vicki l.'s Posts - Wellsphere

Fat is the new normal? by vicki l. Posted in: Questions & Answers in Healthy Eating According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, if Americans keep gaining weight at the current rate, 41 percent will be obese and 34 percent will be overweight but not obese by 2015. That's pretty scary. Anyone else think so? Read on »

Are you a good bacteria or a bad bacteria? by vicki l. Posted in: Questions & Answers in Healthy Eating If you start to hear more and more about probiotics, here's why: although these helpful bacteria were discovered a long time ago, new resarch indicates they may be useful battling a lot of ailments. We already have have them in our stomach and intestines. But things like diet, illness and environmental factors impact how well they're workin... Read on »

Forget diet; think lifestyle by vicki l. Posted in: General Discussion in Weight loss I'm not a big believer in dieting because I find most of them too restrictive. I'd rather eat what I love in moderation, and then eat a little less and a liitle healthier for a few days after. A book that I found to be truly inspirational -- even though it seems so common sense in many ways -- is "French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eatin... Read on »

Ex-factor? by vicki l. Posted in: Questions & Answers in Exercise I'm not a big gym person because I like doing exercise that doesn't feel like exercise, like hiking, biking and dancing. But I am always amused by the crazy new exercise classes many gyms create to get people coming in. Crunch, a New York City-based chain, is big on this, offering classes like the Ex-factor -- "Looking good is the best revenge, ... Read on »

Sex, vacuuming or frisbee? by vicki l. Posted in: Questions & Answers in Exercise Wanna know what you should do to burn up the calories? I stumbled upon "Diet Detective: Want to burn the calories? Try fencing" in the Winston-Salem Journal (http://www.journalnow.com). Turns out you'll lose more weight vacuuming or mopping the house (245 calories an hour) than having sex (105 calories an hour) -- but obviously not as much fun.... Read on »

That dish serves how many???? by vicki l.

2 Comments Posted in: Questions & Answers in Healthy Eating On vacation this week, my kids and I went to a restaurant near the ocean in Santa Cruz. We ordered relatively healthy things, but when the plates arrived, I couldn't believe what I saw. The portions were monstrous, more than we could possibly eat. The Caesar salad alone could have fed all three of us. We ended up leaving a lot on the plate (no f... Read on »

Which skates are the best skates? by vicki l. Posted in: Questions & Answers in Skating/blading I love to ice skate but I haven't roller skated in years. I'd love to get back into it and I always eye the skates on sale in the local newspaper inserts. But the truth is, I don't know what I should be looking for. If I spend about $80, am I going to get something that will last and not hurt? I don' really care about the latest technology; I ju... Read on »

Go fresh with herbs by vicki l.

2 Comments Posted in: General Discussion in Healthy Cooking There aren't many things that bring a fresh from the garden taste to meals than using fresh herbs. The added bonus is many of them have wonderful antioxidants and other healthy properties. The big thing to remember is that you'll need three times the amount of dried herbs. Also you'll want to cut them into small pieces to release more of thei... Read on »

The perils of organic peanut butter by vicki l. Posted in: General Discussion in Healthy Cooking i don't pretend to know a lot about a lot, but I do think I know just enough about enough, and that includes knowing to always choose organic if the food is grown in the ground, like carrots, potatoes and peanuts. So I have always bought organic peanut butter for my kids, feeling a bit smug about it all. But a co-worker turned me on to this ... Read on »

Walking with weights -- OK or not? by vicki l.

11 Comments Posted in: Questions & Answers in Walking I often take my two-pound weights with me when I walk my dog on a 3-mile hike in the hills by my house. I use them to work on my arm muscles because I figure I might as well maximize my time. When I mentioned that to a co-worker who's active in charity runs, he said it wasn't a good idea to do both. I'm confused. Is it bad to pump a little iron ... Read on »

Nice hair vs. helmets by vicki l.

1 Comments Posted in: Blog Posts in Biking I admit for the longest time, I never wore a bike helmet. The only reason -- vanity. I just didn't want to deal with helmet hair. But one day, I was planning a ride with my new beau, who rides centuries. "Where's your helmet?" he asked, "Don't have one." "I'm not riding with you if you don’t have a helmet." So off to the bike store we went. The ... Read on »

Why it adds up to 10 (Q-10) by vicki l.

1 Comments Posted in: General Discussion in Vitamins & Supplements My mom, who is the queen of all things healthy, has been sending me Q-10 pills for years now, and I've been taking them daily and using creams that contain it for my skin as well (because she told me to). The other day, when a friend had a migraine, I found myself saying, "You should be taking Q-10 pills for that." "Why?" he asked. Um, good ques... Read on »

Geezer Gyms by vicki l. Posted in: General Discussion in Exercise If you're a baby boomer (as I am), you know that walking into a hot new gym where everyone's young, toned and strutting their stuff feels a just a tad uncomfortable. Well, you know we boomers weren't going to want to deal with that for too long! Enter the latest fad --- fitness centers just for the 40 and older crowd (with names like Nifty at... Read on »

Vacationing's no time to eat poorly by vicki l.

1 Comments Posted in: General Discussion in Healthy Eating It's summer, and that means lots of us will be taking trips somewhere and enjoying the local cuisine. So how do you come back from a trip as healthy -- or healthier -- than when you began? You have to be careful about what you eat and you have to think "moderation," according to the American Dietetic Association. That means: stay active; ... Read on »

Food is the new obsession by vicki l. Posted in: General Discussion in Healthy Cooking There have been a lot of books lately on food, from Marion Nestle's "What to Eat" to Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" to Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life." Now comes Nina Planck's "Real Food: What to Eat and Why." Planck, who created the first farmers markets in London and wrote "The Farmers' Mar... Read on »

Drink your stress away? by vicki l.

1 Comments Posted in: Questions & Answers in Stress Relief No, not THAT kind of drinking. There's a new product out called Blue Cow that is promoting itself as a safe way to reduce stress without drowsiness, and with 0 calories, caffeine, carbs and sodium, to boot. So what does it have? Accoring to the Web site, http://www.bluecowdrink.com, it contains: Chamomile, Hops, Passion Flower, Hawthorne Ber... Read on »

Nutritional mythbusters by vicki l.

2 Comments Posted in: General Discussion in Healthy Eating Don?t eat at night or you?ll get fat. Avoid shrimp if you?ve got high cholesterol. Eat grapefruit to help burn fat. We?ve all heard things like that. But what's real and what's myth. Christine Gutelius, a nutrition resource educator at Cornell University's Cooperative Extension in Cayuga County, N.Y., sets us straight: 1. Calories eaten... Read on »

Go out to eat, meet a friend by vicki l.

12 Comments Posted in: General Discussion in Healthy Eating Although it's been a longtime tradition in Europe, communal dining is catching on here in the States. The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and the Marin Independent Journal all recently ran articles on the growing trend. What's so great about it? Well, dining is a social event, and what is more social than sitting at a table with a gro... Read on »

Ever hear of NIA? by vicki l.

1 Comments Posted in: Questions & Answers in Dance Looking for a different way to workout? Not too long ago, I stumbled upon a story on NIA, which stands for Neuromuscular Integrative Action. According to the Web site, NIA " is a personal growth, body-mind-spirit fitness program. It is a 'living system' that works with the natural wisdom and intelligence of the body, mind, spirit, and emotion... Read on »

Can you be fat even though you're thin? by vicki l. Posted in: Questions & Answers in Weight loss The heavy/thin issue never seems to go away, but most people equate "thin" with "healthy." Of course that's not true because you can be thin and eat poorly, drink too much, smoke cigs, etc. But it seems that even if you don't do those things, you can still be at risk for a lot of bad things. According to an Associated press artice (http:/... Read on »

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