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

Whenever I get back on track, I tell everyone that I know that I am back to eating healthy and that I need a little encouragement. All the people who love me are really good at cheering me on, but there is something about getting that feedback that backfires on me. After every compliment and every positive remark, I lose steam. I don’t know what it is about having a cheerleader that makes me slack off, but I’ve definitely noticed a pattern.

This time, I’ve kept my mouth shut.

I’ve been working on the simplest of things: tracking my food every day, staying within my caloric restrictions and following five out of my seven healthy habits every day. If I do all three, I get another day added to my “food sobriety.” I’ve been food sober for over ten days now, but I haven’t really talked about it with anyone. Having a family of cheerleaders isn’t nearly as helpful for me as being my own cheerleader.

If you have noticed that every time you tell someone about your eating plan, you blow it, then try NOT telling anyone anything. Maybe you’ll see more success if you be your own cheerleader.

I love Michelle Obama for her style and her grace, but I love her even more for the Let’s Move Campaign. They have great tips for parents:

• Keep fresh fruit in a bowl within your child’s reach to grab as a quick snack: I would add that you need to clarify to your children that it’s okay to eat the fruit, even if you eat the last piece. Assure them that you’ll keep it full for them.
• Take a walk with your family after dinner: Or a bike ride or play a game of basketball. Whatever kind of activity you do together that gets the blood pumping is awesome.
• Plan a menu for the week. Get children involved in planning and cooking: This is essential. Not only does it teach your children about eating healthy, you teach them important life skills. How many college students are out there who don’t know how to cook anything but mac and cheese? Your kid won’t be one of them.
• Turn off the TV during meals and share some family time: This is a great way to teach children how to savor the food they’re eating, but it also gives them time to talk with you. I can’t count the number of times I overate because I didn’t have anyone to talk to about my problems.
• Talk to the principal about organizing a school health team: This is the only tip that seems lame. I don’t want the school getting involved. There were so many times that the five food groups talk at school devolved into a teacher commenting on my weight that I think schools should just mind their own business.

Remember that children look to YOU for their role models. If you are eating healthy and exercising regularly, they’ll want to parrot your actions. The first step toward healthy children is healthy adults.

In January, Sara Rue started on Jenny Craig in the hopes of getting back to her 2005 weight. I talked about it here:

• Starling Fitness » Sara Rue And Jenny Craig

Although I’m sure it didn’t feel quick to her, nine short months have flown by and she is now at goal and looking AWESOME! I haven’t followed Weight Watchers at all during the same time, so I look exactly the same. I am so glad that Jenny Craig worked for her, but at the same time, I’m angry with myself for not doing as well as she has done.

After seeing this advertisement, I seriously thought I should join Jenny Craig. Unfortunately, they don’t have a gluten-free option, so I can’t follow their program. Mike was very pragmatic about it. He told me:

If you want to know what it’s like to lose weight on Jenny Craig, just restrict yourself to eating Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones for every meal.

The thought of doing that made me feel immediately deprived and I realized once again that Weight Watchers is the best plan for me because I can work any food into my program instead of relying on prepackaged meals.

Now, I just need to religiously follow Weight Watchers just as faithfully as Sara followed Jenny Craig and I’ll be able to see the same results as her.

The next time you’re considering skipping your workout or eating something that isn’t on your plan, remember this photo of Keanu Reeves:

Sure, he looks a little older, but because he has stayed so physically fit, he is a doppelganger to his former self. If you are missing your former self, remember that you can look almost as young as you used to be by getting to a healthy weight.

Photo via: Classic Keanu – ROFLrazzi

I want to give a shout-out to Seventeen Magazine for their Body Peace Treaty. You can see it here:

You can read more inspiration here:

• Jess Weiner Body Peace Blog – Positive Body Image Advice for Teens – Seventeen

They were even featured on Huge (one of the best shows this summer):

Update 09-15-10: Here are some screenshots from Huge, where they sign the Body Peace Treaty.

I grew up in the Jehovah Witness faith. Although I left the church the day I turned twelve, I still think about their philosophies quite often. The Jehovah Witnesses considered the ability to be long suffering a virtue. I always thought that was moronic because if there is something making you suffer, I always felt that you should FIX the problem. Get out of the situation or solve the problem that is causing the suffering. Doing anything else is idiotic.

Instead of long suffering, they should have called that virtue endurance. Having the ability to last longer than everyone else can mean the difference between finishing the race and quitting at the first water station. Endurance is the difference between getting to my goal weight and stopping twenty pounds away, slowly gaining it all back.

I finally understand long suffering and it’s a virtue that I finally agree with wholly and completely. The next time you’re thinking of quitting, remember the virtue of long suffering and hold on for just a little longer.

This advertisement really inspired me.

It reads:

“Someone who’s got what you’ve got is out doing what you’re not.”

I know it was made for an advert for asthma medication, but the truth is, we ALL have our excuses and trials. We ALL have disabilities that we have convinced ourselves are true.

• I have a shoulder injury, so I can’t weight train.
• I am so overweight that exercise is impossible for me.
• I can’t eat vegetables, they hurt my stomach.
• I have weak knees, so I can’t exercise.
• I don’t have the money for a gym membership.
• I’m a big person. I can’t eat like a rabbit for the rest of my life.
• I’m busy. I don’t have the time to eat healthy and exercise.

I have heard all of these excuses and FAR more. There are ways around every single one of these excuses and there are people out there with shoulder injuries, bad stomachs, weak knees, little money and high BMIs who are losing weight, keeping healthy and working out every day. EVERYBODY has something that keeps them overweight, but the thin people find ways to work around those excuses.

I love this image from an Asics postcard I got in my SWAG bag for the SLC 5K. She’s titled Sadness:

It’s like running (or any strenuous exercise) gives you a mental shower, washing away all the negative emotions and feelings. I’ve felt that effect before, but I have never depended on exercise to provide a release. I am still using food when I am feeling bad. It’s time I got into the habit of going out for a run or bike ride every time I feel like turning to food when I’m not hungry.

Here are the three other runners from Asics.

Stress

Worry

Anxiety

Every time I get out of the habit of eating healthy and exercising, I go back to the basics. I make a list of all the things I want to accomplish every day and give myself a star each time I do it. Seeing the stars pile up is really motivating to me and helps me get back into healthy living. Inside, I’m just a little eight year old girl who desperately wants approval. Aren’t we all?

This time, I’m using Touch Goal [iTunes Link] on my iPhone to keep track of my good habits.

It’s a HORRIBLE clunky, program that is barely usable, so I’m not recommending it, but it DOES give me that satisfaction of seeing those virtual stars for each habit that I am working toward.

The awkward interface of Touch Goal isn’t my problem. Even keeping my goals isn’t a problem. The problem that I have is that I KNOW that in two months, when everything feels natural and I think I’ve assimilated my new habits into my life, I’ll stop giving myself stars (or in the case of Touch Goal, little green dots).

I’ll continue with my good habits for about a month and then something will happen. Maybe I’ll go out of town. Maybe I’ll get really sick. Maybe I’ll injure myself and can’t run anymore. Whatever happens isn’t the cause, but the effect will be that I will totally lose my good habits and I’ll have to start all over again after a weight gain, negating everything that I achieved while developing my new habits.

This isn’t a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is a cycle that I have noticed in myself over the last few years and I don’t know how to break it. I’ve had good habits for two weeks now, so I only have about six weeks before I stop giving myself kudos for keeping up with my good habits.

This really seems like a no-brainer. “Duh, Laura! Don’t stop giving yourself stars!”

Yeah, I thought of that one, thank you. Keeping up with the stars is easy enough to do, but somehow it falls by the wayside.

Maybe I need to make of habit of praising myself for a job well done…

Since I am working on my habits, my goal every day is a minimum of exercise. My goal is miniscule. All I require of myself is to walk one single mile every day. It has to be conscious exercise, not the walking accumulated by my regular activities. It needs to be time spent exercising, but all I have to do is one mile.

It’s a hilariously small requirement, but it’s the hardest for me to do each day. I procrastinate it every morning. Most days I put on my gym clothes and then proceed to do everything EXCEPT exercise.

The other day I read this quote. I’m pretty sure it’s a misquote because I can’t find a proper attribution, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”
— Mark Twain

Apparently, my live frog is exercise. If I can do it first thing in the morning, then I feel better the rest of the day. My live frog could have been eating healthy oils or planning my meals, but for me, I procrastinate exercising more than anything else.

The next time you’re feeling frustrated with your healthy lifestyle, sit down and think about your own live frog. Is it writing down everything you eat? Is it planning healthy meals? Is it working all your vegetables into your diet? Whatever it is, conquer it as early in the day as possible and the rest of your day will go much smoother.