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

Just in case you missed it, I finished filming a new walking video. I talked about it here:

• Starling Fitness » Sugarhouse Walk: Another Walking Video

This video is almost three minutes long and shows some of the highlights of the DVD:

You can see the route I walked here:

Total Mileage: 2.18 miles
Average Speed: 2.8 mph
Time: 47:00 Minutes

In this video, I’m walking through the historical Sugarhouse shopping district. There are so many little details to notice in this video that I’m still finding new stuff even though I’ve worked out with it four times and I filmed the thing. You get to peek into shop windows, walk past the very busy Sugarhouse Coffee shop, avoid the sprinklers in the park, chase the ducks into the pond and dodge the early morning commuters.

I imagine this video is perfect on those days when you would like to take a run outside, but it’s too hot to breathe out there. It might also be good when it’s the middle of winter and you just want to remember what green grass looks like.

Buy the Sugarhouse Walk video for only $5.00 plus shipping:

Order Starling Fitness Walking Videos Here

Wendy Bumgardner at walking.about.com has a nice selection of walking journals and spreadsheets that you can use to track your walks. You can see them here:

• Track Your Walks with Walking Logs, Walking Journals and Calendars

I really liked the 2006 calendar where you can see all your mileage for the entire month on one page. I imagined having a yearly calendar on the wall with all my mileage on it and it felt really inspiring to me.

If you have been letting the heat get in the way of your workouts, try these motivating journals and spreadsheets that are free to download. They might give you the boost that you need.

I see billboards for weight loss surgery all the time. They make it look so easy to lose weight, but I worry about the mortality rate and complications from the surgery. I just found a medical abstract that researched the complication rates from these surgeries:

• Entrez PubMed – Healthcare Utilization and Outcomes After Bariatric Surgery

Here are the facts. In this study, 21.9% of the patients experience complications during the surgery. Over a fifth of the patients had negative reprecussions DURING the surgery. That number jumps up to 81% after a 180 days.

81% of patients have complications within 180 days of the surgery!

Why would anyone willing have bariatric surgery if they knew these were their odds for health complications? The problem is, people don’t know. No one is telling them that they have an 81% chance that they will be SICK from the this surgery. No wonder health insurance companies don’t want to pay for this procedure.

Bariatric surgery is not good for you.

Via: Consumer Health Digest, July 25, 2006

See also: Expert Blogs Eat Right, Stay Fit – Weight-loss Surgery: Not a Magic Bullet on Yahoo! Health

Having a routine is very helpful when you are losing weight. Having a set schedule when you know you’re supposed to eat or exercise can reinforce positive behavior. Of course, routine can also make eating healthy difficult if you have negative habits programmed into it.

What is your daily routine?

What are the positive aspects of your routine that make eating healthy and exercising easy?

What are the negative aspects of your routine that make eating healthy and exercising difficult?

What can you do to make your routine more positive and your days run smoother?

The Question of the Week is meant to be an Inner Workout for you. Find some time during the week and allow yourself to write the answers to the questions posted. You can write them on paper, on a word processor or here in the comments section. Whatever works for you as long as you do it.

Keep writing until you find out something about yourself that you didn’t know before. I’ve also heard that it works to keep writing until you cry, but that doesn’t really work for me. Whatever works for you. Just keep writing until it feels right.

Soy, like in tofu and soy sauce, has been a large element in the Asian diet for centuries, but soya, a soy-based additive hasn’t. Soy has been touted to alleviate diseases and provide healthy protein. You may not even realize which of your foods it has been added to, but is this the best thing? Felicity Lawrence investigates:

• Guardian Unlimited | Should we worry about soya in our food? | by Felicity Lawrence

Remember, the closer food is to its natural state, the better. Soy beans (edamame) are an excellent source of protein. Soy added to your granola bar? That’s a little more questionable. Go for the fresh and natural version and you’ll eat healthier with less worries.

Via: How healthy is soy? – Slashfood

I have just finished filming the Sugarhouse Walk Video. Just like the Swami’s Beach Walk Video, this is a different kind of exercise video where there is no coach talking or irritating music. It’s just a walk around the historic Sugarhouse shopping district and Fairmont Park.

This video is WAY better than the Swami’s Beach Video, though. I had some people complain about the video quality and motion sickness on the Swami’s Beach Video. Since then, Mike got a new camera and it turns out to be an excellent choice for filming these walking videos. The anti-shake is so good that Mike said, “This video didn’t make me sick. I stopped watching it because I got bored.”

With a recommendation like that, how could you resist?

This video is almost three minutes long and shows some of the highlights of the video:

You can see the route I walked here:

Total Mileage: 2.18 miles
Average Speed: 2.8 mph
Time: 47:00 Minutes

Another great addition to this video is that it has a DVD menu just like a “real” DVD. You can start the video at the beginning, or you can choose your workout duration (47, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15 or 10 minute durations). While you’re watching the video, you can skip ahead using your DVD remote.

This time, I tested the video on the treadmill AND the exercise bike before posting it here. It works great with both because I consciously avoided walking on grass or over areas that a bike couldn’t go. When I exercised with this video on the exercise bike, it felt like I was riding my bike on a steep incline because I was going so slow. It actually worked for me and I wished that I could steer my handlebars in response to the turns.

Just like before, I’m offering this workout DVD for $5 plus shipping.

Order Starling Fitness Walking Videos Here

I heard about Workout back in May, but I forgot about it until now. On a lark, I looked for it again and Bravo has a whole website devoted to the show now including little workout videos:

The show itself appears to be a soap opera/reality series that takes place in a trendy gym in Los Angeles. I’m excited to see it. I’ve already missed two episodes, so I need to find those reruns if possible. For now, there are several little fitness tips on the Bravo website to enjoy!

Have any of you seen this show yet? Is it worth watching?

I want to go to Sammy’s Supper Club! Not only do I get to eat; I get a little exercise afterwards!

I love Ballard Street comics. Jerry Van Amerongen has such an inventive imagination. I would have never thought about rolling around in the grass after a meal. It sounds like such a fun thing to do and the people in his comics are enjoying it so much.

Next time you enjoy a meal, remember this couple and think of something active that would be fun after dinner.

Click here to see this and other Ballard Street comics:

• Ballard Street: 07-27-06

Burger King has just announced their newest burger, the BK Quad Stacker. Four hamburgers, four slices of cheese, eight strips of bacon and almost a day’s worth of calories in just one sandwich. In a rare show of corporate honesty, Burger King announced the burger with the following statement:

“We’re satisfying the serious meat lovers by leaving off the produce and letting them decide exactly how much meat and cheese they can handle.”

The burger sounds like a challenge, not a meal. Some have supposed that this might open up Burger King to obesity lawsuits, but the Accidental Hedonist disagrees:

• Accidental Hedonist – Fast Food Honesty

I totally agree with what he says about these fast food restaurants.

“I, for one, am glad to see fast food restaurants being unapologetic for their products. By being clear on who they are and what they sell, it makes it easier for me to decide whether or not I visit their establishments. That I choose not to is worth noting, but only if you keep in mind that I don’t really fit into their core demographics.”

I don’t think we need to legislate food to keep ourselves healthy. As long as we have the nutrition facts for the food we eat, the choice is ours. I don’t want the government trying to protect me from myself. I just want the data about the food I eat.

My Nike+iPod finally came in the mail on Tuesday evening at 8:30 pm. I was so excited, I made Mike download the new iTunes and iPod software, so I could calibrate my Nike+iPod that very evening.

The Nike+iPod consists of two items: one sensor that attaches to your shoe (a little red and white pod) and a receiver that attaches to your iPod (the white box at the bottom of my iPod). The sensor is meant to fit inside a special pocket in Nike shoes, but you can use it with any shoe if you purchase a Shoe Wallet. Here is a picture of me putting the sensor into the Shoe Wallet.

I was worried about the sensor and whether it would read accurately in the Shoe Wallet instead of being in the overpriced Nike running shoes. Fortunately, the software allows you to calibrate it. I got on a treadmill, walked .25 miles and calibrated it for walking. Then I did the same thing with running. It worked pretty well and after taking it on my first run, it looks like it’s pretty accurate. It said I ran 1.39 miles and Google Maps Pedometer says it was 1.27 miles. The difference of 0.12 miles isn’t going to make or break me, but I would like to see if I can get it to be a little more accurate. After a few more runs, I should be able to tell you more about the accuracy.

I was also worried that the Shoe Wallet would flop around and be a distraction on my foot, but it was secure. It stayed in place during the run and I didn’t even notice it there. I bought two, in fact, so my shoes could match. I put my house key in the other one, so all I needed to carry was the iPod.

While you’re running you can press the middle button anytime to hear how far you’ve gone and how long you’ve run. I chose the female voice. She doesn’t sound computerized at all, which is a benefit. She reminds me a little bit of the Star Trek computer voice. All those statistics (distance, time, and pace) are shown on the iPod screen in addition to the name and artist of the song playing. I really only pressed the middle button once to hear the stats. It was so much easier for me to just look at the screen.

The coolest thing about this whole thing, though, is the software on Nike.com that keeps track of all my runs. Here is a screen shot of my runs:

Since I’ve only gone on one run, it doesn’t have a lot to show, but I found it so pleasing to see it on the screen after doing my run. I was very skeptical of an online system to keep track of my runs. It kind of bugs me that I can’t download this data to an Excel spreadsheet, but seeing my information on the screen still gave me the positive reinforcement that I crave when I’m exercising regularly.

When I logged onto Nike.com on Tuesday night before I even started running with the Nike+iPod, the first thing I noticed was the section called My Goals:

It lets you choose a goal based on frequency, speed, distance or calorie expenditure. I saw the phrase “More Often” and it was exactly what I needed. Even though I have a race coming up, I have been slacking off on my running. I really want to start running again regularly and this software knows exactly how to do it for me. I am one run into making my goal and I feel so proud of that little green bar.

When I finally do complete that first goal I’ve set, it will show up here, in the trophy case.

This is where all my best times will be recorded. Since I’ve only done one run, the totals are not impressive at all, but I can’t wait to beat those times and distances.

The Nike.com website really understands how to make running like a video game. Beating my high score can keep me playing a video game far past my bedtime. Beating my best time or longest distance is a way for running to become more like play and less about drudgery. I’m excited to see how this affects my running over the next few months.