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

I have been looking for a good iPhone application to keep track of my Weight Watchers Points for a long time. Weight Watchers Online has a page that works with the iPhone, but it is SEVERELY lacking in usability, so I kept looking.

Back when I had a Palm Treo, I used to keep track of my points using WWCalc. It was a GREAT program, but Weight Watchers shut them down. I used to wish that the programmer would alter his program so that it could just keep track of anything and allow me to put a formula of my own in it. That is EXACTLY what Edibles has done for me.

You can download Edibles for your iPhone here:

• Edibles – Diet Journal [iTunes Link]

Here is a detailed guide to setting up Edibles to work with Weight Watchers: (more…)

I’ve talked about Raw Food Vegans before, but here is some information that makes me think that maybe they are on to something.

• Rudd Sound Bites: There May Be More Links between Big Tobacco and Big Food than We Realize

There are many mixed messages about whether certain foods or food preparation methods also contribute to cancer risk. One substance that is particularly controversial is acrylamide. Acrylamide is found in both cigarette smoke and in food products produced by high-temperature cooking. Acrylamide has been found at especially high levels in potato chips and French fries. Rodent studies have shown that acrylamide exposure increases the risk of several types of cancer in the animals, but human studies are incomplete.

Here is more information about acrylamides:

• Acrylamide in Food and Cancer Risk – National Cancer Institute

How does cooking produce acrylamide?

Asparagine is an amino acid (a building block of proteins) that is found in many vegetables, with higher concentrations in some varieties of potatoes. When heated to high temperatures in the presence of certain sugars, asparagine can form acrylamide. High-temperature cooking methods, such as frying, baking, or broiling, have been found to produce acrylamide, while boiling and microwaving appear less likely to do so. Longer cooking times can also increase acrylamide production when the cooking temperature is above 120 degrees Celsius.

I still have my doubts that a raw food vegan diet is the best for humans, but maybe frying food isn’t the best way to cook. We already knew that, but it’s nice to know that we’re closer to the reason WHY.

For more information about the raw food diet:

• Starling Fitness » Raw Food Vegans Thin But Healthy
• Starling Fitness » Living Cuisine Raw Food Bar
• Starling Fitness » Diet Book Review: The Raw Truth
• Starling Fitness » Diet Book Review: The Raw Food Detox Diet
• Starling Fitness » Raw Food Enzymes and Quackwatch

This photo from I Can Has Cheezburger? made me smile the other day.

When I look at this, I realize how silly it is to look at models in fashion magazines and feel bad about my body.

That cat is adorable and I want to pick him up and nuzzle my face on his belly. Whether he’s that size or the size of the cat in the book, he’s still adorable.

That’s how we are as humans. No matter what size you are, you are adorable. There is someone out there who wants to pick you up and nuzzle their face into your belly, whether it’s flat as stone or soft and round.

You deserve to be loved no matter what size you are.

This week we look at fitness gadgets that are so new that they aren’t available to purchase yet. They were featured at the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association) 2009 Conference in San Francisco.

Of all the gadgets featured at IHRSA, the only one I could find purchase information for was the TRX Suspension Trainer. It just looks like a piece of nylon with handles, but there are apparently lots of exercises that you do with it.

Here’s a video showing a group class working out with the TRX Suspension Trainer:

After watching the video, almost all of those exercises could be done without the TRX Suspension Trainer. In fact, the people doing the lunges look to me like an accident waiting to happen. Sure, it’s a portable gym for “only” $149, but when you could do ninety percent of the exercises in a hotel room without the gadget, it kind of makes it less worthwhile in my mind.

Via: Diet Blog: 2009 Fitness Trends

This week we look at fitness gadgets that are so new that they aren’t available to purchase yet. They were featured at the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association) 2009 Conference in San Francisco.

If you have ever played DDR and wished you could play it against a whole room full of people, that is just one of the many options available to you at an Xrkade (pronounced e-xer-cade). When I first heard about Xrkade, they were just an idea, but now they are in over twenty states.

• xrkade.com

Xrkade is no more a gym or an arcade than Disneyland is a roller coaster park. It’s a cutting edge environment and experience complete with the most advanced gaming and entertainment systems where people become a “human joystick.”

Here is a promotional video showing people playing and working out:

Here is a virtual tour of an Xrkade:

Unfortunately, there isn’t one in Utah, so I can’t really go and try one out. I do love the idea, though. I can’t wait until ALL gyms look like Xrkade!

Via: Diet Blog: 2009 Fitness Trends

This week we look at fitness gadgets that are so new that they aren’t available to purchase yet. They were featured at the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association) 2009 Conference in San Francisco.

As if stair steppers and stair machines weren’t enough, they’ve added Jacob’s Ladder to the mix of exercise machines.

• Jacobs Ladder – Ultimate Fitness Experience

Jacob’s Ladder was designed to give a workout without putting stress on the back. This video shows it in action:

The only benefit I can see for using this machine instead of a stair stepper is the fact that you use your arms as well. This workout machine is PERFECT for training firefighters, but for the rest of us mortals, a stair machine is 90% of the way there. If I ever see one of these in a gym, I’ll be pleasantly surprised and INSIST on trying it out, but I doubt that will ever be an experience I’ll have.

Via: Diet Blog: 2009 Fitness Trends

This week we look at fitness gadgets that are so new that they aren’t available to purchase yet. They were featured at the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association) 2009 Conference in San Francisco.

When I first saw the Alter G-Trainer, I thought it was silly. Why would someone want to run on a treadmill with LESS gravity? Isn’t that LESS of a workout? Why, yes. Yes it is…

• Alter G-Trainer

G-Trainers enable people to improve mobility and health, recover from injury and surgery more effectively, overcome medical challenges that limit movement, and enhance physical performance.

If you have a sports injury, the G-Trainer can reduce the impact on your injured foot (leg, ankle, etc.) to make running easier while you heal. The same can be true for someone trying to learn to walk again after a severe injury.

The video promoting it, however, only brags about how quickly the runners can finish mileage. What’s the point of beating the 1 mile record if you can only do it in the Alter G-Trainer?

I doubt you’ll ever see something like this at your local gym. You might see it at a physical therapist’s office, but even then, it seems like such a specialty product that this might be the only way you’ll ever see it in action.

Via: Diet Blog: 2009 Fitness Trends

This week we look at fitness gadgets that are so new that they aren’t available to purchase yet. They were featured at the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association) 2009 Conference in San Francisco.

If you like mountain climbing, then the Treadwall is a machine that I bet you’re hoping your gym buys next. It’s like a vertical treadmill that you climb up. It’s better than a climbing wall because you are never more than six feet off the floor, you can set it vertically, an easy incline, or even an overhang incline.

Here is a promotional video about it:

They have a Treadwall at the gym in Camp Buehring, Kuwait. Here is a quick video that gives you a good idea of how they work without the marketing hype.

All the climbing bits are interchangeable, so a gym owner could change them out and make the Treadwall be completely different every week. Since it’s so big, it would be impractical for a normal person. This really seems like a product that is marketed to gym owners. Those mountain-climbing obsessed people might be able to find a spot in their home for a Treadwall, but for the rest of us, we can only hope that one shows up at our local gym.

Via: Diet Blog: 2009 Fitness Trends

This week we look at fitness gadgets that are so new that they aren’t available to purchase yet. They were featured at the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association) 2009 Conference in San Francisco.

Long ago, they used to make treadmills that didn’t require electricity to run. They were usually small and very cheap. They were powered by you walking on them and to make them go faster, you had to manually change the incline. They were VERY hard to use. It looks like SpeedFit is trying to make a treadmill that doesn’t require electricity, but is much easier to use.

SpeedFit has been around for a while. Their first version of the Speedboard was a flat treadmill that only used electricity to change the incline. The new Speedboard uses no electricity at all. Instead of adjusting the speed by changing the incline, you adjust your speed by stepping on different parts of the bowl shaped treadmill. Here is a more detailed video about the product:

I am uncomfortable with no handrails, probably because I’m used to being on a treadmill that is powered by something other than my own two legs. I love the idea that you don’t need electricity to run it. The motor isn’t what has gone out on my treadmills in the past, however. It was the TREAD that wore out far earlier than a motor. I like the idea of my exercise not costing any exercise. That’s why I go outside and run a lot of the times. Without knowing the price of this machine, it’s hard to know whether it’s something I would like or not. I suspect they are going for the gym owner market instead of trying to sell to the people who actually USE the treadmills, so don’t expect them to be cheap.

Via: Diet Blog: 2009 Fitness Trends

Last week, Quadrathon ran a 50 kilometer race through a canyon. He wrote all about it here:

• Quadrathon: PCTR Sycamore Canyon 50k

Not only did he run over 31 miles for one race, he filmed video while he did it! You can watch him run down Pt Mugu here:

THIS is why I don’t film running videos. I can’t get them to be steady enough to be watchable for an hour. This short video from Quadrathon is SO inspirational to me, though!

Next time you’re having a hard time getting through your workout, remember Quadrathon. If he can run a 31 mile race up and down mountains, you can finish the last ten minutes of your hard workout!