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

They say that muscle weighs more than fat, but honestly a pound is a pound. One pound of fat is going to weigh the same as one pound of muscle. If you look at this photo, though, one pound of muscle is going to take up less space on your body than that one pound of fat. It’s also going to be a lot less lumpy under your skin than the fat is.

One pound is a lot. If you feel discouraged about “only losing a pound,” then go to the grocery store and find a pound of meat or a pound of butter and notice how MUCH you have lost.

Via: My Pet Fat

Finally! It’s really easy to do video now! I guess all that work changing over to a Mac was worth it.

In this video, I talked about an entry I had written last year. You can find it here:

• Starling Fitness » Should You Pay For It?

Should you pay for it? I don’t know. Should I pay for it? Yes, I should and I’m going to get my butt in that door for the rest of my life if I have to.

I’ve been out for a bit, haven’t I? I’ve gone through a bit of a computer switch-up. I knew I was getting a new computer, so I have been getting things ready for the change. Today, I got the computer and realized that I didn’t prepare nearly as much as I should have.

The bad news: It’s gonna take me a little longer to finish the switch.

The good news: It will be MUCH easier for me to do videos, so all of you who have been missing my talking to the camera videos, cheer up. I’ll be talking to you soon enough!

Update 12-09-08: I have created a new version of this form that works with the new Momentum Plan. You can download it here:

• Momentum Weekly Tracking Form 5 1/2″ X 8 1/2″ – Requires Microsoft Excel

• Momentum Weekly Tracking Form 8 1/2″ X 11″ – Requires Microsoft Excel

Update 03-03-08: A special thank you to Kelly for creating a version of this form that will fit into your 3 3/4″ x 6 3/4″ planner from Daytimer or Coach.

Update 11-19-07: If you like these forms, but aren’t really spreadsheet savvy, I can print up a year’s worth for you and send it to you for $25. For more information, see here:

• Starling Fitness » Order Your Starling Fitness Yearly Journal

I love to create forms. Every time I start a new project, I usually fire up Microsoft Excel to create a form for it. I don’t know why. I think it might be genetic because when I taught my biological father to use Excel, he loved it as much as I did.

So, I started Weight Watchers on Monday and by Tuesday, I was creating a form for myself. In the past, I used to keep track of my points on my Palm, but Weight Watchers made the creator of the software stop, and it’s kind of buggy, so I decided to keep track on paper. The Quick Track that Weight Watchers gave me, however, will not fit in my journal, so I made a weekly sheet that would be easy to carry and when I was done with the week, I can put it in my handwritten journal with the rest of my pages.

You can download it here:

• Weight Watchers Weekly Tracking 5 1/2″ X 8 1/2″ – Requires Microsoft Excel

A special thank you to regular reader, Kelly, for creating a version of this form that fits in a smaller planner:

• Weight Watchers Weekly Tracking 3 3/4″ x 6 3/4″ – Requires Microsoft Excel

There is room to check off all the good health guidelines and even check off your multi-vitamin, which is strangely missing from the Quick Track now. There is room each day to write down everything you eat, track your fitness goals, and the Flex Points.

Of course, this form is for the Flex Plan. I’ve never tried the Core Plan, so you’re on your own with that one.

Hope this helps someone besides me!

I can’t do it. I seriously can’t do it on my own. I have no idea why, but for some reason, going to Weight Watchers makes it possible and not attending makes it impossible. Almost a year ago, I stopped going to Weight Watchers and I have been fighting bingeing and gaining weight ever since.

It makes no sense to me because I KNOW what I need to do. I know how to follow the plan without even thinking. In fact, the minute I returned, I was able to slip right back into the routine I had before without feeling deprived.

Why?

Well, I know a real human being is going to weigh me next Monday. That’s part of the incentive to follow the program, but it’s not all of it. If it was merely shame that made me want to follow the program, I would have been able to eat healthy all those times my grandmother weighed me. It actually has NOTHING to do with shame.

I just have no idea what it is.

For some reason, the second I walked back into Weight Watchers, it all became easy again.

Magic? Man, I don’t like to believe in magic, but I have no words for it right now. All I know is that I’m right back on track after months of struggling.

Great story from a runner about running:

• Quadrathon: Thoughts of a child…

Daddy has a sore foot and his son wants to know why:

“because Daddy has an owie on his toe”

“why?”

“because Daddy tried new running socks and then made his toe sore”

“toe sore? I like running”

“You do, (the window opens for me to turn the table I think) why?”

He contemplates this for a second and answers…“because I can”.

Next time you’re slugging away through a workout, remember that not everyone can run. You’re very lucky that your legs still work, even if they feel like they aren’t working as well as they should. Enjoy your ability to run. You might not be able to do it in the future.

02/12/07 Bento-licious Brunch by Aylanah on Flickr

Aylanah creates beautiful Bento boxes for herself and takes a picture of them to share with the world. When was the last time a simple meal of fruit, cucumbers and rice looked so beautiful? You can see the entire collection here:

• Bento-licious! – a photoset on Flickr

Next time you’re feeling sick of your food, try making it a little prettier. The exact same food will taste better, I promise!

Every day, when I run outside, I see this red chair. When I see it, I know I don’t have much further to go. Any second now, the little guy in my iPod Nike+ is going to say, “400 Meters To Go!” Soon I will be finished with my run and I can stretch.

What do you see when you exercise?

What do you think about when you’re exercising?

Have you created any comforting thoughts or attached meaning to anything you see?

Sometimes running, walking or riding your bike around the same area ends up creating a map in my mind. When I drive past my old neighborhood in West Jordan, I see places where I had run too hard or maybe places that always felt good to run by because it was a nice stretch of flat road or maybe the air smelled like fried chicken.

Right now, the weather is perfect for running outdoors, so I have been taking advantage of it as much as I can. When I run outside, I end up seeing my neighborhood in a whole different light.

Nike+ has started a group event that bugs me. It’s called the Run Like NYC Challenge.

You’re supposed to pick a ‘hood and run. Coming from someone who doesn’t live in New York, I DON’T CARE. It actually makes me kind of angry how New York centric the world is. Do we really need ANOTHER event focusing on New York?! I live in SLC. I don’t care whether Uptown, Midtown or Downtown win. I want to run for SLC.

How hard would it have been to have a run for your state challenge instead? It certainly would have been more inclusive, if not USA centered.

This is the sort of thing that happens when all your employees work in one city. Stupid stuff like the Run Like NYC Challenge happen.

Most of you don’t live in New York. Do you care which ‘hood wins? Does this challenge make you want to join up?

Just makes me want to punch something. Bad form, Nike, bad form…

I wrote before about this advertising campaign in Utah.

• Starling Fitness » Intermountain Healthcare Doesn’t Get It

They STILL don’t get it and have paid to move all the billboards around to different places. I have since been able to get photos of the other two:

This is what happens when people who don’t really understand what it takes to be healthy design advertising campaigns for health. It’s not the creme-filling. It’s not the cupcake. It’s the fact that I ate three or four cupcakes in one sitting. It’s not the food, it’s the quantity.

A cupcake every once and a while is just fine. It’s when it’s a habit that it becomes dangerous for me. They’re not creme-filled lies. They’re just food. It’s my lack of control over the food that’s the problem, not the food.

This one makes a little more sense, but it’s still offensive. Eating treat foods in moderation are just fine, but super-sizing your food and eating fries on a regular basis could be a problem. I know it’s hard to gain weight eating too many carrots, but the fact is, these foods are part of our lives. We need to learn how to incorporate them into our diet AND be healthy.

Creating a stigma regarding certain foods, merely creates a Good Food – Bad Food dichotomy in my mind. When I’m feeling negative, I end up eating too many Bad Foods. If I can knock down the idea of Good Foods and Bad Foods, I end up eating a lot healthier.

Bad form, IHC, bad form…