Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I love this quote I found on Week in Review. – tk(o).

It reads:

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

-Socrates

Now, I don’t know if Socrates actually said that or if it’s a misquote, but I truly need to remember this. Whenever I am feeling like I am fighting myself, I need to remember to BUILD. If I ADD good foods, there will be no room in my tummy for bad ones. If I ADD good habits, I won’t have time to waste doing things that harm me. If I ADD an exercise routine, then I won’t be a lazy lump sitting around.

I don’t need to stop eating bad food, break bad habits or stop being a lazy lump, I need to BUILD a better me.

I saw this photo on Instagram Fitness.

After a little research, I found that it’s a photo of Tricia Kelly (tkofitatx) on Twitter and she also has a website called tk(o)..

It took her four years, but now she is a hard and lean Cross-Fit Lovin’ Machine!

Congratluations, Tricia! Keep up the good work! You’re an inspiration to all of us!

I saw this awesome quote on Funeral for My Fat they other day and it made me feel so good.

It reads:

“Whenever you feel sad just remember that there are billions of cells in your body and all they care about is you.”

This quote is attributed to Will Ferrell, but it doesn’t look like he came up with it. All my internet searching was fruitless and it’s one of those random anonymous sayings that has been plastered all over Twitter, retweeted, reblogged and rehashed until we can’t tell who said it first.

Quotation sanctity aside, it’s a great quote and imagining each of those cells within me hoping that I do the right thing each and every day is really inspiring.

I truly enjoyed Retrospace’s tribute to the The Suzy Chapstick Workout.

It gets more and more hilarious the further they delve into the book until poor Suzy is doing exercises like The Rover.

I wonder if the Insanity workout that people are oohing and aahing over right now will seem as silly in thirty years.

I found another good little story in that book I found at a estate sale last month:

Habits influence the character, as air currents influence an airplane, and whether the habits speed us on the way of our wishes or retard our progress, their effect is not the less important because they sometimes are imperceptible.

It’s a little wordy. I prefer:

Habits affect you just like air currents affect an airplane.

They can speed you up or slow you down, even though they’re nearly invisible.

It’s true. The difference between a “naturally” skinny person and an overweight person are tiny, almost imperceptible habits that are in place. Fidgeting when nervous or thinking is one such habit. Or perhaps chewing gum instead of mindlessly eating. Maybe it’s going for a run when things get really bad as opposed to going to bed. They are things that are almost invisible, yet they make the difference between a thin body and a fat one.

What small habit can you add today that would make you thinner? Here are a few to choose from:

• Get out of your chair every hour and walk around.
• Exercise first thing in the morning
• Set your fork down between bites
• Choose fruit or veggies at snack time
• Eat protein with every meal
• Get 7-8 hours of sleep every night
• Plan your meals
• Sip water between each bite of food
• Always have a healthy snack on hand
• Plan your exercise every day
• Eat all your meals without distractions
• Carry walking shoes with you so you can take a walk whenever
• Stand up instead of sitting down
• Chew gum when you’re upset
• Always be on the lookout for fun physical activities
• Read healthy cookbooks for new food ideas
• Moving around when playing video games, watching TV or reading

What is ONE small habit that you could incorporate into your life? Choose one and work on it for a month. Then next month add another one. Keep doing that until you have a host of wonderful habits that speed you up instead of bad habits that slow you down.

When I heard that Abercrombie and Fitch made XL and XXL sizes in men’s clothing, but the largest size in women’s is a 10, I almost blew a gasket.

• Business Insider: Abercrombie & Fitch Refuses To Make Clothes For Large Women

Their nearly naked male models made me uncomfortable enough to avoid the store before, but now, they can kiss my money GOODBYE.

In fact, it made me want to show up at their store and do this!

Then I remembered. That’s how real life is.

In real life, women who are overweight are discriminated against ALL the time. In fact, pretty people get FAR more perks than ugly people. It’s wrong, but discrimination is rampant against people who aren’t sexy. Some scientists even argue that it’s hard-wired into our brains. We should do everything we can to avoid this behavior in ourselves, but at the same time, we need to be aware of it.

If you ever need inspiration to stay on the treadmill for ten more minutes, this is it. When you get to your goal weight, people will take you more seriously. They will listen to what you have to say. They will deign to allow you to buy their over-priced clothes.

F-You, Abercrombie & Fitch! Forever 21 has been there for me during my fattest times and I am buying EVERYTHING in their store when I’m at my goal weight. If they can showcase their “fat” clothes on models and make them look THIS good, then you have NO excuse!

Via: Funeral For My Fat, Abercrombie & Fitch Refuses To Make Clothes For Large Women

This postcard from PostSecret is touching AND insensitive.

It reads:

You’re fat. Get over it. I STILL LOVE YOU! You can change if you want.

If someone wrote this to me, I don’t know how I would feel about it. Part of being able to change something is accepting it. I know that. I also would love to hear that an important person in my life loves me, even though I feel like a whale.

I guess the question in my mind that pops up has to do with the contradiction. If you love me, why would you care if I lose the weight? I guess you could love me AND want me to be healthy and fit. That’s not a contradiction, really. Something in that card strikes me as wrong, though and I can’t quite put my finger on it.

PostSecret‘s beneficiary is the National Hopeline Network. It is a 24-hour hotline (1 (800) SUICIDE) for anyone who is thinking about suicide or knows someone who is considering it.

I love this motivational poster from Funeral For My Fat.

It reads:

You are what you eat, so don’t be fast, greasy or fake.

Now, I might have to argue with the “greasy” part because healthy oils are ESSENTIAL, but surely, don’t be fast or fake, in real life or in your diet.

I found a little religious book at an estate sale a few weeks ago. While most of the little stories don’t have much to say to me, this one did:

Two men became neighbors in a new housing development. Both men worked long hours removing the weeds from his new back yard. Then one was satisfied but the other went on to put in a lawn, flower garden, and even a few fruit trees and rows of vegetables. The first man soon realized that his lot was being refilled by a new crop of the same old weeds, while the second man was enjoying a thing of service and of beauty.

To resolve to remove an old way of life without substituting something else was not enough – the old way grew right back.

This story really spoke to me because I have tried time and time again to remove my old bad habits without replacing them with NEW good habits. I don’t WANT the same old weeds to pop back up in my life. I want to replace them with a crop of beautiful flowers and veggies. To do that, I need to focus on new habits that are good for me.

Right now, I’m concentrating on getting twenty minutes of exercise every single day. It might sound like a pathetic and small step, but that’s how new habits are formed, slowly and small and every freakin’ day.

Original photo by: Tobyotter on Flickr

This postcard from PostSecret tells us all something we already knew.

It reads:

I hate people who successfully lose weight.

Yeah, I know you do. You want to know why? It’s because you hate YOURSELF. If you were at your goal weight, you wouldn’t be trying to pull down everyone in their lives who were bettering themselves. You’d be happy and supportive of them.

I recently read, “I Got This” by Jennifer Hudson. After she lost all her weight, some people were literally ANGRY with her for getting healthy. She talked to her WW leader about it, and her leader asked her:

“Would you trade your weight loss for acceptance from others?”

It’s an amazing question, because when I read that passage, I realized that, yes, I HAD traded my weight loss for acceptance from others. I had felt rejected by many people because of my new-found loss. I have the complete acceptance from those people now that I’m nearly one hundred pounds over my goal weight. Was it worth it?

Hell to the no!

The next time I feel that someone doesn’t accept my weight loss and maybe even HATES me because of it, I’m letting it fall away from me. Either they will get used to the new, skinny me or they weren’t worth it in the end. If you only like me because I’m fat, then you can not be my friend anymore.

PostSecret‘s beneficiary is the National Hopeline Network. It is a 24-hour hotline (1 (800) SUICIDE) for anyone who is thinking about suicide or knows someone who is considering it.