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

While I was at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Conference, I met an amazing woman, Tish Grier. I have been enjoying her personal weblog, so imagine my surprise when she writes an entry about the gym that hits home with me.

• love and hope and sex and dreams: Weighty Matters

If I had known all this was lurking under the surface of her skin, I would have given her a great big hug when I had the chance in Austin.

“It begins to bother me even more about my weight, that I can’t be happy just the way I am because there are all these messages around me, all this pressure, that guilts me into thinking that I should do my best to try to have that body I had when I was in my late 20’s…that great-looking un-traumatized body that only comes, quite truthfully, once in a lifetime…”

The truth is, the media IS trying to make us feel inadequate because it’s so much easier to sell us stuff when we are. If you have been feeling like you need to live up to anyone’s expectations but your own, take a break and write it out just like Tish did. You might not be able to get to the bottom of the issue in one sitting, but you should be able to find a nugget of truth that makes you feel better.

Whole Foods has been using a lot of marketing surrounding their organic produce and foods. Some of this marketing is hype according to this Slate article by Field Maloney.

• Is Whole Foods Wholesome? – The dark secrets of the organic-food movement. By Field Maloney

Here are a few of their marketing statements that are misleading:

• “Save energy” is misleading because it takes far more energy to transport “organically grown” tomatoes from Chile than to transport conventionally grown tomatoes from New Jersey.

• “Help the Small Farmer” is misleading because most of the organic food grown in the United States comes from a few large California farms. Although many small, family-run organic farms exist, their market share and representation at Whole Foods are minuscule.

• “Our Commitment to the Local Farmer” is misleading because few products are obtained locally and “grower profiles” depict organic farmers whose products are not on the shelves.

I tend to buy organic produce when it is readily available. I have convinced myself that it tastes better, but I have never tested myself in a blind taste test, so I think it’s just an excuse I’ve made in my mind. I don’t believe organic is inherently better than food grown with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but I tend to buy it if I have the choice.

“Credo quia consolans.” (I believe because it consoles me.)

Via: Consumer Health Digest, March 21, 2006

So many companies are jumping on the “Whole Grain” bandwagon that the FDA has drafted a guidance for what companies are allowed to call whole grain.

• US FDA/CFSAN – Draft Guidance – Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff: Whole Grain Label Statements

“The Food and Drug Administration has issued draft guidance on what the term ‘whole grain’ may include. The FDA document clarifies that the agency considers ‘whole grain’ to include cereal grains that consist of the intact, ground, cracked or flaked fruit of the grains whose principal components—the starchy endosperm, germ and bran—are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact grain.”

I’m glad that the FDA is setting up guidelines to protect us from companies that are trying to profit off the obsession with whole grains instead of actually making products that are made with them. Now, if the label says “whole grain” it better mean something or they’ll have the FDA breathing down their neck.

Via: Consumer Health Digest, February 21, 2006

When was the last time you enjoyed exercise?

What about it did you enjoy?

The last time I REALLY enjoyed exercise was when I came home from my trip to SXSW. On the trip, I had been working out at the hotel gym, which is different than my weight bench and treadmill at home. I also had to share the equipment with other people, which I hate. I didn’t have to deal with any gross, sweaty people, but I’m kind of spoiled now. I don’t want to have to wait for equipment. I want to go from exercise to exercise quickly without having to ask the 98 pound girl for the 8 pound weights. I just want to go through my workout without seeing or talking to anyone. I didn’t realize I had gotten so set in my ways until I had to “play nice” at the hotel gym.

When I got home from my trip, I looked forward to working out at home. The next morning, I walked downstairs to my claustrophobic basement and enjoyed every minute of my weight training workout. I even upped my weights because I was in that good of a mood. I just moved from one exercise to another seamlessly. The weight training portion of the workout only took about 30 minutes and I was disappointed when it was over. I even considered doing another circuit, but I worried about overworking my muscles, so I kept it simple.

After the weight training, I went upstairs and rode the bike on my bike trainer. I have my bike placed right in front of the television in the living room, so I can watch whatever I want. I put in a DVD and pedaled away without even feeling it. I kept checking my heart rate monitor to make sure I was still in the high zone. I was easily above that mark and I just kept riding for longer than I needed to.

I think I liked this workout so much because I was able to just get in and get it done very easily without having to encounter any other people. I didn’t have to check in at a desk. I didn’t have to wait for the 8 pound weights. I didn’t have to try to learn new machinery. I didn’t have to spray down the bike after I was done. All I had to do was wake up, get dressed and work out.

I don’t remember working out at home being so easy before. I used to have a full weight system, treadmill, exercise bike and stair stepper at home when we lived in the huge house in the suburbs and I don’t ever remember enjoying a workout at home as much as I did the other day. I don’t know what’s different. Maybe it was the years of working out at the gym and dealing with other peoples’ sweat that has made me so grateful to just stay home. Maybe exercise is just more of a habit for me. I don’t know, but I’m sure glad that it feels this good.

When was the last time you enjoyed exercise?

What about it did you enjoy?

The Question of the Week is meant to be an Inner Workout for you. Find some time during the week and allow yourself to write the answers to the questions posted. You can write them on paper, on a word processor or here in the comments section. Whatever works for you as long as you do it.

Keep writing until you find out something about yourself that you didn’t know before. I’ve also heard that it works to keep writing until you cry, but that doesn’t really work for me. Whatever works for you. Just keep writing until it feels right.

Damaging food so that you can’t eat it is one way of avoiding overindulgence. It’s true and I’ve done it.

I usually put my napkin on the food and press it in so that I won’t want to eat it. It’s as if the napkin has “contaminated” the food. I’ve also poured water on my leftovers so that I wouldn’t pick at them while I waited for the waiter to take it away. I’ve heard that pouring salt over food is supposed to work, but I crave salt so much that I don’t think it would be much of a deterrent for me.

What if I didn’t need to damage food in order to be “safe”? What if I was able to leave a half-eaten entree on the table untouched? Would I be cured then? Is that my next test? I won’t take the food home in a container. I won’t damage the food so I can’t pick at it. I won’t share the food with someone else. I’ll just let it sit there, untouched. I think that’s my next step in this evolution.

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.

I’ve read so many websites and books about Raw Foods because I’m looking for some proof. They make claims that cooking food depletes the enzymes in food that is necessary for humans. It sounded like quackery to me, especially since none of them quoted any medical studies.

Thanks to one of my readers, Barry, the reason it sounds like quackery is because it is:

• Quackwatch – “Enzyme Deficiency”

Dr. Stephen Barrett has written an article about a specific product, Nu-zymes, but it also addresses the idea of raw food and enzymes. Here are the best quotes:

“Enzymes in food cannot remedy a lack of cellular enzymes. All plant and animal products contain enzymes. They are responsible for both growth and post-harvest deterioration (wilting, discoloration, rancidity, etc.). They have nothing to do with the digestive process after food is consumed.”

“Raw food contains no enzymes needed for digestion. All the enzymes needed for human digestion are made in the body.”

That finishes it for me. I won’t be jumping into a diet of strictly raw foods. Sure, the food at the raw food bar tasted really good, but it’s not any more healthy than the same food boiled or microwaved.

This funny little article links obesity to widescreen televisions. It’s a parody and they aren’t serious, but it’s funny to read.

• SlashNOT – Obesity epidemic linked to widescreen televisions

The idea that people are getting fatter because of the way their televisions are formatted is just as absurd as some of the other theories that have been thrown around lately. Blaming your widescreen television, the PlayStation, your car or any other modern convenience for obesity is just a cop out.

I was fat because I ate too much and I exercised too little. It’s not like I didn’t have access to running shoes. It’s not like my Xbox was shoving food into my mouth. I was fat because I didn’t take care of myself. I don’t blame anything else.

The fault was all mine. That was the sucky part. I had nothing and no one to blame but myself, but the corallary to that is that now that I’m healthy, I also have no one to blame but myself. I eat less. I exercise more. No one forces me to get on the treadmill or bike. No one withholds food from me. I have done it all myself and I’m happy to announce that my fitness has NOTHING to do with a widescreen television.

This story is about a computer program that allows parents to set restrictions on their children’s eating at the school cafeteria:

• Happy News – Computer lets parents track kids eating – by Juan A. Lozano with Associated Press

The system is described here:

When he punches in his code for the prepaid account his parents set up, a warning sounds: “This student has a food restriction.”

Back goes the brownie as the cashier reminds him that his parents have declared all desserts off-limits.

This is NOT going to work. Children have so much freedom. They can save their allowance and eat at a convenience store on the way home. They can eat at their friend’s house after school. There is no way for a parent to categorically limit what your child eats. This very expensive system is USELESS and it will not help prevent childhood obesity. It may even cause more problems by adding shame and embarrassment to the equation.

The only way to help your children eat healthy and have an active lifestyle is to model the behavior you want to see. If you want your children to eat healthy, then you have to eat healthy ALL THE TIME. They are watching you and your actions speak far louder than any restrictions you put on them.

For more thoughts about Childhood Obesity read further:

• Starling Fitness » Childhood Obesity

I’ve been following the news on Cookie Monster and his bingeing behavior for quite awhile now. I was happy to see Happy Healthy Monsters at the library. I don’t have any children to watch this video with, but I enjoyed it just the same. I loved how they addressed Cookie Monster’s past eating behavior. They were careful to explain that cookies can be a part of a healthy diet while they introduced a large variety of fruits, vegetables, dairy and legumes to the children.

This is not a serious workout video that concentrates on exercising every muscle. It’s more of an introduction to the idea of jumping, jogging and dancing to get your heart beating faster. They talk about healthy food and there is even a nod to yoga at the end.

The best part, is that they have Grover describe the moves and then they have real children who are “watching” Grover on television perform the moves. A muppet can’t show you exactly what they want when they say jump like a frog, but the children that are participating with the show give you a clear example of what you should be doing. Genius…

Evaluation:

If you’re expecting a full body workout for your child, this is not the workout for you, but if you want your kid to actually watch it all the way through, then Sesame Street is always a winner.