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

Unbeknownst to me, Adidas and Samsung got together and developed miCoach, which is a running system that works with a very specific Samsung phone and Adidas shoes. It’s very reminiscent of the Nike+ released by Nike and Apple a couple of years ago. How do they compare? Stuff Magazine has a blow by blow comparison here:

• Sport Stuff : Nike+ vs Samsung miCoach: the verdict

Here is their final verdict:

Nike and miCoach are both great running buddies, and deciding which one’s best for you comes down to a few questions. Do you hate the idea of having a personal trainer, use iTunes and would rather use a Nano than a new phone? Then Nike is for you. If, on the other hand, you want the most advanced training system, like lots of voice feedback and prefer using Windows Media Player, miCoach is a better bet.

I don’t know if Adidas realizes this, but the killer app for the Nike+ was the Challenges. Being able to run against REAL people was so inspiring to me that I REALLY over did it and ran too much. As long as Adidas focuses on the training aspects instead of the real-life competition aspects of this technology, I think they’ll be left behind.

If you thought (like I did), that Nike was abandoning Apple with their Nike+ Sportsband, then you might be surprised to find out that Nike is working on compatibility with the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Stuff Magazine was able to look at the cool projects in the works at Nike and they have the complete review here:

• Sport Stuff : Nike+ coming to iPhone and iPod Touch

The first piece of news is that Nike will definitely be extending its compatibility beyond the iPod Nano to the iPhone and iPod Touch. No surprise there really, but the interesting detail is that it could also make use of both devices Wi-Fi (and, ultimately for the iPhone, 3G capability) to let you update your training log on the fly. Once you’ve legged round your local park you’ll be able to send the data (probably via a software app like the one the new SportBand uses) wirelessly without having to sit down and drip sweat over your computer. Very cool.

It looks like they also have training programs that you can use to get ready for a race. Here is a screen shot:

I haven’t been running recently, but even this news makes me a little excited. Could it be that all those patents that Apple was working on with the Lifestyle Coach was for the Nike+ system? Are they breaking off their alliance or renewing it? I can’t wait to see!

Diversify. I suspect they teach it in marketing school or economics school or some school for weasel business owners. If you put your fingers into every facet of the weight loss industry, they you will make even more money. Squeeze every penny out of your loyal customers.

That is what was going through my head when I saw these boxes sitting at my local grocery store.

I’m sure Curves has helped a lot of women add exercise to their daily routine. I’m sure that they are a good company with many loyal followers. I’m not so sure that I trust them to make healthy food for me, especially when it’s a sugar-sweetened, super-processed cereal.

The FTC has filed suit against Medlab, Inc., Pinnacle Holdings, Inc., Metabolic Research Associates, Inc., U.S.A. Health, Inc., and L. Scott Holmes. They are charged with violating Sections 5 and 12 of the FTC Act by making false and unsubstantiated claims that their product causes users to lose substantial amounts of weight rapidly.

• FTC Sues Sellers of Weight-Loss Pills for False Advertising

Here are the names of the products that the FTC has sued:

• Zyladex Plus
• Questral AC
• Questral AC Fat Killer Plus
• Rapid Loss 245
• Rapid Loss Rx

Their advertisements were in newspapers (see advertisement to the right). They made the following promises:

• Lose as much as 15 to 18 pounds per week
• Lose 50 percent of all excess weight in just 14 days, without dieting or exercise
• Clinical studies prove those claims
• Their product causes permanent or long-term weight loss

As typical for weight loss ads, those claims weren’t true and the FTC is working on shutting them down.

Just because the FTC has sniffed out these folks doesn’t mean you are safe. If any ad promises that you’ll lose weight quickly without exercise or diet modification, then they are suspect. Don’t spend your money on them.

I have talking about running skirts in the past.

• Starling Fitness » Running Skirts Tested

Back then, my biggest problem with RunningSkirts.com was the fact that their skirts didn’t have anything to protect my inner thighs (just a panty underneath). Since then, they have added skirts with shorts underneath for protection.

I was told about a new company who is also making running skirts (shown to the right). They have inner thigh protection and a place for your iPod:

• GymGirl Ultra, Gym Girl Running Skirt, Skirt Sports

Now, my only problem with BOTH companies is that the skirts are sixty bucks a piece.

When I can get gym capris from Russell for about fifteen bucks, why would I go to the expense of spending four times that for running skirts? I know they’re really cute and they might be something sexy to wear at the gym if I were trying to attract a mate, but how sexy can you really look when you’re working out?

It only takes about ten workouts until most of my exercise clothes are looking ratty anyway. That’s six bucks a workout, which is over my Five Buck Workout rule.

I love running skirts. I think they’re adorable, but there is no way I would spend $60 for one.

Update 04-12-08: Here are a couple of skorts from other clothing companies on Amazon that range in price from $10-$20.

• C9 by Champion Running Skort at Amazon.com

• Champion Gym Essentials Performance Skort Womens at Amazon.com

• Reflex “Rally” Skirt at Amazon.com

• American Apparel Stretch Cotton Skort at Amazon.com

Here is a five part series from Horizon (produced by the BBC) that analyzes the Atkin’s Diet. Does it work? If it does, why? Is it dangerous to your health?

This show spends too much time showing fat people eating huge bites of meat (do any of us want to watch other people eating?) and too much time playing choir music when Atkins is shown on the screen, but it does a pretty good job of looking at the research that has been done about the diet.

Click through for parts 2-5: (more…)

The very wonderful Found in Mom’s Basement uncovered these advertisements for AYDS weight loss plan:

• Found in Mom’s Basement: Vintage ads for the unfortunately-named Ayds weight reducing candy, 1975

The most heartbreaking thing is how pretty Shirley is in her before photo. She was beautiful before and losing weight didn’t change that.

I remember the commercials on television for AYDS. My mom even tried them. They were little chocolate candies that you were supposed to eat before you ate your meal. They were supposed to curb your appetite. I snuck some from my mom’s box and thought they tasted delicious. My mom never lost weight with them, however.

She is svelte and thin now and has been for almost twenty years. How did she do it? She eats less and exercises regularly. No fad diets and no chocolate-flavored appetite suppressant candies.

Companies have been trying to profit off our desire to be thin for over a century now. The diet pills and potions are just as useless now as they were back then. Don’t give them your money.

Schools have been banning candy sales and even expelling students who buy candy from others. Treatment Online thinks that policy tactic is rather short-sighted.

• Treatment Online: Educate to Avoid Candy Bans’ Unintended Consequences

As the US learned during its experiment with prohibition, outright bans on products often times have unintended, negative consequences. Making candy unwelcome on school property does nothing to actually reduce children’s candy intake as it doesn’t address the actual demand for candy. Any student who wants candy will now turn to the black market, or will wait till they get home, or will leave school property, or will just smuggle candy into class on his own. None of these are the desired outcome, but they are the likely outcomes, even as schools go so far as to suspend candy buyers and sellers.

Instead of wasting energy on policing, schools need to focus more of their attention on addressing the issues that leads to unhealthy eating. Health and nutrition classes need to stress the importance of food choice and the biological mechanisms that benefit and lose out when individuals make certain choices. Cafeterias need to offer high-quality, tasty options to keep students’ energy levels high. For their part, teachers and administrators, with the help and support of parents, need to let students know that rules against candy aren’t about creating an adversarial relationship, but about encouraging certain behaviors and discouraging others.

Even those measures might not help, but expelling students from school just because they have candy on their person is idiotic.

If you have ever considered running a marathon, here is some advice from someone who has done two:

• 10 Things I Learned From My Second Marathon | Zen Habits

Here is a quick synopsis of his tips:

• Running experience matters a lot.
• Pacing is huge.
• Extra weight also matters a lot.
• Be relaxed and have fun.
• Test out your gear beforehand, on a long run.
• Keep your upper body relaxed.
• Plan your day before well.
• Having people to talk to is great.
• Have a reason to keep going at the end.
• The long run is your marathon training

Number three: “Extra weight also matters a lot” is probably the most important. When I ran my first 5K, I weighed 198. When I ran my second 5K, I weighed 175. I shaved five minutes off my time from the first race to the second and I think it is mostly due to the fact that I had twenty-three less pounds to drag across the finish line.

Bill and Gene, the writers of Unshelved, reviewed Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

• Unshelved: Good Calories Bad Calories

Everything you know about nutrition is wrong. The government has been lying to you. The American Medical Association and the American Heart Association have been spouting baseless fictions. Science reporter Gary Taubes spent five years poring through a century of nutritional research, public policy, media coverage and scientific debate. The conclusions are inescapable. Saturated Fat is good for you – you can’t eat too much. Diabetes, obesity, heart disease and hypertension are all caused by carbohydrates. Cholesterol doesn’t hurt you, and fiber doesn’t help.

This is a pretty good synopsis of the book, but I love Bill and Gene’s decision based on the facts.

Here is a video with Gary Taubes himself discussing the research that he found during his studies. It’s a LONG video (1 hour 12 minutes), but it is totally worth it.