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

This postcard from PostSecret talked about how I feel many times.

It reads:

I don’t work out to burn calories.

I work out so that when the day comes for me to leap across train cars, climb burning buildings, and duel with the bad guys, I can do it ALL.

I feel the same way. When I eat healthy and work out, I imagine that I can be a superhero. I call it the Movie Diet.

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.

Here is a great video from the Sci Show about why we love junk food so much.

I wish I could change my brain to love the carrots better than the french fries, but that just hasn’t happened and probably never will. I’ll just have to eat healthy despite what my brain loves.

Jenna Marbles made me laugh out loud at this video about how diets work.

At the point where there’s a cupcake, and she says, “How did you get here?!” I just lost it! Where does one even FIND a cupcake that looks like that?!

Honestly, though, that is EXACTLY how my eating was EVERY day for years. Once I got off sugar, though, it became a lot easier. Now, there are actually times when I FORGET to eat. Crazy, I know, but the carbohydrates were driving my insane hunger. Once I stopped eating them, my eating became MUCH more normal.

It took about two weeks of eating NOTHING sweet and no more than 30 grams of carbohydrates a day to get away from this cycle of eating. When I say nothing sweet, I mean even artificial sweeteners. Even though they have no calories, the sweet flavor would set me off.

The next time you feel like this video is the story of your life, get your self away from the carbs and load up on protein and fat for a couple of weeks and your dieting will become much easier, I promise!

I’ve never seen American Psycho, but I get the drift the Christian Bale’s character is a bad guy and probably shouldn’t be trusted.

Then again, what he said in this clip is true:

Chloe Sevigny’s character says: “Do you wanna bite?”

Christian Bale’s character says: “I’m on a diet, but thank you.”

Chloe: “You don’t need to lose any weight. You’re kidding, right? You look great, very fit.”

Christian: “You can always be thinner, look better.”

The next time someone offers you food you shouldn’t eat, remember this little video. Reply, “No, thank you.” If they press you about it, remember the mantra, “You can always be thinner, look better.”

Who cares if a deranged and psychotic killer said the words. If they help you, they’re golden.

The most interesting thing about this Breakfast Burrito from Finding My Fitness is the egg white tortilla.

Does it actually work? Does it hold the burrito together so well that you can eat it with your hands, or do you have to use a fork? The blog entry doesn’t clarify, so I guess I’ll have to try it myself. (more…)

I found some pancake forms at the dollar store the other day, so I made some heart-shaped eggs and star-shaped eggs for breakfast.

When I cracked the eggs into the forms, some of the egg whites escaped, but that didn’t ruin them. It worked really well and I loved having the same breakfast I have every day shaped in fun shapes instead. Why should having a heart-shaped egg make it taste better?!

If you can’t find pancake forms in your dollar store, here are some links to some:

• Norpro Nonstick Heart Pancake Egg Rings at Amazon.com
• Norpro Nonstick Star and Flower Pancake Egg Rings at Amazon.com
• 6pc Silicone Egg Rings at Amazon.com
• Mickey Mouse Icon Silhouette Egg/Pancake Rings at Amazon.com

The next time you’re feeling bored of your normal eggs and bacon in the morning, drag out the pancake forms and have a treat for breakfast!

I love the presentation on this Caprese Salad. I found it here:

• beautifulpicturesofhealthyfood: Hasselback… – Turning day-dreams, into reality

I’m used to seeing Caprese Salad looking like this:

Cutting the tomatoes partially looks so pretty and allows the vinegar and olive oil to pool nicely between the mozzarella and basil. Here is how it looked when I made it.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 3 tomatoes
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella
• 20 to 30 leaves (about 1 bunch) fresh basil
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Coarse salt and pepper

Directions

• Cut the tomatoes into 1/4-inch thick slices, but only 3/4 of the way through the tomato.
• Cut the mozzarella into 1/4-inch thick slices.
• Tuck one slice of mozzarella and a couple of leaves of basil between the tomato slices.
• Drizzle olive oil and vinegar over the tomatoes.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper over the tomatoes.
• Serve chilled.

Next time you’re not in the mood to cook in the hot kitchen, make this chilled salad and enjoy the fresh flavors!

Here is the complete playlist for the BBC documentary, “The Men Who Made Us Fat.” It’s worth a watch.

Now, the blame for the obesity epidemic isn’t the fault of the farmers who are trying to make a living. Too much food isn’t the problem. The WRONG food is the problem. HFCS AND sugar are bad for us. If our consumption of soda that had been sweetened with sugar had increased as much as it did with HFCS, we would have gained the SAME amount of weight. They BOTH have fructose.

I don’t know about everyone else, I snacked between meals because I was STARVING. I felt hungry all the time because I was eating sugar all day long. Even when I was on Weight Watchers, and losing weight, I did it with fruit smoothies, whole wheat bread and Kashi cereal. I was eating high carb all day long and it made me SO hungry. Once I started eating low carb, my need for snacks throughout the day evaporated.

I don’t believe that the palatability of food caused this constant hunger. I eat good foods now, but avoid carbohydrates. My food tastes delicious, but I’m not obsessed with food anymore. It’s not the fact that food tastes so good that causes people to overeat. It’s the carbohydrates.

I also don’t agree with taxing food manufacturers. They are just trying to make yummy food and sell it. It’s OUR responsibility not to buy it.

This is a pretty good documentary, but it goes overboard on laying blame and doesn’t spend enough time tell people what to do about it. I’m less worried about blame and more worried about how to get healthy.

via: Don’t Miss BBC Two’s Documentary ‘The Men Who Made Us Fat’ « Jimmy Moore’s Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Blog

Paula Deen recently lost 30 pounds to help keep her diabetes in check. She talked about it on the July 9th issue of People Magazine, but the recipes that she shared were LOADED with carbs. I’m glad that she has lost weight and I hope her diabetes is controllable for her, but most of the things she recommended to lose weight with, like fruit smoothies, would send my blood sugar through the roof.

She did have one good recipe, though. Chicken Kebabs with grilled onions.

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 2 TBSP teriyaki sauce
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• Pinch pepper
• Pinch salt
• 1 lb. chicken tenders cut in half
• 1 small bunch green onions

Directions

• In a large, resealable plastic bag, combine the garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice, teriyaki sauce, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and salt. Add the chicken. Seal the bag and chill for 1 hour.
• Soak 10 wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes.
• Spray a grill track with nonstick cooking spray, then preheat grill to medium high.
• Drain the chicken, discarding the marinade.
• Thread the chicken onto the skewers.
• Grill the chicken about 3 minutes on each side.
• Grill green onions until browned, about 3 minutes on each side.
• Arrange onions on a platter, top with the chicken and serve.

I wish Paula Deen the best and I hope she lives a long and healthy life. I just want the world to know that her love of butter did NOT cause her diabetes. It was the carbs.

I read this saying on Lifehacker the other day:

It reads:

If you want guaranteed results, do nothing—you’ll be guaranteed nothing in return. But that’s no way to succeed. -Ben Nesvig

The truth is, I WANT guaranteed results. I want to be able to know that if I follow the exact eating regime and workout plan that I will be to goal at a specific time. It’s depressing to know that there are no guaranteed results, except in failure.

No diet or workout can promise that I will get to goal, especially if I’m not willing to work at it. As long as I am willing to get my butt off the couch and my face out of the fridge, however, I will be better than I was yesterday.