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

I was browsing at Best Buy and came across Secret Formula: Ultimate Fitness for Men. It led me to believe that there might be an Ultimate Fitness for Women, but I couldn’t find it in the store. At first glance, it looked like a cool thing. It has 130 strength training exercises, 45 cardio exercises and 115 video clips. It runs you through a personal assessment, then you can customize your fitness program and track your results. It looked pretty cool until I started comparing it to Yourself! Fitness and what Maya does for me.

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Prevention Magazine has tested eighteen treadmills and has recommended their favorites. That sounds like a big commercial to me. The headline might have well said, “Seven high ticket items to buy that will make you thin.” Then again, I’ve constantly tried to Buy Fitness, so I checked the article out.

Prevention.com – We Test It: Treadmills by Denise Foley with Tanya Beers

What I found was a list of seven treadmills to buy and tips on how to buy a treadmill. There were also links on how to buy other high ticket physical fitness equipment. If I looked, however, there were hints on how to walk on a treadmill without injuring myself and how to bump up the intensity with hill workouts. Check out those articles for ideas to help keep your treadmill workouts safe and interesting.

“There’s no easy way out. If there were, I would have bought it. And believe me, it would be one of my favorite things!” – Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine, February 2005

I haven’t eaten brussel sprouts since that day in 1984 when my grandma wouldn’t let us leave the table until we ate all of our brussel sprouts. I remember looking at the round green baby cabbages, wishing they would disappear.

We were forced to eat lots of food that we didn’t like when we stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. We experienced months of salad, green beans, sugar snap peas, raspberries, strawberries and sometimes a couple carrots would be ready to eat before we were shipped back to Salt Lake at the end of the summer. All of those foods have become not only food that I’ve learned to enjoy, but gateways to the past.

Not brussel sprouts. I haven’t tried them again since she forced me to eat all four of those green monsters. Now, I find that maybe my grandma wasn’t faking it when she said they were delicious.

• Reuters – Genetic “sweet tooth” wears off with age

According to recent studies, things taste different when you are an adult than when you’re a kid. What tasted bitter and unpleasant when you were ten can mellow and taste like a delicious treat when you become an adult. I guess it’s time that I give brussel sprouts another try. Maybe this time, I’ll be able to eat them all without wishing for a dog to feed them to.

It has been said that three meals a day isn’t right. I have heard that you need to eat five to six mini-meals a day to stay satisfied. I have lived on that principle for the last few years and snacking between meals keeps me from feeling hungry. That might not be the case for everyone, but it has helped me.

If you are a snacker, eDiets has an article for you:

• eDiets.com – Get The Skinny on Snacking!

They have a whole list of low calorie snacks to nosh on and some tips on living the snacking lifestyle.

For those of you of the Catholic Faith, Lent starts today. For some, Lent involves much stricter (and maybe even healthier) living. Lent is the practice of giving up a food or activity that represents a sin that is particularly difficult for you to conquer. There is also an element of fasting in the tradition of Lent, whether it be meat (for the entire forty days or just on Fridays) or, for the truly devote, fasting entirely for one day a week.

You don’t need to be Catholic to follow the practice of Lent. You don’t need the dark ash on your forehead today in order to devote yourself to healthier living. If you have fallen off the New Year’s Resolution wagon, here is another practice that urges you to live a better life. Choose something to give up (or add) in your life right now and hold to it for forty days. By then, you may have lost a taste for it.

Belief.net – Fasting Chic? by Gregg Easterbrook

Last week I wrote about Quackwatch’s wonderful diet scam tips. This article from Lawyers.com has much of the same information, but it adds one important idea that was not covered in the Quackwatch article.

Lawyers.com – Diet Scams by the Federal Trade Commission

“Lose All The Weight You Can For Just $99.”
Fact: There may be hidden costs. For example, some programs do not publicize the fact that you must buy prepackaged meals from them at costs that exceed program fees. Before you sign up for any weight loss program, ask for all the costs. Get them in writing.

They also give contact information for the FTC if you think you have been scammed. Just another reminder of the fact that there are dark elements out there willing to prey on you. If you are losing your motivation, look inside of yourself instead of for a miracle diet.

Yesterday, I talked about writing when you feel lack of motivation. Here is an example of what I was talking about taken from my personal journal completely uncut and uncensored. It usually takes this much writing to get to the bottom of my problem, sometimes more. When you try this, just keep writing until you feel better and motivated to stay the course.

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Every few months, I lose my motivation. It happens quite regularly. In fact, because I’m such a statistician, I have tracked my dips in motivation. They happen for two reasons: I’m too strict with my diet or something hurt my feelings.

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Here is an interesting story with ideas on how to burn a couple of extra calories. A study from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota found a correlation between thin people and the propensity to fidget.

• The Daily Telegraph – Fidgety way to stay slim

One thing that they didn’t mention is that with so much fidgeting, there is less time to snack, which might also account for the difference in weight. Next time you’re tempted to nosh, consciously stop yourself and think of an active thing that you could do.

Quackwatch has a wonderful article about sorts of claims to avoid when tempted by miracle diet products. Check out their site for the details:

• Quackwatch – Weighting the Evidence in Diet Ads

The Seven Fishy Diet Claims

• “Lose weight without diet or exercise!”
• “Lose weight no matter how much you eat of your favorite foods!”
• “Lose weight permanently! Never diet again!”
• “Block the absorption of fat, carbs, or calories!”
• “Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!”
• “Everybody will lose weight!”
• “Lose weight with our miracle diet patch or cream!”

If you see any of these claims on a product, pass on the purchase. The only think you’re likely to lose is your money.