Round Belly? Crunch It

By Lynn Difley The most common question I am asked by students and fellow Rvers is what is the best thing I can do to trim my belly? It seems a universal annoyance, the fact that as we age, our six pack turns into a keg shape and refuses to reduce no matter how we frown at it. First of all, let me say that there is no way that a 60 year old belly is going to be as flat as a 20 year old belly. Read more  Read More →

Start the Day Right: Eat Breakfast

“I don’t have the time or inclination to eat breakfast first thing in the morning. I’d rather get my walk in and some miles down the road before I eat. I figure it’s just that fewer calories I’ll eat in the day,” said a student in answer to my question, what did you eat for breakfast?” If you agree, and make a habit of skipping the first meal of the day I want you to reconsider and take into account the following. Read more  Read More →

Boost your energy in less than five minutes

By Lynn Difley Long road trips are part and parcel of an RVers  way of life. We are often unable to avoid sitting for long periods of time as we move from one campground to another, or roam our summer haunts to winter snowbird roosts. Keeping your body fit and your mind alert while undertaking long term travel is a great challenge. Read more  Read More →

Flip Flop Warning

By Lynn Difley Although many consider our life style to be of the casual sort, one that would welcome footwear that suggests beach, leisure, and fun, the RV lifestyle is not a good fit with the hazardous rubber sandal, the flip-flop. I am on a rampage against flip flops this week and I hope none of you are selling or have invested in the popular beach shoe, because I am about to plead for a ban on flip flops. This is all because Hannah, a regular student of mine, a small but feisty 84 year old showed up for class with a nasty looking black eye, a gash on her forehead and scrapes on her shoulder and hand. “What happened “ we all asked, and she sheepishly replied, “well I went out to get the mail in my flip flops, in too much of a hurry to put on my walking shoes, and one of the steps was slippery with some leaves and next thing I knew I was down.” It is a testimony to her strength and fitness that she didn’t break anything, or dislocate any joints, but her fall serves as a good warning for all of us. It is a fact of life that as we get older, the likelihood of our falling increases, particularly if steps are not taken to improve our balance and to reduce the hazards around us. “Flip flops have single-handedly caused more problems with people’s feet in the last few years than any other kind of shoe,” says Dr. Rock Positano, a podiatrist at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery. He sees about five to 10 flip flop caused injuries a week, injuries that are the direct... Read more

Green Tea: A Natural Alternative to Sugary Sodas

By Lynn Difley If you are looking for an alternative to soda, diet soda, or sugary beverage, I have a great idea for you–green tea. If you haven’t discovered the many benefits of drinking green tea, let me go through just some of the reasons you will want to switch from sugar-laden sodas, and make yourself a cup of tea–green tea that is. Green tea has been around for centuries, mainly in the orient where its positive health benefits are accepted. Green tea is the second most popular beverage consumed in the world (behind water). The health benefits of green tea are mainly due to polyphenols, which are antioxidants. These substances scavenge free radicals, (damaging compounds in the body that can alter cells and cause cell death). Free radicals are thought to contribute to the aging process as well as the development of such health problems as cancer and heart disease. The polyphenols in green tea can neutralize free radicals and reduce or even prevent some of the damage they cause. Studies have mixed results but some of the more positive findings are that green tea may help prevent arteriosclerosis, or coronary artery disease. Research has shown that green tea lowers total cholesterol and raises the HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) in animals and people. Emerging clinical studies suggest that the polyphenols in green tea may play an important role in the prevention of cancer. Green tea has also been shown to be helpful in reducing the inflammation associated with... Read more

Kill Those Bacteria the Safe, Cheap, and Effective Way

By Lynn Difley Here’s a great way to fight bacteria, keep your galley and bathroom disinfected, without using an arsenal of chemicals that are expensive, toxic, and risky to grandkids, pets, and sensitive folks. A study done at Virginia polytechnic Institute took fruits and vegetables contaminated with salmonella, shigella, or e. Coli bacteria, and sprayed the produce with hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and both. Hydrogen peroxide proved 100 times as effective as vinegar, but using vinegar and hydrogen peroxide together kills 10 times as many bacteria as peroxide alone. This is such a simple system. Both vinegar and hydrogen peroxide are natural substances, harmless to humans, pets and environment. The sprays don’t linger on surfaces, so you don’t have to rinse after use, and microbes don’t acquire resistance (no risk of creating Superbugs). Here’s all you have to do to set up your domestic spray program. Buy two plastic spray bottles in two different colors. One bottle must be completely opaque, and in as dark a color as you can find. This is for the hydrogen peroxide, which degrades if it is exposed to light or heat. You need separate bottles for each to maintain full strength effectiveness of the hydrogen peroxide which is delicate and will quickly break down into pure water. Buy a gallon of distilled white vinegar and a big bottle of consumer strength (3 percent )  hydrogen peroxide at the drug or grocery store. Fill your dark spray bottle with hydrogen peroxide and... Read more

Take one and call your doctor in the morning?

By Lynn Difley We are taking a two-week holiday in England, staying in a converted barn and enjoying tramping around the Cotswolds. Today we visited a village that is popular with tourists and I was delighted at the number of senior citizens enjoying the scenery. We saw tour buses unload vast numbers of the silver haired tourists. The people walked up and down, enjoying the shops, the tea houses, chatting and enjoying the countryside. These people, no matter age or infirmity were walking. Many of them used walkers or canes, the pace of some were slow, but all were ambulating, and it was obvious that they were used to walking as a way of getting from one place to another. Shocking to Americans, who regard cars as the only acceptable means of transportation. Here in Britain, walking is a way of life. People walk in the morning, to ‘stir their stumps.” People walk down to the greengrocers to purchase fresh vegetables. People walk down to the post office, then down to get a newspaper, then home for lunch. In the afternoon, many walk down to the local tea house, for a cuppa and a conversation with friends. After supper, its time for evening “walkies”, to settle the meal before sleep. You get the picture. These people walk all over the place, all the time. You probably know that walking can slow the aging process and keep you feeling great. Here are just a few of the ways walking can enhance your life: Cardiovascular/heart health. Instead of the natural weakening of... Read more

Back Pain: The Scourge of RVers

By Lynn Difley Bill writes to me” I have spinal stenosis but that really only bothers me when I stand and walk.  The thing that bothers me when I sit and drive a lot is the back end of my butt.  It is like all the pressure is on it and it really hurts.  Getting up and out and walking around for a while makes it better but once it starts it only takes about another half hour of driving to bring it back again.  I have a 5er with a power seat in the truck.  I have tried moving the seat forward or back, changing the height, changing the tilt of the seat with no success. “Any suggestions on what causes this and what I can do about it?” Read more  Read More →

Benefits of Exercise: Myth or Magic?

Did you see the Time magazine article “Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin”? I have had several students ask me about this article, so let’s take a look at it. The article is bound to confuse and mislead, it is full of half truths and exaggerations, and can lead to a mistaken conclusion about the role of exercise in weight loss. It is true that exercise alone will not result in weight loss for most people. You would have to exercise at the volume and intensity of an Olympic class athlete to burn off the 3500 calories required to reduce body weight by a pound. However, every reputable study on successful weight loss techniques concludes that exercise is an important part of weight reduction, along with reducing calories consumed, increasing or maintaining muscle mass and learning mental techniques to deal with life’s everyday difficulties. Exercise by itself will not guarantee a slim silhouette, but it goes a long way towards helping to swing the pendulum to the side of calories burned, and away from calories consumed. To reduce weight you must reduce the amount of calories consumed along with increasing the number of calories burned. It can mean that you keep busy with walking, gardening, cleaning and grandchildren chasing all day. You do not have to join a gym and stand beside the author of that article as he sweats on the Stairmaster. The article states that exercise increases appetite, leading people to eat more than they would otherwise consume. There are many studies... Read more

Whew! How Do I Relieve This Summer Heat?

By Lynn Difley Whew, it’s getting hot in many places, and even the best air conditioners in motor homes may not do the trick. You may also object to pouring a good chunk of your fuel budget into the generator to keep that air conditioner working while boondocking. So how in the world can you keep your cool in the dog days of August? If you are in a conventional home, you can take steps to improve your house’s insulation, but on the road, you will need to find other ways to cool down. Changing some of your habits will go a long way towards helping you cope with the temperature and avoid expensive solutions, such as running two air conditioners. One low-tech solution to reducing your body heat is to wear clothes in natural fabrics. Cotton, hemp and linen all breathe better than any synthetic fibers, and naturally act to wick moisture away from your body. They may not resist wrinkles as well, but if you’re staying cool, who cares? Dine cool. Choose sandwiches, salads and refrigerated dishes rather than cooking. Not only does wrestling pots and pots on the stove heat up your body, it heats up your rig as well. Drink up. And I don’t mean booze. Stay hydrated–plenty of water helps your body keep its natural cooling system functioning at peak efficiency. Stay away from alcohol or caffeine; go for the cooler water or diluted fruit juices. In the heat you will sweat more from normal activities, as well as from exercise, so drink even more water than you usually do to... Read more

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