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

• @ddrdiva What is MTM? I’ve never heard of it. #

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• @ddrdiva What is MTM? I’ve never heard of it. #

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Last week’s Sheldon had me laughing and cringing in embarrassment. Arthur, the duck, is so proud of his accomplishment. You can see the whole comic here:

• Sheldonâ„¢ Comic Strip: Daily Webcomic by Dave Kellett: May 4, 2009

What did Arthur do that was like running a marathon? I won’t ruin it for you, but just suffice it to say that even I haven’t achieved this sort of “greatness.”

The next time you are tempted to the dark side, remember Arthur and how silly he sounds when bragging about his foibles.

A couple of years ago, I talked about the Mormons (The Church of Latter Day Saints) and the Word of Wisdom. I said it could be used to keep the members of the church healthy.

• Starling Fitness » A Utah Non-Mormon Talks About The BYU Study

It looks like someone has written a book about just that subject. It’s called The Mormon Diet. Here are the key points of the Word of Wisdom that have to do with health:

• Avoid Alcohol and Strong Drink (such as Coca-Cola or other caffeinated or carbonated beverages): “That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good.”

• Avoid Tobacco: “Tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man.”

• Avoid Hot Drinks (such as coffee and tea): “Hot drinks are not for the body or belly.”

• Eat Your Vegetables: “Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.”

• Eat Meat Sparingly: “Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.”

• Eat More Whole Grains and Feed Your Animals Grains: “All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth.”

• You’ll Be Healthy If You Eat This Way: “And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.”

You can read the full Word of Wisdom here:

• The LDS Word of Wisdom – Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants

I LOVE this video of an Exotic Aerobics class dancing. They are from Lady of Essence fitness club in Texas.

Every one of the women in this class is a DIVA! I loved watching them all! Women of all sizes shaking their booty! Terrific motivation to keep exercising and to keep healthy!

This postcard from PostSecret made me cringe with embarrassment.

It reads:

Tapeworms are what keep me thin.

There is a lot of questionable medicine floating around the world that recommends tapeworms for everything from stomach disorders to obesity. The concept of purposely infecting oneself with a parasite has been around for a LONG time. This advertisement doesn’t have a date printed up on it, but it’s obviously from the turn of the century.

This video talks a little about the negative effects of having a parasite within your body, but it doesn’t go into enough detail:

According to the Mayo Clinic, having a tape worm is a lot more painful than that “tapeworm expert” suggests:

Most likely, you won’t have any signs or symptoms with an intestinal infection. It’s possible you might notice segments of the adult tapeworm (proglottids) in your stool. Other possible signs and symptoms include:

• Nausea
• Weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss and inadequate absorption of nutrients from food

Signs and symptoms of invasive infection: If tapeworm larvae have moved out of your intestines and formed cysts in other tissues, it can cause organ and tissue damage, resulting in:

• Fever
• Cystic masses or lumps
• Allergic reactions to the larvae
• Bacterial infections
• Neurological symptoms or seizures if the brain is involved

In one episode of House, a patient had a tapeworm in his brain causing trouble. That’s definitely NOT something I would want to risk just to lose weight. I’m perfectly willing to eat less and move more in order to avoid the complications of having a parasite within my body.

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.

• Good review of Wii Golds Gym. He loved roadwork as much as I did! http://bit.ly/ubeXm #

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Growing your own vegetables and herbs is the best way to ensure that your food is healthy. My friend, Roland K. Smith makes Raised Garden Beds that make gardening in small areas or on your deck or patio easy.

He is going to sell them this year at the Farmer’s Market in Pocatello, Idaho, but the weather just wasn’t cooperating the last week of April:

• Roland K. Smith’s Weblog » A Rainy, Cold, Short Beginning For the Farmers Market

The plan was to sell the raised garden beds at the market (actually, to take orders for them). The forecast was for rain and about the time the market opened at 9 am so did the skies. By 10:30 most of the vendors had packed it in and so did we. By that time we were both pretty dang cold. I’m sure in a few weeks we won’t remember how cold this morning was and will be wishing for cooler weather.

Even the cold states like Idaho and Utah are starting their Farmer’s Markets up in late April. The time for fresh and locally grown vegetables and fruits is at hand. Find the Farmer’s Market in your area and get some yummy veggies for yourself. Or take it even further and buy a raised garden bed to grow your own!

How many people have to get sick from a product before the FDA has the right to shut them down? Apparently at least 23, including one death.

• FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut Products

The FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.

“The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risk. Adverse events are rare, but exist. Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they are experiencing symptoms possibly associated with these products,” said Linda Katz, M.D., interim chief medical officer of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Hydroxycut is doing a recall and are pulling all of their products off the market. It gives me the impression that they are trying to make it look like there were tainted with an impurity. How long will it take before we all stop buying pills that promise to make us lose weight? Is losing a liver an acceptable risk in order to lose a few pounds? You can’t live for more than 48 hours without a liver. Are you really willing to risk that?

I was so excited when I heard about My Weight Loss Coach for the Nintendo DS.

• Starling Fitness » Ubisoft Announces My Weight Loss Coach

I pre-ordered it, so when it arrived, I was excited to finally get a chance to try it out. Unfortunately, it left me bothered and unhappy with it. The pedometer was cool and it worked seamlessly with the DS, but the software and user interface was clumsy and limited. You can see a video walk-through here:

Download this video for your iPod

It might look cute and fun to do, but there is ONE problem with this that made me stop using it. You can see the issue at the 2:21 mark. It asks you if you want to “Wrap The Day.” If you misread this as finishing putting in food for now and accidentally choose “Yes,” then you cannot add any more food that day. It’s completely closed off for you. I did that a couple of times because instinctively, it seemed like I should answer “Yes” at that screen because I was done adding my breakfast. After the second time, I went back to keeping track of my food on paper.

I liked how they kept track of energy units, which were worth approximately 50 calories. That is really close to the calculation for WW Points, so it worked well with the way I kept track of food. Unfortunately, the software was so limited that there are some foods that are just NOT on the list and no way to enter your own food unless you just enter something else with the same amount of energy units. It was an irritating experience to enter my food.

Exercise was just as irritating. I know they were trying to make it easy, but swinging the clock hand around and around to say how many minutes of exercise I did was just ludicrous. Keeping track of things should be EASIER than writing them down when I have to use my DS to keep track of food. Sure, it was cute, but I need efficient as well.

Ubisoft are the creators of my beloved Rayman Raving Rabbids and they licensed Yourself! Fitness, so I have come to expect good things from them. Unfortunately, My Weight Loss Coach didn’t live up to the Ubisoft name. Save your money and don’t bother with this one.