernan said. "A diet high in vegetables, for example, helps reduce calories while providing most vitamins and minerals."

Add to that 60 minutes of daily exercise and you're not only losing weight, you're actually improving your immune system, added Ulrich. "Previous studies have shown that exercise appears to blunt the negative effects of weight loss on immune function," she said. "Because exercise in combination with dietary change can be effective for promoting weight loss and maintenance, it can help prevent weight cycling and potentially lessen any detrimental effects of weight loss on the immune system."

Sixty minutes? Well, what do you know? That's just about how long it takes to get through a Slim Series™ workout!

In the article, Sean talks a bit about his history and how being booted off the show was his motivation to lose weight. He cites a point in the show when he told his beautiful co-star, (the woman who did the booting), that he was "just retaining water." Now he's hoping that he'll get a chance to run into her somewhere so he can say, "I got rid of the water."

To read more about Sean's story, click here.

Serves 1
1 tsp olive oil
� red pepper, cut into thin strips
� medium white onion, sliced thin
� cup skim milk
2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
� tsp salt
� tsp freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cumin
� cup salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add pepper and onion; sauté until tender. Combine milk, eggs, egg whites, salt, pepper, and cumin; stir with a whisk. Pour into pan with vegetables. Cook, without disturbing eggs, until slightly set; flip eggs over. Place pan in oven; bake at 350 until eggs are cooked, about 5 minutes. Place frittata on a plate; top with salsa.

Calories: 371 (carbohydrates 25 grams, protein 31 grams, fat 15 grams—3.8 grams saturated fat)

(Your Diet, Summer 2004, pg.69)

The answer is a protein shake. Usually, truly feeling hungry is a sign indicating a lot of muscle breakdown. When you have muscle breakdown you need protein, especially at night, which is when your muscles do most of their recovering. So if you are famished, a small protein shake with no added ingredients, like fruit or milk, cannot only allow you to sleep but speed up your recovery process as well.