All Entries From Stepfanie Romine
Stepfanie is known on SparkPeople.com as SP_STEPF
Stepfanie Romine is an experienced writer and editor and a certified Ashtanga yoga teacher who has lived and cooked on three continents. A former newspaper reporter, she's a bookworm who learned to love fitness as an adult. In addition to healthy green living and from-scratch cooking, her passions include learning new languages, throwing vegetarian dinner parties, and teaching and practicing yoga. Stepfanie tries to promote kindness in all she does and loves sharing stories about people and their passions. Having overcome her own anxiety issues, she hopes to use yoga as way to help others find a sense of inner peace.
Turn on the TV or set your DVR today for a very special episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on the topic of Type 2 diabetes, which Oprah calls "a silent killer."
According to the American Diabetes Association, the disease affects 7.8% of the population (more than 23 million people), and it was the seventh leading cause of death in 2006.
From Harpo Productions:
Today Oprah, Dr. Oz, Bob Greene, Art Smith, Dr. Ian Smith and more reveal the staggering human cost of the growing diabetes and pre-diabetes epidemic on a special episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Before a studio audience comprised entirely of diabetics and their families, Oprah and Dr. Oz reveal the latest facts and figures, share stories of those affected, and hold a no-holds-barred, revealing conversation about risk factors, diet and lifestyle.
Says Winfrey, “Diabetes is a ticking time bomb. It's a silent killer. It’s annihilating the African American community. Literally. It’s killing almost 100 of us every single day in the African-American community.”
Posted 2/4/2010 10:04:11 AM By: Stepfanie Romine : 100 comments
A few months ago, GoFit reached out to us and asked us to try YOGALETICS, a collection of yoga products and DVDs by Kent Katich. They said: “L.A. based Katich is the industry’s premier sports yoga trainer for top professional athletes, and lends over 15-years of experience training numerous NBA teams as well as hundreds of professional all-stars, first round draft picks, hall of fame athletes and Hollywood celebrities.”
One of the complaints that I hear in my yoga classes from my male students is that they think many DVDs are aimed only at women, so this seemed like a good product for us to try. I asked Paul, our resident ninja UFC and martial arts expert, to give it a try.
It took him a LONG time to try this product, and we both thought that meant it wouldn’t be good. But, after trying it once and liking it, he told me today that it is his regular weekend exercise. Instead of using Saturday and Sunday as rest days from grappling, running, lifting kettlebells and circuit training, he does yoga, which helps round out his fitness routine.
Read what he said to say:
Posted 1/29/2010 3:19:33 PM By: Stepfanie Romine : 44 comments
My mom resurrected the Girl Scout program at my elementary school when I was a Daisy.
We moved and she was the co-leader of my Brownie troop.
I was a Junior, a Cadette and a Senior.
Though I wasn't the most active Girl Scout in later years, I proudly wore my sash and uniform for 13 years.
My mom was involved in Girl Scouts for 25 years, and my grandmother for about 20.
Needless to say, I like Girl Scout Cookies. We always had several boxes in the pantry and plenty more in the freezer. Because those cookies were always around, it wasn't a big deal when cookie time came around. Sure, I was excited to sell them. (And by sell, I mean call my family members and send the forms to work with my parents. I wasn't the most aggressive saleswoman.) But my appetite for them didn't grow.
Fast forward to college, and a life without Thin Mints, Samoas and Tagalongs.
When I came home for a weekend and found the familiar green box of my favorite cookies. I ate an entire sleeve of them in two days!
I will admit that wasn't the last time I ate an entire sleeve of Girl Scout cookies, but it's an event that hasn't happened lately. I can exercise self control around my beloved Thin Mints, and I keep them in the freezer for slower eating.
Wonder what kind of caloric damage those little cookies can do?
Posted 1/28/2010 5:50:34 PM By: Stepfanie Romine : 382 comments
When I took inventory of my life for 2010 and shared it with you, there's something I didn't tell you. I hope you can forgive me. I didn't intentionally leave it out, and it was really firmly planned then. However, it's something I think you should all know about.
See, I have trouble labeling myself as athletic or fit. For the first 26 years of my life, I loathed running ("I only run when chased," I said.) and couldn't really ride a bike. I worked out to keep my weight in check, but I hadn't yet found a form of cardio that I enjoyed. Yoga was the only form of exercise I liked then.
In the last two years, much has changed. I rode 85 miles in one day on my road bike, became a yoga teacher, did 10 "boy-style" pushups, conquered my fear of headstands, and ran my first 5K, a second 5K and my first 10K.
Though I work out six or seven days a week, run regularly and teach yoga to others, I have never really considered myself to be an athlete--or a runner.
This new challenge I've set for myself will change that.
I am training for my first half-marathon.
Posted 1/27/2010 5:58:47 AM By: Stepfanie Romine : 116 comments
Your boss just dropped another project on your desk. Your co-worker spends more time at the water cooler than at his desk. The phone won't stop ringing, your email inbox is so full it's about to burst, and you've got a meeting with a client in an hour.
Yep, you're stressed.
So how can you present your most cool, calm and collected self and accomplish all the tasks you have to do today?
Take a breather, and try a few minutes of yoga.
Most of us can't unroll a yoga mat and drop into down dog at the office, but that doesn't mean we can't take time for a bit of relaxing and energizing stretches. (Note: These poses are also appropriate for people with mobility issues.)
The next time you need to chill out, try some or all of these poses:
Posted 1/25/2010 12:09:24 PM By: Stepfanie Romine : 90 comments
Ban Butter for Greater Health?
Ahoy, Soy!
Posted 1/24/2010 11:11:23 AM By: Stepfanie Romine : 34 comments
Hello, dailySpark readers! If you're near a computer this Friday afternoon, take some time to listen to my radio interview with dailySpark Guest Blogger and Girlfriendology.com founder Debba Haupert.
(Last week, Debba experienced technical difficulties, and we had to reschedule.)
For about 20 minutes, starting at 2 p.m. EST, Debba and I will be discussing how to integrate fitness and healthy living into your friendships, and we'll be taking your calls! I wrote a guest blog for Girlfriendology to promote the radio show.
Posted 1/20/2010 2:01:46 PM By: Stepfanie Romine : 16 comments
Like most of the other girls on the third floor of Treudley Hall, I plastered the walls of my freshman-year dorm room with prints of famous works of art, pictures from home and quotations, lots of quotations.
Song lyrics, tidbits from favorite books and words of wisdom gleaned from movies, my roommate and I wrote in flowery script on colored notecards with a rainbow of markers. Stuck to the wall with blue bits of sticky tack, I'd lie in my top bunk, gaze at the notecards and think about those words.
The overwhelming theme: Unrequited love and its accompanying desolation, concepts that at 18, we felt we knew well. It was, after all, the era of Jane Austen movies, Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo and Juliet" and "Titanic."
As the years passed by, quotations took on a different meaning. As a journalism major, I relied on quotes from sources to make a story. And as a French major, I peppered my papers with them, analyzing them until their meaning had been sucked dry.
Posted 1/19/2010 10:02:30 AM By: Stepfanie Romine : 225 comments
Hello, dailySpark readers! If you're near a computer on Friday afternoon, take some time to listen to my radio interview with dailySpark Guest Blogger and Girlfriendology.com founder Debba Haupert.
For about 20 minutes, starting at 2 p.m. EST, Debba and I will be discussing how to integrate fitness and healthy living into your friendships, and we'll be taking your calls! I wrote a guest blog for Girlfriendology to promote the radio show.
Posted 1/14/2010 10:11:36 AM By: Stepfanie Romine : 29 comments
It's truly a world wide web, but it can feel mighty small and cozy some days. Like today, when we at the dailySpark are thanking all of those bloggers and websites who have taken the time to review and feature The Spark.
We're excited to read the reviews of The Spark from our esteemed peers--and our wonderful members as well!
If you missed one, you should definitely check these out, if you haven't already.
To start, we got a great review at Diet-Blog.com, a great source for health and fitness news. "Look for this to be a bestseller in 2010," they wrote.
We were over the moon to see that Lisa "Hungry Girl" Lillien, who has already endorsed the book, wrote about us in her popular daily email. We feel the love: "The four-stage plan combines eating right, getting exercise, setting goals, and other positive stuff to motivate you. We feel energized just writing about it... And we LOVE SparkPeople.com. YAYAYAYAY for this book!" Right back at you, HG!
MizFit not only gave us her exclusive "MizFit Seal of Approval," but she also did a fabulous video review as well!
Posted 1/10/2010 6:41:09 AM By: Stepfanie Romine : 31 comments
In my free time, I like to read healthy living blogs, and one of my favorites is Healthy Tipping Point, which is written by Caitlin, who also writes OperationBeautiful.com. Caitlin is a vegetarian who eats very balanced meals, so I was surprised to learn that she didn't really love
vegetables. As soon as I took a closer look at her meals, I realized why: She was eating them plain!
I issued her the Learn to Love Veggies Challenge. She took up the gauntlet and commenced the vegetable adventure.
Now, it's your turn!
Choose a few of these tips and implement them into your weekly meals. They're all pretty simple and affordable.
Posted 1/6/2010 5:40:21 AM By: Stepfanie Romine : 149 comments
At SparkPeople, we frequently talk about setting goals and holding yourself accountable. But if you set a goal and don't tell anyone about, will you stick to it? We know (and research has proved) how important and effective a supportive network of friends can be when you're trying to live a healthier life. So when you set your New Year's resolutions, be sure you share them with others. In addition to telling your SparkTeams, posting on the Message Boards and creating a Vision Collage, we've found another cool way to share your goals and stay on track.
Posted 1/5/2010 9:08:37 AM By: Stepfanie Romine : 72 comments
Read More Entries >
|
|
