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

Every year at Academy Park Elementary, we had an event called Field Day. For weeks before, we would practice activities like running fast, pull ups, chin ups, sit ups and a bunch of other ups. Unfortunately, Utah schools are so jam packed with kids that I would only get one turn for each activity every fifteen minutes, so an hour long physical education stint was about ten minutes of exercise and fifty minutes of waiting in line.

Field Day was a culmination of all that “training” and I dreaded it. I remember practicing my sit ups because I was the weakest in that area. I remember running against my friend, Sceverenia, but she always beat me. I had no one to tell me how to get faster or stronger. Field Day was about humiliation, not accomplishment.

When I saw these photos in the Library of Congress’ Flickr feed, the words, Field Day, brought back all those memories.

The waiting in line, the uniform nature of it all. We didn’t have matching outfits or multi-school competitions, but these photos from over fifty years before I was born brought all those memories to mind.

I have no idea what physical education is like in today’s grade schools. What it SHOULD be like is measuring each child and giving awards to children who improve their speed or strength. If little Laura only did ten sit ups last time and she is now able to do twenty, she should get an award. Not the biggest award, mind you, but something.

In REAL life with grownups and business suits, how many sit ups I can do in one minute is NEVER an issue. Whether I continue working to improve myself IS. Why don’t we judge children the way we judge adults, especially since it’s more lenient? Field Day should have been a chance for me to better myself, not a yearly exercise in humiliation.

If you are thinking of skipping your workout today, check out this training montage from Rocky IV.

This video is really an homage to USEFUL exercise. It reminds me of my favorite quote about exercise.

Why do strong arms fatigue themselves with frivolous dumbbells? To dig a vineyard is worthier exercise for men.

Marcus Valerius Martialis (40 AD – 103 AD)

That’s why I love to walk on errands because I get exercise AND I accomplish something. Now, I just need to add chopping wood, righting snow sleighs and outrunning government spies in black sedans to my itinerary and I’ll be as buff as Rocky.

The next time you’re considering eating something that you shouldn’t, take a look at this quick video from National Geographic.

After a mere thirty three seconds, you’ll be ready to abstain from any food that might tempt you. Just imagine eating those huge cockroaches on a stick, still walking around, and you’re good for at least ten minutes.

• Using Runkeeper on your iPhone? Here's how to talk on your phone AND track your workout at the same time. http://runkeeper.com/blog/?p=233 #

This old advertisement has me perplexed.

It reads:

Drugless Health. 3 1/2 lbs. DIET SAND. $1.00 plus postage. Advice 50c. Prof. Ayer, 217 1/2 Pike, Seattle, Wash.

Really?! Sand?! As far as quack theories go, it has to be at the top.

Putting aside the risk of getting a parasite (like round worm) from the sand, what would happen if someone ate a lot of sand? Would it make them lose weight?

This article about preventing Sand Colic in horses gives us a glimpse into what would happen:

• Sand Colic: Durango Equine Veterinary Clinic – PDF Link

As the sand accumulates in the large intestine, it acts like sand paper and erodes the intestinal mucosa (lining of the gut). One of the large intestine’s functions is to absorb water. Due to the same accumulation and irritation to the mucosal lining, water is not absorbed well, resulting in watery manure. This same theory explains why horses with a lot of sand lose weight or are unable to gain weight well. The horse’s intestinal lining is damaged and does not digest nutrients as well. Because of the damage sand causes, this can cause discomfort and pain leading to depression, going off feed, or colic.

Remember that “watery manure” means painful diarrhea and “going off feed” is just a euphemism for “it hurts so bad that I don’t want to eat.” Many times, this gets so bad in horses that they need surgery to solve the problem.

If the horse has an enormous amount of sand and its pain cannot be medically controlled by a veterinarian, surgical intervention may be needed. This usually takes place on an emergency basis, when the horse is in extreme pain or can’t pass the sand with conservative treatment. The horse is sent to a referral surgical facility and the sand is “dumped” from the large intestine by a surgeon. Usually prognosis is good, but there is risk of the large intestine rupturing during surgery due to the heavy weight of the sand.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the Sand Diet isn’t healthy, but knowing the details of unpleasantness of it arms you against the next diet fad out there. If any diet guru out there jumps on the ancient Sand Diet bandwagon, remember the mommy from this video, “Yucky!”

Advert via: vintage_ads: Because ordinary sand is full of calories.

I absolutely LOVE this old advertisement for Life Cereal.

It reads:

Enjoy Life

That’s our message. This is the new box we put it in.

I love Life cereal. It first came out when I was a kid, so the taste of it is like a guilty pleasure of childhood. Fortunately, it’s pretty healthy. A 3/4 cup serving is only 120 calories with 1.5 grams of fat and 2 grams of fiber.

It’s nice to know that I CAN enjoy Life!

Advert via: vintage_ads: Оригинал   (751×1024)

This performance of Kings Firecrackers at the U.S. Naval Academy in April 2009, it freakin’ amazing! It’s long (a little over seven minutes), but totally worth watching!

The standing ovation is WELL deserved! Next time you are feeling like you just can’t get up the energy to exercise, pull up this video to watch and get inspired!

Via: Twitter / nakedjen: morning, peeps. after this …

There are some incredible deals available out there today, so if you’re out Christmas shopping on this Black Friday, please take a moment to read this entry about how to treat Christmas shopping like a workout.

• Starling Fitness » Christmas Shopping: The Workout

When you’re eating on the run today, make sure that you make good food choices. So many malls have Subway shops in them now, so I usually opt for that or Edo Japan. Make sure you choose food that fits in with your program so yesterday’s holiday doesn’t turn into a holiWEEK.

If you’re like me and you hate shopping on Black Friday, here is a list of alternatives for you and your family.

• Starling Fitness » Avoid Shopping Today And Avoid Weight Gain

Have a wonderful holiday and stay true to your healthy lifestyle!

If you are thinking of throwing your healthy eating out the window for Thanksgiving, here are a series of posts that will help you get through the holiday without giving up on your dreams.

• Starling Fitness » How To Enjoy Thanksgiving Without Guilt

• Starling Fitness » Thanksgiving Calorie List

• Starling Fitness » I Blew It On Thanksgiving! Now What?

• Starling Fitness » Dealing with Post-Thanksgiving Temptation

So many times, I have told myself, “It’s just one day. I can eat whatever I want on Thanksgiving.” EVERY time I’ve done this, that one day has turned into an entire weekend of overeating. It’s a holiDAY, not a holiWEEK and certainly not a holiMONTH. Don’t let this holiday get in the way of your dreams.

You would think that living within walking distance of tasty food would be BAD for your health, but the converse seems to be true.

• Living close to food is good for your waistline – Salt Lake Tribune

Living far away from food may make you fatter.

That was the surprising finding of a group of University of Utah researchers, who looked at the body mass index of 500,000 Salt Lake County residents and compared those who live within a half-mile of retail food outlets to those who don’t.

People who have closer food options — whether supermarkets, restaurants or fast food — were 10 percent less likely to be obese, they discovered.

When Mike and I moved to Sugarhouse, I instantly lost five pounds. Since we were able to walk for so many of our errands, we did. We walked to restaurants, we walked to the grocery store, and we walked to the post office. Even during winter, we would take regular walks.

The one downside of moving to Daybreak is that there is hardly anything to walk to. Until a couple of weeks ago, the closest restaurant was over a mile away. The grocery store is nearly a mile and a half. The post office is a whopping 4.5 miles away, making it nearly ten miles round trip. Suffice it to say that I NEVER walk to the post office anymore.

What this community lacks in close food options, they have made up for in walking trails and parks. With row boats and bike trails to choose from, there is no excuse not to exercise.

The same is true no matter where you live. If you don’t live within walking distance of restaurants, there must be SOME other option for exercise. The key is keeping your eyes open for those opportunities.