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

Last week, I went to the gym for my workout. I’ve been using the treadmill pretty heavily, so I wanted a workout that worked some different muscles. I chose the upright exercise bikes. My gym owns the Life Fitness exercise bikes, which have a workout called “Random.” I chose that workout and set the bike to my usual level.

I really wanted a hard workout, though, so I decided to kick it up a notch. Every time the random line of dots was seven dots or higher, I would stand up in the saddle. The Life Fitness bikes aren’t like the spinning class bikes. It’s VERY difficult to stand up in the saddle because the pedals won’t support your weight. I needed to concentrate very carefully to keep my movements from being jerky.

While I was standing up in the saddle, I repeated the word “Smooth” to myself over and over so that I would keep good form during this difficult time. I would also keep my eye on the clock and count down the last five seconds.

The standing up sessions were as short as 10 seconds, but never longer than 50 seconds. My heart rate got higher than I should have let it, but it kept my interest on the workout. I had already chosen a level that was difficult for me. Standing up in the saddle made it the major workout of my week.

Try this workout and see how it feels to you. It made my 40 minutes fly by and I felt so energized after it.

So, you ate really well on Thanksgiving. You were able to avoid that horrible stomach-stretching fullness that can knock a strong man down for the count on the couch. Maybe you even ate so healthy that you feel a little deprived. Maybe you planned exactly what you wanted, worked it into your weekly plan. You did a great job!

Now, you feel like eating everything in sight!

You don’t understand it. You did so well on the holiday, but you are continually being called by the leftovers in the refrigerator. Or maybe the food court at the mall is calling to you stronger than you’ve ever heard it before. Or maybe you can’t stop thinking about that pie you DIDN’T eat.

Whatever it is, if you feel tempted, read on…

(more…)

Maybe you had a plan and threw it all out the window. Maybe you didn’t plan for it and just thought you wouldn’t have any trouble. Maybe you decided to overeat before you even smelled the turkey. It doesn’t matter. You think you blew it and you’re here.

Guess what…

You didn’t blow it.

(more…)

Here is a list of the common foods that are found on the Thanksgiving table every year. Use this list to calculate what you cannot live without this year and work the total calories into your day. You can celebrate this holiday without guilt and without deprivation. All it takes is a little planning.

• Turkey, light meat with skin – 1 cup/140 grams – 276 calories – 12 g fat – 0 g fiber
• Turkey, light meat without skin – 1 cup/140 grams – 220 calories – 5 g fat – 0 g fiber
• Turkey, dark meat with skin – 1 cup/140 grams – 309calories – 16 g fat – 0 g fiber
• Turkey, dark meat without skin – 1 cup/140 grams – 262calories – 10 g fat – 0 g fiber

• Ham – 1 cup/140 grams – 231 calories – 11 g fat – 0 g fiber

• Cranberry Sauce – 1 slice (1/2″ thick/8 slices a can) – 86 calories – 0 g fat – 1 g fiber

• Gravy – 1 cup – 121 calories – 5 g fat – 1 g fiber

• Baked Potato – 1 large – 278 calories – 0 g fat – 7 g fiber
• Mashed Potatoes (prepared with whole milk) – 1 cup – 174 calories – 1 g fat – 3 g fiber
• Mashed Potatoes (prepared with whole milk & butter) – 1 cup – 237 calories – 9 g fat – 3 g fiber

• Bread Stuffing – 1/2 cup – 178 calories – 9 g fat – 3 g fiber
• Cornbread Stuffing – 1/2 cup – 179 calories – 9 g fat – 3 g fiber

• Winter Squash – 1 cup – 76 calories – 1 g fat – 6 g fiber
• Corn – 1/2 cup – 66 calories – 1 g fat – 2 g fiber

• Green Beans – 1 cup – 41 calories – 0 g fat – 3 g fiber
• Green Bean Casserole – 3/4 cup – 165 calories – 10 g fat – 2 g fiber

• Yams – 1 cup – 158 calories – 0 g fat – 5 g fiber
• Candied Yams – 3/4 cup – 335 calories – 9 g fat – 3 g fiber

• Apple Pie – 1 piece (1/8th of a 9″ diameter) – 296 calories – 14 g fat – 2 g fiber
• Cherry Pie – 1 piece (1/8th of a 9″ diameter) – 325 calories – 14 g fat – 1 g fiber
• Coconut Creme Pie – 1 piece (1/8th of a 7″ diameter) – 143 calories – 8 g fat – 1 g fiber
• Pecan Pie – 1 piece (1/6th of a 8″ diameter) – 452 calories – 21 g fat – 4 g fiber
• Pumpkin Pie – 1 piece (1/6th of a 8″ diameter) – 229 calories – 10 g fat – 3 g fiber

• Vanilla Ice Cream – 1/2 cup – 145 calories – 8 g fat – 1 g fiber
• Vanilla Frozen Yogurt – 1/2 cup – 117 calories – 4 g fat – 0 g fiber
• Whipped Cream – 1/2 cup – 177 calories – 7 g fat – 0 g fiber
• Whipped Topping (non-dairy) – 1/2 cup – 83 calories – 5 g fat – 0 g fiber

All calorie listings from:

• NutritionData’s Nutrition Facts Calorie Counter

Here is a handy program to calculate the calories of your meal:

• Good Housekeeping: Thanksgiving Calorie Calculator

You have the power to have a healthy and satisfying Thanksgiving. There is no reason for guilt or deprivation. With planning, you can have your favorites in controlled portions and pass by the foods that you don’t really crave in favor of them. You can do this.

I can hear that voice in the back of your head. You think that it’s only one day. You think that it’s okay to gorge yourself, just this one day. There’s that other voice there, too, though. It’s saying that you don’t want to give up on your dreams, AGAIN. What do you listen to? If you eat like you’ve always done on Thanksgiving, then you’ll feel guilty for giving up on your dreams. If you diet like it’s January First, then you’ll miss out on all the fun. There’s no way to win, right?

Wrong!

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I’ve heard it said about every kind of food, “I can’t eat that. It will give me gas.” Veggies, cheese, milk, fruit, meat, processed foods, uncooked foods, healthy oils, everything. I’ve been sitting in Weight Watchers meetings for almost four years now. I’ve heard that phrase refer to everything.

Sometimes, it’s hard for me not to roll my eyes. Sometimes it’s hard for me not to turn around and “bless” these people with my “vast” knowledge about gastrointestinal pain. Gas is the whole reason why I decided to start eating healthy. My stomach was killing me and a stupid doctor told me that the reason why I was in pain was because I was fat.

What would I tell them if I didn’t hold my tongue? (more…)

I saw the graffiti on the wall and felt the shame. FAT! It was a word that was used to torment me all through grade school. Seeing it there, on the wall was like a stranger had made a judgment call across the space-time continuum. I felt that whoever sprayed that word on the wall knew I was coming and made it known that there is something wrong with me.

As I walked away, I tried to tell myself that it was cool. Fat is something that is cool now, right? Phat beats… Of course, the cool kind of fat is spelled with a “ph” and it’s about a decade too late to be cool anymore. No, fat pretty much still means fat…

I tried calm myself down as I headed to my destination. There is no way that the graffiti was trying to torment me. It was sprayed there less than a week ago, but the tagger couldn’t have possibly had me in mind when the can colored the wall. That word on the wall had nothing to do with me. It still stung, though. It was like the wall knew I was coming and said exactly what it was thinking.

When I tell people that I used to be fat, they are surprised. I can almost tell what they are thinking behind their eyes. They think that I was fat for a little while and I got over it like most people get over the flu. There was some sweating and discomfort, but now I’m all better.

I’m here to tell you that it wasn’t like that for me. I was fat before I remember being myself. I think my personality came into being the day that I realized that I was fat. Fat is so much a part of me that I see the word on a wall and identify with it so strongly that I think it was placed there specifically for me. I don’t know if fat will ever leave my psyche. Maybe I’ll spend the rest of my life feeling bigger than my body.

On the way home from my appointment, I stopped and looked at the wall. I pulled the camera out of my purse and clicked a few pictures. I decided that if I identify with the word so much, I might as well take it into myself and make it positive somehow. I don’t know how, but that’s the goal.

Sometimes it all seems too much. Eating healthy, finding the right exercise program and keeping cravings under control can just seem overwhelming. When I looked at all the weight I had to lose, there were times when I felt like I was defeated before I even started.

“Getting Started” used to mean finding a diet, buying the correct food for the diet, preparing a food journal to keep track of the correct food on the diet, finding the correct exercise program, buying whatever items I needed to exercise with, setting up a journal to record the exercise that I did with the correct items, and the list never ended. I usually enjoyed “Getting Started” a lot more than actually following whatever fad diet I had latched my hopes on.

Following the diet meant being perfect. Every fad diet promises great results only if you are willing to follow the regime with exactitude. The second that I fell into old habits, I would feel like I had “Blown It.” “Blown It” has its own rules of behaviors that involved eating whatever I felt I had been denied when I was “Getting Started.”

It took years for me to realize that I didn’t have to do it all perfectly all the time. “Getting Started” doesn’t mean to me what it did before. I no longer need to purchase strange food or expensive exercise equipment. “Getting Started” means putting one foot in front of another every day. I don’t need to be perfect in order to be healthy and lose weight. I don’t need to ever endure another “Blown It” binge episode. All I need to do is get myself out of bed every morning and stay committed to making good choices.

I think the reason that Weight Watchers worked so well for me is because I approached it so slowly. I didn’t dive into it like I usually did with most diets. My sister lost 25 pounds on Weight Watchers and she told me that as long as I stayed within my points, I would lose weight. I believed her and I didn’t pay much attention to the eight good health guidelines.

Guess what? I lost weight. As long as I kept my points within my range and was honest about what I ate as far as portion sizes, I lost weight. As I continued with the program, I slowly added the good health guidelines to my diet. I never suffered from “Fiber Overload” or stressed too much about “Getting My Water In.” I just slowly adopted all the recommendations given to me instead of jumping in and making all those changes at once.

I think that’s why I was able to make the change. Whenever I tried other diets, I jumped in full steam ahead. It was so difficult to make all the changes that needed to be made that I usually gave up within a couple of weeks. So, what does this mean to you?

How To Make Small Changes In Your Lifestyle: (more…)

When I started exercising, I was walking and running outdoors on sidewalks and roads. I had incredible pain in my shins (the muscle on the lower front of my leg). I also had pain under my feet in the arch. I actually went to a podiatrist, who wrapped my foot and told me to ice it regularly. It didn’t help.

The pain would go away when I stopped exercising for a week or so, but would come back every time I’d start again. I was really frustrated because the doctor wasn’t any help and every article that I read about this kind of pain gave me the following useless advice:

• Stretch: They’d tell me to stretch, but didn’t tell me how.
• Ice: Ice helps reduce the swelling when you’re injured, but what I really needed was to learn how not to get injured in the first place.
• Change the Type of Exercise: I was really poor and the only options available to me at the time were walking and running. Both hurt me.
• Wrap It: The doctor showed me how to wrap my foot, but it didn’t prevent me from injuring myself.
• Rest: Yeah, rest works, but EVERY time I started up again, the pain came back.
• Lose Weight: A lot of the articles told me to lose weight because extra poundage caused problems. I remember reading that thinking, “No kidding? Why do you think I’m running and walking in the first place!”

Finally, Runner’s World had a small, tiny article that was an “Ask the Doctor” type of thing. It was so small I could have missed it, but luckily, I found it. The space was limited, so the doctor answered the shin splint question with ONE stretch that I could do to solve the problem. That and a recommendation to see a doctor was all the article contained. Not even a picture.

After following the directions for a week, I noticed a definite improvement in that foot and my shins. Now, I swear by this stretch. I do it before and after every run, walk and especially if I’m playing Dance Dance Revolution. This website has a description of the stretch:

• Exercise & Muscle Directory – Step Straight Leg Calf Stretch

My additional thoughts:

• Lower your heel over the edge of a step and lift your toes.
• Make sure you hold onto something so that you don’t slip and hurt yourself.
• Lowering your foot stretches your calf muscle and lifting your toe stretches your shin.
• You can bend the knee of the stretching leg and it will deepen the stretch.
• Hold the stretch for 20 seconds on each leg.
• Be careful. DO NOT bounce! It’s really easy to lose your balance on the step and REALLY hurt yourself.