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