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

• @ddrdiva Shucks, I was hoping MTM was some cool DDR variant game. Since you’re the DDR Diva, I thought I was missing out on some new fun! #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

The Diet Blog posted this message from their community forums the other day:

• Why do Skinny People hate Fat People?

I am over weight and I am a very friendly, kind nice person and I notice that when I go to church or to the store people don’t seem to want to be around me. I take care of myself I have very nice clothes and I get my hair done. I just don’t get why beautiful people can’t talk to or be friends with me. I know that I am fat & maybe I am ugly, but I just don’t understand.

I have noticed this behavior with some people, but it’s very rare. Some skinny people DO hate fat people, but they are the exception, not the rule.

So what is this woman experiencing at church or at the store? Did she fall into a den of fat haters, or is there something else going on?

I don’t know, but personally, I have found that if I’m friendly with people and expect them to treat me nicely, that’s usually how they treat me. That was true when I was fat and that was true when I was at my thinnest.

When I was in high school, I suffered from the disease, Blame The Fat. Everything that went wrong in my life, I blamed on being fat. I wasn’t even fat back then, but if anything wasn’t absolutely perfect, I blamed it on my fat. Junior year, I dated a guy named Sean. I liked him and it seemed like he liked me. He was a sophomore and we were both friends with Clark. We went to a dance together, but soon afterward, he broke up with me. I immediately assumed it was because I was “fat.”

After a month of starvation dieting, I was skinnier than ever, but Sean still didn’t want anything to do with me. Finally, I asked Clark if he knew what happened. Clark said that Sean didn’t like the fact that I was older and had a car. He felt embarrassed that he couldn’t drive me to the dance and that I had to drive them.

I sat in my desk in our Literary Magazine office and didn’t say a word. I was thinner than I had ever been in high school and Clark was telling me that my old boyfriend broke up with me because I had the gall to drive us to the dance. I imagine I must have frozen up for a second or two while I absorbed the information.

It had nothing to do with my fat.

I don’t know why the people in that woman’s church are stand-offish, but I am nearly certain that it isn’t because she’s fat. I could think of a half a dozen other reasons why they don’t associate with her.

• They get new people all the time who don’t stick around, so they don’t accept new visitors into the fold until they’ve stuck around for a year or so.
• They assume that someone else has befriended them.
• There is a committee that is supposed to fellowship new members, but it isn’t doing its job. The people who weren’t picked to be on the committee are bitter and angry. They think, “It’s not my job.”
• They figure she came to the church because she knows someone there.
• They are jealous of her nice clothes and perfect hair. They think she thinks she’s too good for them.
• She seems so shy and insecure that they don’t want to make her feel even MORE uncomfortable by making her talk to strangers.

The only way to know for sure is to ASK. Back in high school, I didn’t have the balls to ask my ex boyfriend why he didn’t want to date me anymore, so I asked his buddy. Now, as a grown-up, I’m perfectly willing to ask anyone to their face. Want to know what I find out? It’s quite surprising:

• I don’t hate you. I’ve been really preoccupied because my husband got laid off…
• You think I hate you? God, I barely even know you!
• Yeah, I hate you. You’re so loud and obnoxious. I wish you would just shut the bleep up.

Most people like me. Some people hate me. Not one person has said, “I just don’t like to be seen with you because you’re so fat.” Even when I’ve been at my fattest. It’s NEVER about the fat. It’s ALWAYS about something else. There are a very small minority of people who hate fat people, but they don’t have any where near the power over your life as your own mind and attitude. The next time it feels like someone is snubbing you because you are fat, catch yourself. You’ve come face to face with the disease, Blame The Fat. Don’t let it conquer your mind. Keep being friendly and open to everyone and you will open far more doors than a skinny butt ever could.

I love this little animation of a yellow guy running. It really gives a good idea of the quiet and calm that I can get from an early morning run.

Running on the treadmill never felt like this, so that’s why I started filming the Starling Fitness Walking Videos. Now I get that same sense of calm and wonder on my treadmill as well.

Via: Spokane Al: Another Nice Video

• @ddrdiva What is MTM? I’ve never heard of it. #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• @ddrdiva What is MTM? I’ve never heard of it. #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Last week’s Sheldon had me laughing and cringing in embarrassment. Arthur, the duck, is so proud of his accomplishment. You can see the whole comic here:

• Sheldonâ„¢ Comic Strip: Daily Webcomic by Dave Kellett: May 4, 2009

What did Arthur do that was like running a marathon? I won’t ruin it for you, but just suffice it to say that even I haven’t achieved this sort of “greatness.”

The next time you are tempted to the dark side, remember Arthur and how silly he sounds when bragging about his foibles.

A couple of years ago, I talked about the Mormons (The Church of Latter Day Saints) and the Word of Wisdom. I said it could be used to keep the members of the church healthy.

• Starling Fitness » A Utah Non-Mormon Talks About The BYU Study

It looks like someone has written a book about just that subject. It’s called The Mormon Diet. Here are the key points of the Word of Wisdom that have to do with health:

• Avoid Alcohol and Strong Drink (such as Coca-Cola or other caffeinated or carbonated beverages): “That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good.”

• Avoid Tobacco: “Tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man.”

• Avoid Hot Drinks (such as coffee and tea): “Hot drinks are not for the body or belly.”

• Eat Your Vegetables: “Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.”

• Eat Meat Sparingly: “Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.”

• Eat More Whole Grains and Feed Your Animals Grains: “All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth.”

• You’ll Be Healthy If You Eat This Way: “And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.”

You can read the full Word of Wisdom here:

• The LDS Word of Wisdom – Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants

I LOVE this video of an Exotic Aerobics class dancing. They are from Lady of Essence fitness club in Texas.

Every one of the women in this class is a DIVA! I loved watching them all! Women of all sizes shaking their booty! Terrific motivation to keep exercising and to keep healthy!

This postcard from PostSecret made me cringe with embarrassment.

It reads:

Tapeworms are what keep me thin.

There is a lot of questionable medicine floating around the world that recommends tapeworms for everything from stomach disorders to obesity. The concept of purposely infecting oneself with a parasite has been around for a LONG time. This advertisement doesn’t have a date printed up on it, but it’s obviously from the turn of the century.

This video talks a little about the negative effects of having a parasite within your body, but it doesn’t go into enough detail:

According to the Mayo Clinic, having a tape worm is a lot more painful than that “tapeworm expert” suggests:

Most likely, you won’t have any signs or symptoms with an intestinal infection. It’s possible you might notice segments of the adult tapeworm (proglottids) in your stool. Other possible signs and symptoms include:

• Nausea
• Weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss and inadequate absorption of nutrients from food

Signs and symptoms of invasive infection: If tapeworm larvae have moved out of your intestines and formed cysts in other tissues, it can cause organ and tissue damage, resulting in:

• Fever
• Cystic masses or lumps
• Allergic reactions to the larvae
• Bacterial infections
• Neurological symptoms or seizures if the brain is involved

In one episode of House, a patient had a tapeworm in his brain causing trouble. That’s definitely NOT something I would want to risk just to lose weight. I’m perfectly willing to eat less and move more in order to avoid the complications of having a parasite within my body.

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.

• Good review of Wii Golds Gym. He loved roadwork as much as I did! http://bit.ly/ubeXm #

Powered by Twitter Tools.