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

I have thought about electricity generation while I’m exercising a lot. I talked about it on The Gadgets Page:

• The Gadgets Page » Bicycle Powered Generator

I work out every day, whether on the treadmill, my indoor bike trainer or at the gym. Some of the workout machines at the gym power themselves with my sweat, but most of them plug into the wall and I use more electricity than I generate. What if there was a gym designed to create electricity instead of use it? That is the idea behind Notions of Expenditure.

• Notions of Expenditure

There were many drawings and ideas submitted for Notions of Expenditure, but my favorite was an anonymous posting:

It compares the electricity work performed by the inmates at the Bellevue Prison in 1822 to the energy requirements of a typical household.

It would take five and a half people working out 24 hours a day to power one house, and that doesn’t include heating or hot water. Every time Mike tells me that hooking up a generator to my exercise bike is useless, I don’t want to believe him. I need to look at this demonstration. Mike is right. I would save more energy if I just turned off the lights when I’m not using them.

Via: Videogame Workout: Harness the Energy of Exercise?

Somehow, I have let Acomplia slip under my radar. I had never heard about this drug until I read this article.

• Diet Blog – Acomplia Side Effects: The Story You Must Read

After looking at the website for Sanofi-Aventis, the manufacturer of Acomplia, it appears that they are working diligently on marketing this drug as a cardiovascular medicine instead of a weight loss medicine. Even though the drug affects the brain and not the heart, veins or arteries, they are marketing it (and working on testing for proof) as a cardiovascular drug so that health insurance companies will pay for it.

I’ve seen many weight loss medications come and go over the years. From Dexetrim to Phen-Fen, I passed them all by because I knew that even if I was able to lose weight with these drugs, I would end up gaining the weight back after I stopped taking the pills. I didn’t want to be the kind of person who had to take pills her whole life. I knew that I needed to fix the reason why I gained the weight in the first place, which is my head, not my mouth. This philosophy has protected me.

I was so grateful that I had never tried Phen-Fen after the heart-valve problem was revealed. If you are tempted to try Acomplia and line the pockets of Sanofi-Aventis with your money, remember the Phen-Fen scandal. Keep your money and work on your head. You can lose weight on your own without expensive “cardiovascular” drugs.

An advocacy group tested the french fries from 14 of the hospitals rated among the best in U.S. News and World Report. They were testing for trans-fat and shockingly, many of the hospitals are still using it.

• Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/07/2006 | Want fatty fries? Go to a hospital

I’ve talked about the dangers of trans-fat before:

• Starling Fitness » What Every Consumer Should Know About Trans Fatty Acids

It’s amazing that hospitals are still frying their food in it. A quote from the Philadelphia Inquirer article puts it plainly:

“Partially hydrogenated oil has as much place in hospital cafeterias as ashtrays have in the operating rooms,” said Michael F. Jacobson, who runs the Center for Science.

If you are stuck in a hospital and need to eat at their cafeteria, stick to fresh fruits and vegetables and steer clear of their french fries for now.

Via: Treatment Online – Eating Healthy a Challenge at Many Hospitals

I find it strange that the one commercial that I’ve heard the rest of the world talking about with the Superbowl was missing from the iFilm collection of commercials. Did Budlight not think it was worth sponsoring, or was this an oversight on iFilm’s part. Here I was watching a Mastercard Marathon when I could have been watching this wonderful commercial from Dove.

This girl is the most haunting of them all for me (although the girl who wants to be blonde is a close second). So much of advertising seems to tell us that there is something wrong with us and that their product will fix our flaws. It has taken me a long time to finally realize that the only things wrong with me are in my head.

Via: Treatment Online – Dove Super Bowl Ad Sets a Brave New Tone

Wouldn’t it be great if every time I ran a race I had this much of a lead on the other runners?

Remember when I said that health insurance companies want to use obesity as a reason to deny insurance coverage?

• Starling Fitness » That’s Bullocks

I was blasted for this supposition and people conjectured that it’s not so hard for obese people to get insurance and once they get it they won’t be denied coverage after paying their premiums. It hasn’t happened yet, but an undercurrent of that sentiment is growing in Great Britain.

• Doctors: Obese should be refused treatment | the Daily Mail

The health industry is in a crunch in the United Kingdom and the first thing that they look to to cut costs are the obese. Fortunately, government watchdogs have defended their citizens, but for how long?

I’m not paranoid. I can see where this is leading and if you are overweight, start making healthy choices in your life right now before they decide that it’s legal to discriminate against you because they’ve decided that “it’s your own fault.”

Via: Big Fat Blog: UK Docs: Don’t Treat Fat People

I wrote before about Patrick Deuel and his struggle with weight loss:

• Starling Fitness » The Former Half Ton Man

He is still working toward his goal of a healthy weight. Right now, he is scheduled for surgery to remove his pannus, which is a flap of skin that hangs from his belly down to his knees. The pannus is interferring with exercise, walking and all of Patrick’s plans to get closer to his goal.

• Keloland.com – Patrick Deuel’s Skin Surgery – by Jaine Andrews

• Argus Leader – Patrick Deuel will have surgery to shed extra skin – by Ben Shouse

Convincing his doctor that the surgery was necessary was difficult. It’s hard for anyone to understand the difficulty of dealing with that much excess skin. I think about how much harder my daily run would be with a 70-pound pillow stuffed into my jogging pants and I understand that this surgery is necessary.

I wish Patrick the best of luck. I hope he comes through the surgery and finds his life changed by the renewed mobility.

Update 03-09-06: He got the surgery. He’s doing well.

• JournalStar.com – Deuel has surgery to remove fat, skin mass – By Associated Press

I’m usually watching a movie while I’m running on the treadmill, so I rarely notice what is flashing on the dashboard of the treadmill. The other day, I was listening to music while running, so there was nothing for my eyes to do but stare at the screen. I was surprised at what I saw.

My usual workout is a warm up and a constant run at 5 mph with 0 incline. It’s a run I’ve been doing for the last few months because it reliably gets my heart rate in the high intensity zone. It’s also a goal that I set for myself a long time ago.

I didn’t realize that I had achieved this goal when I achieved it. It was logged in my head as, “Hmm, if I keep the speed at 5 mph, my heart rate stays in the high intensity zone… cool…” That’s about all I thought about it when I first achieved my goal, because long ago, I had decided I wanted to be able to run 12 minute miles, not 5 mph.

The only gym class I ever got an A that I deserved was Jogging. All we had to do was run around the auditorium 12 times (2 miles) every class. At the end of each quarter, the teacher timed us. If we could run a mile in 12 minutes, we got an A. It was that simple and I got my first A in gym without using feminine wiles (getting an A in Dance counts as feminine wiles, by the way).

Before I ever conceived of joining Weight Watchers, I decided that I was going to start exercising every day. We had a treadmill and my goal was to get to the point where I could easily run 12 minute miles, just like in my Jogging class. I weighed 235 pounds. It was 1998.

I wore out that first treadmill, which was very nicely replaced by another treadmill under the warranty, which was also worn out and replaced last year with my Nordictrack. Three treadmills, eight years and 75 pounds later, I finally reached my goal and I didn’t even notice it when it happened. It wasn’t until weeks later when I watched the dashboard on the treadmill flash between the workout time and the pace. I noticed the green numbers reading:

Pace 12:00

I had set the goal so clearly in my mind that it didn’t even surprise me when I FINALLY made it. It was as if I had already made it when I set the goal. Back then, I thought that the only class I had ever deserved an A in was Jogging, so I’m going to learn how to run again and I’m going to earn an A again. I know I can do it because I did it once before.

What have you achieved in your life that you are proud of? I know there must be at least one thing in your life that you deserved as much as I deserved that A in my Jogging class. Remember that time and use it as an inspiration. If you were able to do that, just think about what else you can do. If, after three treadmills, eight years and 75 pounds, I can finally achieve my goal that I set back in 1998, I can get to goal. The same goes for you. If you were able to make yourself proud so long ago, then you can do it now.

This commercial for Slimfast aired during the Superbowl this year. In some respects, I like it because it shows normal sized woman being vibrant and dancing happily. In others, it just makes me want to throw up my hands.

The commercial brags that Slimfast now has more protein to keep you full for four hours. At 180 calories and 5 grams of fat, I could keep myself full for eight hours if I ate real food. Plus, I get to crunch real apples and vegetables.

Here are some suggestions of what to eat instead of a Slim Fast Shake:

Apple: 65 calories, 0g fat, 3g fiber
Cheddar Cheese 1 oz.: 114 calories, 9g fat, 0g fiber
Total: 179 calories, 9g fat, 3g fiber

Celery Sticks 2 medium stalks: 12 calories, 0g fat, 2g fiber
Reduced Fat Peanut Butter 2 Tbsp: 147 calories, 10g fat, 1g fiber
Total: 159 calories, 10g fat, 3g fiber

You can even have a frozen dinner from Lean Cuisine for a similar count of calories:

STOUFFER’S LEAN CUISINE Homestyle Stuffed Cabbage with Meat in Tomato Sauce and Whipped Potatoes: 199 calories, 6g fat, 6g fiber
Total: 199 calories, 6g fat, 6g fiber

There are so many options out there that gulping down a Slim Fast shake seems pointless to me unless you find yourself craving them.

All nutrition facts provided by NutritionData’s Nutrition Facts Calorie Counter.

I’m cold this morning. I’m wearing my workout clothes, which will feel untolerably hot as soon as I start working out, but right now, I am cold. This isn’t about winter. This is able being thinner than I used to be. Ever since I lost that first 50 pounds, I am continually cold.

I talked to my Weight Watcher leader about it and she said she is still cold, even after five years of being at goal. It makes me feel a little defeated. I remember winters when all I had to do was wear a turtleneck, a wool sweater and some gloves and I was fine. Now, I am covered in layers and I still feel cold most of the time.

I never believed them when they said that fat was a layer of insulation, but now I do. I don’t want to go back to being fat, so I guess I need to invest in all those expensive thermal layers at REI. I’d rather wear long underwear than go back to where I was before.