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

We have heard the promises before. A magic machine that can melt fat away. It looks like researchers are still working on this goose that lays golden eggs.

• BBC NEWS | Health | Hope over laser ‘that melts fat’

They haven’t developed an effective treatment yet, but they are still looking for it:

“While this laboratory research sounds exciting, we are a long way from knowing whether or not laser therapy of this nature could be developed into an effective treatment.” – Judy O’Sullivan, of the British Heart Foundation

Every time I used to see ads for pills or machines that were supposed to “melt” away the fat, I turned away from them. I didn’t want to have to take a pill for the rest of my life. I have always wanted to find the way to live healthy and slim. I don’t want to have to go in for laser surgery every couple of months to excise the damage I did to my body. I want to eat healthy and exercise moderately so that I can be slim on my own.

If the scientists ever find a way to “melt” fat, I’ll probably just walk on by, even though it means I have to continue watching my food and keeping active. I don’t want to be dependent on some scientists’ expensive laser therapy.

Via: The Laser That Melts Fat?

A study from the University of North Carolina found that children who participated in sports activites were less likely to engage in risky behaviors like drug use, smoking and violence.

• UNC News release — Wide variety of physical activities may protect teens against risky behavior: study

They admit that it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Giving the children a chance to try a wide variety of sports and concentrate on their favorites was the essential element.

“We also suspect that all teens might not benefit similarly from the same kind of activity – it’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. Helping to provide kids with the opportunity to get involved in any number of physical activities, instead of staying at home and watching TV, may provide a kind of resilience against engaging in these other risky behaviors.”

They didn’t comment on whether children who participated in sports were more physically fit compared to their television watching counterparts, but sports DID help children resist the sorts of situations that could get them into real trouble.

Via: Any Physical Acitivity is Good Activity

When I saw this PostSecret postcard, I cheered. I know that’s the wrong attitude to have about bulimia, but I wanted to feel the revenge that this person expressed.

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.

This postcard from PostSecret really struck a chord with me. I have been blaming my bingeing on lack of self control lately when really I haven’t cared. When I am dedicated, I have no problem eating healthy. It’s not about no self control. It’s about caring.

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.

This was my first step toward living a healthier life. When I decided that I loved myself just the way I was, even though I weighed 235 pounds, I started treating my body with more respect. Now that I’m at a healthier weight, I realize that loving myself was the first step on that journey.

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.

Mine too. I think I’m ready to give it up, though.

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.

This post by Braidwood is incredibly motivating to me. It talks about how dieting can sometimes turn into a “project.” We are trying to “fix” ourselves.

• Braidwood’s (B)log: Is your biggest project yourself?

You are perfect and beautiful just the way you are. If you need to eat healthy food to live longer, that’s not a project, it’s just a new habit. I need to stop measuring so much right now because I have turned healthy eating into a full-blown PROJECT with all capital letters.

I need to start listening to my body more and using the measuring cups less.

This is the ultimate computer treadmill that I have ever seen. This is his description of how they built it. I wish I had a “Ross” that I could just depend on to build me prototype exercise machines.

• Feld Thoughts – The Treadputer

He has a keyboard and trackball that he can use (a mouse is useless), but he also uses a voice recognition program, Dragon Naturally Speaking, for some of his word processing.

I doubted that Dragon Naturally Speaking would work while I was running, but it performs almost flawlessly after thirty minutes of training. I’m still finding my way around it – although it does remind me (by not recognizing anything) to slow down my running pace if I’m breathing too hard.

I like to imagine that in the future I’ll be able to just walk into Sear’s Roebuck and buy a treadmill that looks like this, but that is probably wishful thinking.

Via: The Treadputer – The Jason Calacanis Weblog

I thought it was gone. I thought I was finished with bingeing. Sure, I hadn’t gone three months without a lapse, but my lapses were only lasting a couple of hours. This last binge has lasted days and I’m still struggling with it.

Part of the reason is that I’m sad right now. After going to a wonderful convention (SXSW), I came home to Salt Lake City and was immediately confronted by isolation and loneliness. So I’m dealing with that, but I am still sad.

The rest of the reason should be a good thing. My IBS is almost gone. I would consider myself cured if I wasn’t taking acidophilus pills every day. As long as I swallow one of those capsules from the refrigerator every day, I am completely free from my stomach symptoms I had before. That means I can eat massive quantities of food without any physical repercussions. My stomach will feel full, but I no longer feel like someone has stabbed me in the gut when I eat more than two cups of food.

That should be a good thing, right?

I’ve just been taking advantage of my new-found eating freedom. For the first time in six years, I can eat WHATEVER I want without pain. Everything that I have avoided for health reasons and to prevent stomach pain have been consumed in the last couple of weeks.

Suddenly, I feel like a fraud writing for this site because my eating is out of control. After so many years of restrictive eating, it feels wrong to go to a restaurant, eat an appetizer, my full entree AND dessert. It feels wrong, but nothing hurts inside, so I’m happy.

Yeah, I’m happy until I try to button my jeans.

So, now I have to take my own advice and ask myself the question, “What motivates me to eat healthy and exercise?”

My stomach feels great and I feel like I have no answer at all…

What motivates you to eat healthy?

What motivates you to exercise regularly?

Give me a list of five to ten things that make you want to pass by the unhealthy food and get on that treadmill every day.

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.