Typically, I like to make decisions thoughtfully and quickly. I don’t hesitate over simple choices (tonight it shall be merlot!), I try to use a mix of logic and emotion to come to conclusions, and I don’t like to linger… read more
Ted Spiker
Ted Talks: New Year, New You
The season of resolutions usually brings about mantras of motivation and fist-pounding declarations that this year — THIS YEAR! — will be the one in which we [stop smoking/lose 25 pounds/give up bacon-cheese fries]. For good reason, too. Coming off… read more
Ted Talks: 9 Things I Hate About the Holidays
Why these two months tend to be my danger zone. We all know that New Year’s resolutions exist in direct correlation to the 60ish days of holiday hoopla that precede them (bookended by an Oct. 31 candy gorge and a… read more
Ted Talks: Will I Win the Food Fight?
At a recent gathering of friends and former colleagues, I caught up with some people I’ve seen only once or twice since the late ‘90s. Amidst the conversations, the reminiscing, the beer, the wings and an Oreo dirt concoction that… read more
Ted Talks: Can You Just Stop?
For more than two decades, Diet Coke, the artificial liquid was my oxygen. I had it with breakfast, all morning at my desk, with lunch, all afternoon at my desk, with dinner, all night by the couch. I pumped so… read more
Ted Talks: Quitting Time
I think I can put my gastrointestinal résumé up against most folks’. When I was 12, I ate 12 tacos out of a 20-shell family pack. I once ground through 76 ounces of steak in the name of journalism. My college nickname? Hoover, because of… read more
Ted Talks: Take the Plunge
When one of my good friends recently called me, he opened with this: “I think I got it.” For years, we’ve talked about signing up for some kind of physical challenge, but we just never found the right one. We… read more
Ted Talks: Is it time to ditch the workout tips?
In my role as a health writer, I’ve read, researched, and/or written hundreds—maybe thousands—of wellness tips. Do this. Do that. Don’t do this. Don’t, for the love of guacamole, ever eat 11 mashed avocados in 43 seconds! Tricks. Strategies. Actions.… read more
Ted Talks: Staying on Track: What are Your Best Tips for Sticking to Your Healthy Habits?
In my history of training, dieting and yo-yoing, my list of routine busters runs long. A sample: I’m stressed I’m tired I’m injured Taco Tuesday (and Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday) Too many temptations Too many taps of the snooze… read more
Ted Talks: Back at It
The first time I ever had my back go out on me was about 15 years ago. I reached around to the back seat of the car, pulled some kind of muscle and grimaced like a lemon-sucking baby. Later that day, I was standing up to… read more
