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

I am excited about this new book by Monica Seles. She was a tennis superqueen when a crazed fan stabbed her in the back in the middle of a match. Getting over the injury and her father’s painful death sent her turning to food. How many of us have had that same experience? I know I have.

She has written a book about her experience called Getting a Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self. Whenever I have the urge to binge, it helps to hear stories about people who have conquered it.

Here is her interview from ESPN:

• Bonnie D. Ford: Q&A with Monica Seles – ESPN

Via: Conquering Emotional Eating: Lessons from Monica Seles

Just looking at these Air Shorts makes me laugh, but then I learned that they were so popular that there were TWO companies making them. Here is the description on how they are supposed to make you slim:

Inflatable exercise shorts for men and women. Wear while doing your morning sit-ups, housework, etc. Great for exercise and for shedding body moisture. Inflate to fit. Gives support and massage at waist, hips, thighs, buttocks. One size fits all. Inflates with a simple tube.

They charged seven bucks for those ghastly things back in the 70′s, which would equate to about 38 dollars now. Would you pay forty bucks for those ugly things?!

The next time you’re tempted to buy something for weight loss, remember the Air Shorts. Save your hard earned money and let the fads fall by the wayside.

Via: Plaid Stallions : Rambling and Reflections on 70′s pop culture: Scarred Forever

Here is a closeup of an old advertisement for Ayds Weight Loss Candy:

You can see the full ad here: Ayds Ad Jean Hunter: Click to see full size ad

The ad goes through the same story as every testimonial for any weight loss product I’ve ever read:

• A before and after photo with derogatory remarks about the before.
• A profession that the person had ALWAYS been fat.
• A series of confessions about the pain of being a fat person.
• More confessions about all the other plans, pills, and products that the person has tried.
• The incredible shame of being fat, especially in regard to family members: i.e. “My poor husband!”
• The gratitude of finding the miraculous product that made her slim.
• The joy of being slimmer than a past rival (sister, brother, friend, etc.).
• The act of trying on old clothes that used to fit.

It seems like ALL testimonials have most (if not all) of these ingredients. This advertisement is from 1969, but I remember reading testimonial ads like this in Seventeen Magazine when I was a teenager in the 80′s. I’ve even seen similar ads from the 1800′s. This is a formula that has been used to deceive us for a LONG time.

Ad via: Found in Mom’s Basement: Vintage campign for Ayds weight loss candy

You can read the full ad here: (more…)

Acai berries are in EVERYTHING lately, even Vitamin Water. I get at least fifty spam emails in my box every day for acai and weight loss. Acai berries are supposed to be chock-full of antioxidants, but do they help you lose weight? Not according to the Connecticut Attorney General.

• Consumers Warned of Web-Based Acai Scams

Acai began attracting attention in 2005 on the belief that its juice was especially high in antioxidants. In truth, acai juice has only middling levels of antioxidants less than that of Concord grape, blueberry, and black cherry juices, but more than cranberry, orange, and apple juices. Even so, the extent to which antioxidants by themselves promote health is a matter of some debate. No credible evidence suggests antioxidants promote weight loss.

Here is a list they gave of some of the questionable websites that promote acai:

• Oprah-best-acai.com
• OprahsAmazingDiet.com
• DrOzMiracle.com
• rachaelray.drozdiet-acaiberry.com

Oprah Winfrey, Mehmet Oz, and Rachael Ray have NOTHING to do with these sites and have all stated that they are not affiliated with them.

Worse still, they say that some of these companies lure you in with a “free” trial, take your credit card number and charge you monthly for pills that you no longer want to receive.

“There are no magical berries from the Brazilian rainforest that cure obesity only painfully real credit card charges and empty weight loss promises,” said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. “Aggressive Acai berry pitches on the Internet entice countless consumers into free trials promising weight loss, energy and detoxification. These claims are based on folklore, traditional remedies and outright fabrications unproven by real scientific evidence. In reality, consumers lose more money than weight after free trials transition into inescapable charges.”

Any company promising weight loss is suspect. Acai berries are no magic solution to lose weight and any company that says they are doesn’t have the medical data to support those claims right now, so stay away from them.

I found this advertisement from the 1920′s for The Weil Reducing Belt.

It reads:

Fat Men!
This new self-massaging belt not only makes you look thinner INSTANTLY – but quickly takes off rolls of excess fat.

Diet is weakening – drugs are dangerous – strenuous reducing exercises are liable to strain your heart. The only safe method of reducing is massage. This method sets up a vigorous circulation that seems to melt away the surplus fat. The Weil Reducing Belt made of special reducing rubber, produces exactly the same results as a skilled masseur, only quicker and cheaper. Every move you make causes the Weil Belt to gently massage your abdomen. Results are rapid because this belt works for you every second.

Fat Replaced by Normal Tissue

From 4 to 6 inches of flabby fat usually vanish in just a few weeks. Only solid, normal tissue remains. The Weil Reducing Belt is endorsed by physicians because it not only takes off fat, but helps correct stomach disorders, constipation, backache, shortness of breath and puts sagging internal organs back into place.

This ad might seem ludicrous and silly over eighty years later, but there are companies that are still selling this idea to this day:

• Starling Fitness » The Electric Corset: 1883 Is Very Similar to 2008

• Starling Fitness » Curves and Avon Embrace Quackery

Just like in 1920, you are unlikely to see any long term effects from a reducing belt, or trimming belt, or abs belt or anything that you put on your body. The only thing that will be lighter is your wallet.

Photo via: Found in Mom’s Basement: 1920s ad for “fat men”

In what has become a silly extension of the worry about the environment, everyone is asking whether riding your bike to work is better for the environment than driving your car.

• Roger Kramer Cycling: The Blog Page

The study Nye speaks was written by Karl T. Ulrich of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and it’s titled “The Environment Paradox of Bicycling” (PDF file). In short, the study suggests there is an immediate energy savings by bicycle riding, since a cyclist is up to nine times more energy efficient than a single-occupant car. However, the study suggests cyclists increase their longevity by 10.6 days for every year of cycling. Because of that, they consume more energy over their lifetimes, thus doing more harm to the environment.

Which is more important: human life or the environment? If you really believe that the environment is more important than your own life, then you should commit suicide now. There are none of us with a carbon footprint of zero.

If it’s at all possible for you to ride your bike to work, you should DO it! It will help the environment in the short run and keep you alive in the long run. I’ve written about this in the past:

• Starling Fitness » Riding My Bike To Work

• Starling Fitness » Save Gas By Walking or Riding Your Bike

• Starling Fitness » How To Ride Your Bike To Work

• Starling Fitness » PostSecret: Bike To Work

• Starling Fitness » You ARE Traffic

This photo from I Can Has Cheezburger? made me smile the other day.

When I look at this, I realize how silly it is to look at models in fashion magazines and feel bad about my body.

That cat is adorable and I want to pick him up and nuzzle my face on his belly. Whether he’s that size or the size of the cat in the book, he’s still adorable.

That’s how we are as humans. No matter what size you are, you are adorable. There is someone out there who wants to pick you up and nuzzle their face into your belly, whether it’s flat as stone or soft and round.

You deserve to be loved no matter what size you are.

Back in December of 2006, I warned you about Enviga, the purported “negative calorie” drink.

• Starling Fitness » Enviga Review on Big Fat Blog

Back then, I said:

Remember, weight loss is big business and companies think we are stupid. Don’t fall for it. Just because they slap a label on something telling you that it will make you lose weight, doesn’t mean it will or that it’s good for you.

It seems that Richard Blumenthal, the Attorney General of Connecticut, agrees with me:

Coca-Cola, Nestle and Beverage Partnership Worldwide (BPW) have been ordered to pay at least $650,000 in fines from the false claims.

• Attorney General: Attorney General Announces Settlement Resolving Weight Loss And Calorie-Burning Claims About Enviga

“The Enviga lesson is that weight loss requires sound diet and exercise, not simply a concoction of caffeine and green tea,” Blumenthal said. “Enviga’s calorie-burning claims led to credibility loss more than weight loss. Its new labels must now state clearly that calorie burning and weight loss requires proper diet and exercise.

“Enviga’s implied weight loss claims were scientifically weightless — unsupported by solid evidence. Enviga is no magic potion, capable of cutting pounds without pain.

“The larger message is that pound cutting claims are easy to swallow, but ultimately unsatisfying. Consumers deserve unadulterated truth — on food product labels as well as contents.”

The wheels of our system are SLOW. It took two and a half years for Coca-Cola to finally pay the piper. The fly-by-night scammers don’t tend to be around long enough for the government to finally put an end to them. If you ever see a product that promises to make you lose weight without diet and exercise, run away. And if you see a product that promises weight loss WITH diet and exercise, well, you can do that on your own without it. Don’t fall give them your money.

Via: Consumer Health Digest, March 19, 2009

This postcard from PostSecret made me feel so sad for the girl who sent it in.

It reads:

I only think about killing myself when I work out at the gym.
I know that no matter how hard I try
I’ll never be thin or even average.
I often wonder if any of the other big girls around me
are thinking the same thing.

I just wanted to take this girl in my arms and give her a big hug. I know it feels like you can’t do it, but that is just not true. You CAN get to a healthy weight.

In fact, it is only your belief that you’ll never be thin that is holding you back. If you can change that deep-rooted thought about yourself, you’ll be able to change your life. If there is only one thing that I could tell you, it would be, “You CAN do this!”

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.

This postcard from PostSecret made me realize one of the things that scares me about getting to goal weight.

This is the front of the card:

This is the back of the card:

It reads:

I couldn’t find love when I was young and attractive, because all everyone wanted was sex.

I can’t find love now that I’m old and fat, because all everyone wants is conversation.

Firstly, I wonder exactly what the writer imagines “love” to be. If it’s not sex and it’s not conversation, then I’m at a loss. Throw in a little devotion and I’m all set. Maybe my standards are low…

More importantly, however, I worry about getting to goal weight. When I am thin, will people take me as seriously as they do now? Will I suddenly be classified as a ditz just because I’m physically fit? Will they only think of me a sex object and never listen to a word I say? This is something that I thought I had dealt with long ago, but I guess it’s something that still frightens me a bit.

Of course, another side of me thinks that after a lifetime of being taken seriously, it might be a little nice being treated like a sex object for once…

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.