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

For the next few weeks every Monday, I’ll share a playlist of songs that I have in my Workout Playlist on my iPhone. I’ll include clips to listen to, where you can buy them and why I have them in my list. Just so you know, I do get a portion of the sales of these songs from Amazon, so if you buy them, you’re helping me out.

Get Up! (Before The Night Is Over) by Technotronic: I love this song at the beginning of my workout because those first few steps, I’m really tempted to just quit. I’m still close to home and I could just turn around. This song tells me to “get up and move that body” so many times that I just keep running, even if I’m feeling like going back home.

Sound Of Letting Go by David Guetta – Tocadisco – Chris Willis: This song has a great beat and it starts out with the phrase, “This is the point of no return because this is where we crash and burn. And now every time I face this pain, I can hear it coming back again. It’s the sound of letting go.” I know this song is about breaking up, but sometimes I just need to let go of my images of my old self. Sometimes I need to break up with the person I used to be.

Naturally by Selena Gomez and The Scene: The catchiness of this song is a given, but I love the idea of exercising coming naturally. I like to think that I’ll eventually become the kind of person for whom “everything comes naturally.”

Growing Pains by La Roux: This song reminds me that I am changing and I might run into stumbling blocks on the way. “Oh, I make mistakes and you just say it’s growing pains. When I feel ashamed you tell me it’s just growing pains.” Instead of continuing a binge, I can stop myself, put this song on my iPod and take a quick walk around the neighborhood.

I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas: I absolutely love this song. It has been playing EVERYWHERE, but despite the repetition, I still love this song. Will.i.am is telling me over and over that tonight is going to be a good night. Sometimes I need that kind of positive reinforcement. Fergie tells me that when I feel stressed out and I wanna let it go, that I should go way out and space out. Plus, this is the first pop song to use the phrase “mazel tov” since The Fiddler on the Roof Soundtrack.

You Da Boss by SkinnySongs: “This is your conscience talkin’. You don’t need that piece of pie. Gotta let it go pass you by.” This week’s song from Skinny Songs is a reminder that I’m in charge, not the food. I like to sit down and listen to this song when I’m tempted to eat, but I also keep it in my workout mix to remind myself of why I’m exercising. I’m the boss of my body, too.

Knock You Down by Keri Hilson: I know this song is talking about love, but there are a ton of other things that can knock me down on this journey. The chorus says, “Just get back up when it knocks you down.” I remember this when I slip up with food.

If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback: If today was my last day, I would eat all the food I ever wanted to eat. THAT is the kind of thinking that makes me binge because I deny myself when I don’t need to. Why should I hold off on my life until my last day? Every day, I try to eat something that I would have wanted to eat on my last day so that I don’t feel neglected. I work it into my caloric restrictions and I live every day like it was my last. Oh, and there’s all that other positive stuff that Nickelback says in this song.

Runaway by Cher: This song starts with the words, “Nobody said it would be easy. Nobody gives you guarantees.” It’s okay if exercise isn’t easy. It’s not supposed to be. If it were easy, EVERYBODY would have a hard body. Keep working and don’t focus on perfection. Cher continually singing for me to “run away” keeps me running when I want to walk and there is NO better motivation than Cher looking as awesome as she does in her sixties!

Listen to the clips for these songs. If you find just one song this week that motivates you to exercise, then buy it and make it your powersong when you’re working out this week. I bet you’ll find that you’re more willing to get your butt to the gym and your workouts are easier.