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

palmOne is promoting the various Palm software available to track your diet and exercise using your handheld device. If you have resolved to keep close tabs on your food and diet regime, the following products may help you.

palmOne Resolutions: They include information about the Atkins Carb Counter, Diet & Exercise Assistant 6.0 and Weight Watchers On-The-Go.

They failed to mention the following shareware products available online:

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Quackwatch has a copy of the FDA warning letter sent to Window Rock Enterprises, the company that produces CortiSlim.

Quote from the letter:

“We have reviewed these claims, along with the substantiation package you provided, and concluded that they are not supported by reliable scientific evidence. Because these claims lack substantiation, they are false or misleading, and cause your product to be misbranded.”

The FDA doesn’t think CortiSlim will supress your appetite, reduce your cravings, or burn calories more efficiently and naturally through thermogenesis. Do you think you should spend your money on it?

See the whole letter here: FDA Warning Letter about CortiSlim

I am hosting a workout on Xbox Live tomorrow, Thursday December 30th at 7am Eastern (4am Pacific). If you would like to join us, we will be working out with Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 for a little over 30 minutes. We are playing on Light Mode, so if you’re a beginner, you should be able to keep up.

I am going to start with some easy songs, spend some time stretching, work on harder songs and then cool down with some more easy songs and stretching.

Feel free to join us for a fun workout, even if it’s early for you. We’re a pretty welcoming crowd. It’s about the exercise. No matter how many greats or goods you get, you win if you’re playing.

Prevention Magazine has an article in this month’s issue called “Find the Right Gym for You.” On page three of this article, they address my biggest issue: “I find the gym intimidating.” Do you want to know their solution to my problem?

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My friend is doing a cleanse. She’s blogging about it and I want to link to her.

Yes, Please! Cleanse – Day One

I personally don’t believe in starving yourself of food, but hers is more of a really restrictive healthy food diet with a couple of days of liquid fasting and colonics. I’m watching her progress with a morbid fascination. (more…)

Respondesign, the company that makes Yourself! Fitness, has announced that they are releasing a Playstation 2 version of the game/workout program in February of 2005. It is currently available for Xbox and PC computers.

The Yourself! Fitness website has an introduction video and several example workouts for you to exercise with. They are small on your screen, but they give a good idea of what a workout with Maya is like with a couple small exceptions. The workout with Maya on the website is missing the Workout Meter Line, which warns you when new exercises are coming. I find this to be really helpful in the game, so I’m surprised it’s missing in the free previews. Here’s a good example of what the Workout Meter looks like at the bottom of the screen:

Notice how the Workout Meter warns you that you’re going to be using the step right after the rest. Additionally, you can’t stop the preview workout to use a tutorial and learn the exercise or make it easier or harder. The free preview isn’t exactly as good as the real thing, but it gives you a good idea of what a workout with her is like.

Last Thursday, I ate really well. I was tempted many times to over eat, but I ate healthy. I think it was hard going to Weight Watchers and having my weight say I was three pounds heavier…

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Games for Health is a website that looked like it would be interesting to me. They just received funding for The Serious Games Initiative to encourage the creation of games that promote good health. Sounds like something that I would think was cool, right?

Then I saw their list of games…

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The idea that Christmas comes once a year is a common excuse to binge. The thought, “This is my only chance to eat this,” is the precursor to many a broken promise to myself. Not this year. I have finally realized that it’s not true.

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If you are eating a healthy diet and following the USDA’s food pyramid, do you need to take a vitamin and mineral supplement? Some organizations say you should, while others say you don’t need to. Who is right? Is it better to just take one “just in case?” The following article is a very detailed examination of the issue.

Vitamin Supplementation Who Needs What? By Matthew Johnson

This article is provided by the Ortogo Healthy Lifestyle website (a vitamin supplement company), so the information may be weighted toward the use of vitamins. The information provided, however, states the recommendations from many health organizations and is a good basis for information on the issues.