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

Almost three months ago, I had a freak out because I realized my weight was up to 220.9.

• Starling Fitness – Fitness, diet, and health weblog » 220.9

Since then, I have tried to lose the weight on my own. I used Lose It! and had a lot of support on that website, but I kept flaking on myself. Despite the lovely people there, willing to give me support, I didn’t follow through.

Low carb eating works best for my body, but I haven’t been able to stay on that diet any longer than I was able to stay low fat. The only diet that I’ve been able to stay on long-term is Weight Watchers.

I think it’s because of the accountability. Every week, I stand on a scale in front of a REAL person. Most of the times, it was my WW leader who weighed me. Something about that accountability is very motivating to me.

Of course, there are other forms of accountability. I could hire a weight loss doctor to weigh me each week, but that costs a lot more than the $12 a week that WW is costing me right now. I could go to OA meetings. Heck, I think they are even FREE, but then I have to accept a “higher power” and all that Jesus talk that I can’t swallow any more than I could swallow a Jenny Craig meal.

It seemed that the only option that I could see was Weight Watchers and seeing my weight on the scale at the office shocked me. I had bounced up to 226.4, despite all my efforts on my own to lose weight. I might not have lost weight the last time I struggled with WW, but I didn’t GAIN! Trying to do this on my own, I GAINED weight.

In 2011, I wrote about why I was leaving WW:

• Why I Left Weight Watchers

I said:

And I did it. I went to every WW meeting and I followed the program for a year. My progress was minimal at best. I lost approximately ten pounds in that year, which is better than gaining that same amount, but it was a CONSTANT struggle to even have those minimal results.

Two years later, I’m looking at a constant struggle and I’ve GAINED over twenty pounds since I left WW. Those “minimal results” are looking pretty good compared to the last two years of failure.

So, I’m back at the beginning. I went to WW yesterday and it was really good to see my leader. It was really good to see my old friends. It was even BETTER to see the lifetime member who lost 150 pounds in 1995 and has kept it off since then. She goes to WW EVERY week, even though she has kept the weight off for so long.

What the HECK was I thinking? If that lifetimer has to still go to WW every week for YEARS in order to keep those 150 pounds from creeping back, why did I think I could do this on my own?!

And now, I have to start over…

Well, if I’m sick of starting over, I need to stop quitting. I’ve seen it time and time again on Pinterest. It’s time to take it to heart.

I love this image that I saw on work sweat achieve.

It reads:

Running.

First, you feel like dying.

Then, you feel reborn.

It usually takes about a twenty minute workout for me to feel that good feeling. That’s the shortest run I can do and get that good feeling. I don’t know about the benefits of doing longer workouts, but if you are just looking for that “high” then you can keep your workouts short.

I love this tweet from Tara Stiles.

It reads:

It’s all in the food. Eat better, feel better, never get sick, have a great mood, loads of energy, and look fantastic. #saynothankstojunk

The thing that really caught my eye was the hashtag, “Say No Thanks to Junk.” It is so hard for me to do it. Not only do I have a hard time saying no thanks to other people, but it’s SO hard to say it to myself. I crave all the worst in food and just saying no to it is as hard as they told me it would be to say no to drugs.

Tara Stiles is a Yoga instructor and she has many yoga videos for sale at Amazon:

• Tara Stiles This is Yoga
• Yoga Transformation: Weight Loss & Balance
• Tara Stiles – Yoga Anywhere

I also found a workout on YouTube, but I don’t know how long it will stay there:

She seems focused on Yoga, yet she tells us that it is all about the food. If we can control our eating, then everything else will fall into place.

Via: Fun, Fit, and Fabulous

I love this animated GIF from Funeral For My Fat.

It shows Kevin Spacey running outside in grey sweats and it reads:

I wanna look good naked!

This scene is from American Beauty and you can see the whole thing here:

His physically fit friends ask him,

Are you lookin’ to just lose weight or do you wanna have increased strength and flexibility as well?

Is it enough? Is it enough motivation to want to look good naked?

Yes, yes it is…

I found this image on Fat Kid Goes Paleo the other day and it really reminded me of what I have been doing wrong lately.

It reads:

Food is the most widely abused anti-anxiety drug in America, and exercise is the most potent and underutilized antidepressant.

• Bill Phillips

Bill Phillips is the Body for Life guy, which is a plan that never worked for me, but he is spot on with this quote.

I have continually turned to food to alter my mood when I SHOULD be turning to exercise. I need to have a note on my fridge or pantry that tells me to jump on the treadmill.

Mike and I just bought a new treadmill…

…new to us at least! Here is what we learned from the process. (more…)

As you know, I’ve been running with Zombies, Run! I’ve talked A LOT about it, so if you have no idea what I’m talking about here are some refreshers.

• Starling Fitness – Zombies, Run! Makes Exercise Fun
• Starling Fitness – Zombies, Run! 2 Is Coming This Spring
• Starling Fitness – I Am Runner Five
• Starling Fitness – Camilla Luddington Loves Zombies, Run!

Right now, I’m trying to get faster, so I’m going through the workouts on Zombies, Run! 5K. They are set between episodes 1 and 2 of the original app. Right after the death of the previous Runner Five. Just a warning, Sam (the radio operator) is a little distraught over her death.

I was running outside, which was perfectly fine, but the weather here in Salt Lake has turned snowy, slippery and dangerous again, so for a couple of workouts, I headed to the gym, with embarrassing results. (more…)

I love this animated GIF I found over on Love Green Tea.

You’d think that this image would make me want to buy the shoes, but it doesn’t. Just seeing those beautiful running shoes being laced up makes me want to go on a run, not buy the shoes. Someday, I even hope to have legs that are thin and strong like those ones.

Via: Funeral For My Fat

I found this image and it really helped me.

• The Iron You: The Virtuous Cycle

It reads:

The Healthy Living Cycle: Positive Thinking leads to Feeling Good, which leads to Regular Exercise, which leads to Eating Better, which leads to Positive Thinking.

I love this image because it reminds me of how to get back on track if I am having trouble. I can get back to a healthy life just by jumping into the cycle at any point. I don’t need to immediately limit my food choices or pound my body on the treadmill. All I have to do is jump into the cycle.

Let’s say my eating has gotten out of control. In order to get it back in check, I could do any of the following things:

• Write positive things in my journal
• Meditate
• Take a walk around the neighborhood
• Lift some weights
• Talk to a good friend who makes me feel better about myself
• Watch an inspiring movie

If you notice, none of those things involve anything to do with food, but doing enough of them will get my eating back in control.

If I’m just not willing to exercise, I could do any of the following things:

• Limit my calories to account for no exercise that day
• Change my diet plan to include more filling foods like protein and veggies.
• Write in my journal
• Meditate on all the good in my life
• Call someone who loves me
• Read a book that makes me feel better

Whatever your problem is, all you have to do is jump into that cycle at ANY point to solve the problem. So many times, I try to fix my eating by monitoring my eating or limiting my food choices. That actually makes things WORSE for me. Instead, I’m going to focus on other portions of the Healthy Living Cycle and they will lead to better food choices naturally.

The next time you feel discouraged, take a look at this cycle. Find out where you are having troubles and jump into the cycle at a DIFFERENT point to make things better. You’ll find that your problems don’t feel like that big of a problem anymore.

Via: Tumblr: Tattoos and Fitness

The always funny Jenna Marbles has decided that she needs to confess her junk food transgressions. BTW, she has a minor swearing problem, so don’t be surprised about the swear words that come out of her mouth. She’s still funny.

So many of the things she said were really funny, but she starts it all with this little zinger!

It’s just got to the point where my underwear is getting a little tight.

Here are some of my favorites:

At one occasion, I would eat macaroni and cheese until I couldn’t feel feelings anymore.

I would even eat lying down, like I can’t even SIT UP to eat.

One time, I didn’t have any real food to eat, so I just ate a bag of croutons.

I eat so many Doritos Locos tacos, because once you eat the Doritos ones, you can’t go back to regular tacos. The shell is just so boring. I want that one covered in cheese. And then, of course, when the Cool Ranch ones came out, I had to eat those, because I needed to see what all the rage was about. It was about hating yourself.

Spring comes EVERY year, and yet EVERY year, it manages to surprise me by sneaking up on me and reminding me that I’m not ready to put on my bathing suits yet.

She hopes that by sharing her confessions that she will get a new slate and start eating healthy again and stop being so “squishy.” I wish her the best of luck!