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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2003)
EVERYDAY VITALITY REAL PEOPLE COME CLEAN ABOUT DIET, EXERCISE, HEALTH AND FITNESS. By Bobbie Willis D oes it sometimes feel like “every- one else” is blissed out on Pilates and the Atkins diet? Does it seem like you struggle alone with the call of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream or Tim’s Cascade Potato Chips? Trying to figure out how to find time to do everything you have to do, and fit in eight glasses of water a day (as well as 80 trips to the loo)? You are not alone. You are not the only one who hates to diet. You are not the only one who wrestles with trying to fit health- ful eating and sensible exercise into the schedule. You are not the only one trying to make good, healthy choices. EW interviewed a handful of everyday Eugeneans about their diet and exercise habits, trying to get a sense of how people maintain (or chip away at) everyday vitality. We asked about their health and fitness philosophies (VALUE); about the things they struggle with most (VEXATION); about the things they loved to do best to stay in shape (VIM & VIGOR); about the one thing they do every day to take care of themselves (VIRTUE); about their weaknesses (VICE); and about whether they’d recently made any successful, healthy lifestyle changes (VICTORY). Here’s what they told us … Cindy Lehmann, 50 Middle school teacher VALUE: “Being healthy is something you have to work at all the time.” VEXATION: “As you get older, you have to work harder and harder to maintain physi- cal fitness — and you can’t eat the way you used to.” VIM & VIGOR: “Treadmill and weights, hik- ing, skiing.” VIRTUE: “I eat well — lots of fruits and vegetables and protein. And I’m not a dessert eater.” VICE: “Potato chips.” VICTORY: “Getting potato chips out of the house and eating more fruits and veg- etables.” Wendy Beck, 32 Waitperson, Soriah VALUE: “I don’t think diets make sense. A balanced diet — not fad diets — along with exercise is a healthy balance.” VEXATION: “I’d like to be more toned, with better muscle definition, but I get kind of bored with weights and strength train- ing.” VIM & VIGOR: “I enjoy running, speed walking and hiking.” VIRTUE/VICTORY: “I quit smoking a year ago, August 25.” VICE: “I’m addicted to coffee, and I have no plans to give it up.” just now getting back into exercise, mainly walking. It’s taken forever, but it’s good to be moving more.” Chris Rohaley, 29 Owner, Mayhem Music VALUE: “Exercise is way more important than diet.” VEXATION: “My choco-holism.” VIM & VIGOR: “I like to do anything active, but I really love a good gym workout.” VIRTUE: “I work out every other day — not matter what. Three hours at Gold’s Gym — two hours of lifting, one hour of car- dio.” VICE: “Cookies.” VICTORY: “I’ve discovered that vitamins and supplements have improved my work- outs — I have more energy, stamina and endurance since adding these [to the regi- men].” Ron Vickery, 40 Owner, Crux Rock Gym & Ron’s Tropical Grill Heather Hansen, 29 UO Bookstore employee VALUE: Diet is a four-letter word — a bad one! VEXATION: “For exercise, things to do [gym memberships, exercise classes] can be expensive. For diet, I don’t always rec- ognize when I’m eating for hunger, and when I’m eating out of stress or boredom.” VIM & VIGOR: “I love to go dancing.” VIRTUE: “I drink a ton of water every day.” VICE: “Salty food — especially Velveeta Shells & Cheese.” VICTORY: “Two years ago, I injured my knee — tore my ACL playing football. I’m VALUE: “I don’t believe in extremes. Everything in moderation, right? Isn’t that the whole deal? You can’t change whole parts of diets — the Atkins diet? Sure, you can lose 40 pounds quick, but it’s fake, not real loss. The weight will come right back unless you make realistic, common sense changes in diet and exercise.” VEXATION: “I know what I need to do, what I need to eat to be where I want to be for climbing. For me, exercise is no prob- lem. Staying motivated on the diet end is where I get caught.” VIM & VIGOR: “Climbing and hiking.” VIRTUE: “Eating well.” VICE: “Ice cream.” VICTORY: “I’ve effectively changed the way I eat. Used to be too much fat, eating late at night, skipping breakfast. With the help of my wife [Debbie Lomax] I’m eating more sensibly.” Aaron Femrite, 25 Lube tech, Lube-It USA VALUE: “To be really physically fit, you have to keep the stress levels down. True physical fitness is about feeling good, eat- ing the right food and doing things to stay in shape.” VEXATION: “I need to improve the quality of the food I eat. But it can be expensive to buy good food, and it can take a lot of time to cook something right. After working all day, I just need to get full, and it’s easier to grab a burger.” VIM & VIGOR: “I like to ride my bike on the bike trails and swim in nearby lakes. I also try to do some kind of stretching and cal- isthenics in the evenings — push-ups, sit- ups — just something to get the heart rate up.” VIRTUE: “I drink lots of water.” VICE: “Fast food.” VICTORY: “I really try to do a little exer- cise everyday, and I’ve also concentrated on lowering my stress levels — if something is stressing me out during the work day, I’ve learned to try and set it aside for when I have time to really think it through, instead of letting it distract me while I’m worrying about car flow at work. Stress seriously affects my diet, and just being aware really helps.” Sue Thompson, 46 Mom, wife, pal VALUE: “Health and fitness need to be fun.” VEXATION: “My laziness.” VIRTUE: “I take a nap every day.” VICE: “Anything with butter and salt.” VICTORY: “This last year I started gar- dening — it’s just good for me.” ew PICTURED BELOW (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT): CINDY LEHMANN, WENDY BECK, HEATHER HANSEN, CHRIS ROHALEY, RON VICKERY, AARON FEMRITE, SUE THOMPSON. ALL PHOTOS BY BOBBIE WILLIS BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS WHAT DO PEOPLE REALLY EAT TO KICKSTART THEIR DAY? “Bagel with margarine, and coffee.” Louis, 55, bike mechanic, Blue Heron Bikes. “Half a leftover blueberry muffin and coffee.” Cheryl, 36, owner, Sweet Life. “A Taco Bell Seven-Layer Burrito and a Dr. Pepper.” John & Elaina, both 34, students. “Huevos rancheros and water.” Penny, 55, barber, Campus Barber Shop. “Dannon yogurt smoothie and hot chocolate.” Susan, 40-ish, travel agent. “Bowl of Rice Krispies.” Stephen, 20, cashier, UO Bookstore. “Peanut butter and jelly on toast, with water.” Kimberly, 29, teller, U.S. Bank. “A scrambled egg sandwich my wife made for me, a glass of milk and an Almond Joy.” Tim, 47, hod carrier, construction. “A cookie and water.” Vickee, 22, cell phone sales. “A chicken burrito and soda water.” John, 63, bus driver. “Oatmeal with raisins, honey and a little Smart Butter, and coffee and a glass of water.” Jerry, 59, shoemaker, Campus Shoe Shop. “Potatoes, cheese and tomatoes, with coffee.” George, 26, barber, Campus Barber Shop. “No breakfast. Just tea.” Beth, 42, delivery driver, Holy Cow. “Coffee.” Megan, 21, coffee kiosk worker. “Cup of coffee.” Rick, 25, photo technician. “Coffee. But you should have asked me yesterday — I had berries and peaches and lots of fresh fruit …” Sarge, 28, manager, Face the Music. “Coffee. I don’t care to eat early. But sometimes I do like ginger ale in the morning.” Tim, 63, street vendor. “Nothing — I’ve never been a break- fast person.” Erin, 24, barrista. “No breakfast.” Jim, 48, barber, Red Rooster Barber Shop. “Nothing. I looked at a cinnamon roll, but I just wasn’t hungry.” Richard, 27, employee, Taco Bell. “Oatmeal. And a cigarette. Oh, and coffee.” Annalisa, 21, photo technician. And the champion of breakfasts … “A banana; a tub of yogurt; three cookies; a small bottle of orange juice. Ah, and this sandwich.” Jairos, 33, NCC business administration students and part-time building mainte- nance worker. ew AUGUST 21, 2003 13
