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

Growing your own vegetables and herbs is the best way to ensure that your food is healthy. My friend, Roland K. Smith makes Raised Garden Beds that make gardening in small areas or on your deck or patio easy.

He is going to sell them this year at the Farmer’s Market in Pocatello, Idaho, but the weather just wasn’t cooperating the last week of April:

• Roland K. Smith’s Weblog » A Rainy, Cold, Short Beginning For the Farmers Market

The plan was to sell the raised garden beds at the market (actually, to take orders for them). The forecast was for rain and about the time the market opened at 9 am so did the skies. By 10:30 most of the vendors had packed it in and so did we. By that time we were both pretty dang cold. I’m sure in a few weeks we won’t remember how cold this morning was and will be wishing for cooler weather.

Even the cold states like Idaho and Utah are starting their Farmer’s Markets up in late April. The time for fresh and locally grown vegetables and fruits is at hand. Find the Farmer’s Market in your area and get some yummy veggies for yourself. Or take it even further and buy a raised garden bed to grow your own!

How many people have to get sick from a product before the FDA has the right to shut them down? Apparently at least 23, including one death.

• FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut Products

The FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.

“The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risk. Adverse events are rare, but exist. Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they are experiencing symptoms possibly associated with these products,” said Linda Katz, M.D., interim chief medical officer of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Hydroxycut is doing a recall and are pulling all of their products off the market. It gives me the impression that they are trying to make it look like there were tainted with an impurity. How long will it take before we all stop buying pills that promise to make us lose weight? Is losing a liver an acceptable risk in order to lose a few pounds? You can’t live for more than 48 hours without a liver. Are you really willing to risk that?

I was so excited when I heard about My Weight Loss Coach for the Nintendo DS.

• Starling Fitness » Ubisoft Announces My Weight Loss Coach

I pre-ordered it, so when it arrived, I was excited to finally get a chance to try it out. Unfortunately, it left me bothered and unhappy with it. The pedometer was cool and it worked seamlessly with the DS, but the software and user interface was clumsy and limited. You can see a video walk-through here:

Download this video for your iPod

It might look cute and fun to do, but there is ONE problem with this that made me stop using it. You can see the issue at the 2:21 mark. It asks you if you want to “Wrap The Day.” If you misread this as finishing putting in food for now and accidentally choose “Yes,” then you cannot add any more food that day. It’s completely closed off for you. I did that a couple of times because instinctively, it seemed like I should answer “Yes” at that screen because I was done adding my breakfast. After the second time, I went back to keeping track of my food on paper.

I liked how they kept track of energy units, which were worth approximately 50 calories. That is really close to the calculation for WW Points, so it worked well with the way I kept track of food. Unfortunately, the software was so limited that there are some foods that are just NOT on the list and no way to enter your own food unless you just enter something else with the same amount of energy units. It was an irritating experience to enter my food.

Exercise was just as irritating. I know they were trying to make it easy, but swinging the clock hand around and around to say how many minutes of exercise I did was just ludicrous. Keeping track of things should be EASIER than writing them down when I have to use my DS to keep track of food. Sure, it was cute, but I need efficient as well.

Ubisoft are the creators of my beloved Rayman Raving Rabbids and they licensed Yourself! Fitness, so I have come to expect good things from them. Unfortunately, My Weight Loss Coach didn’t live up to the Ubisoft name. Save your money and don’t bother with this one.

• @JuleeEllison Wii-DDR, is easier to learn if you turn off the controls for the nunchucks and the song fail – lets you finish the song. #
• RT @nicky187 If you become self-actualized, you don’t _have_ to have the candy, but you can if you want to. 😉 #
• RT @communicatrix Did an overlay – food pyramid & Maslow’s hierarchy. Pretty sure that if I get self-actualized, I get to eat candy again. #

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I watch House M.D. EVERY week and I absolutely LOVE it. Dr. House says the things that I think parents should hear. I cheered and clapped when House bitched out the hippie parents of a child with asthma when they refused to buy him inhalers.

I prepared myself for the worst when House started lecturing this mother about childhood obesity. Here is what he said:

Download this video for your iPod

The audio is kind of choppy, so here’s a transcript:

House: Well, good news, the lab says it’s not strep, so we’re done.
Mother: Wait a second…
House: No! REALLY! Not strep. The boys in the lab sure are hard drinkers, but they’re pros. Plus, your kid has none of the symptoms for strep. I just figured it was quicker running the test than arguing with you. My point is, GO!
Mother: I just wanted to ask your opinion, Doctor. She’s having a birthday party next week and she’s upset that I’m getting a sugar-less cake.
Child: The other kids HATE it!
House: THIS is why you’re here…
Mother: Sugar is the leading cause of obesity in America.
House: You want a doctor to scare her about the dangers of sugar… [House closes the door to talk privately.]
Mother: She needs to get her weight under control.
House: [to the daugher] Well, you know… I feel sorry for those other kids, Wendy, who don’t have a mom like yours. A mom that knows that sugar causes heart disease, appendicitis, and athlete’s foot.
Mother: Well, that’s not fair…
House: [to the mother] Oh yes, it is. No, I get it. You want her to slim down a little so she can wear pretty clothes, like yours. I LOVE the bracelets. HEY! What about matching outfits?! You could be twins! Oh! She CAN’T be your daughter! It’s impossible! You look WAY too young! [to the daughter] Happy Birthday! [to the mother] Get the kid a damned ice cream cake!

House is exactly right. It’s almost as if parents care more about childhood obesity because of the way it reflects on THEM instead of for valid reasons. They are so ashamed of having an overweight child that they are willing to starve their growing children or give them dangerous diet pills in order to make their kids perfect.

I am excited about this new book by Monica Seles. She was a tennis superqueen when a crazed fan stabbed her in the back in the middle of a match. Getting over the injury and her father’s painful death sent her turning to food. How many of us have had that same experience? I know I have.

She has written a book about her experience called Getting a Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self. Whenever I have the urge to binge, it helps to hear stories about people who have conquered it.

Here is her interview from ESPN:

• Bonnie D. Ford: Q&A with Monica Seles – ESPN

Via: Conquering Emotional Eating: Lessons from Monica Seles

Last week, Angela commented on my The Weight Loss Testimonial entry:

There was a madtv scetch once about “eat less and move more.” And this whiny person saying that was too complicated and couldn’t they just take a pill or have surgery? And the guy responds, “you’d rather have dangerous, invasive surgery than just eat less and move more???” That one always sticks with me as I’m trying to do this on my own.

I had never seen or heard of that sketch before, so I looked it up:

Angela is RIGHT! This is such a powerful lesson to me. Every time I get tempted by some diet pill that promises a miracle, I’m going to remember this lady.

Lady: Isn’t there a pill I could take?
Announcer: Haven’t you taken you taken pills for dieting?
Lady: I sure have…
Announcer: And how’d that work out?
Lady: I’m fatter now than I’ve ever been!
Announcer: You want to lose weight, right?
Lady: Absolutely!
Announcer: Then all you have to do is eat less and move more.

I have heard the phrase, “Eat Less Move More” so many times that I’m pretty sick of it, but it’s true. That’s the only thing I need to do to get to my goal weight. It’s the DOING it that’s hard.

Just looking at these Air Shorts makes me laugh, but then I learned that they were so popular that there were TWO companies making them. Here is the description on how they are supposed to make you slim:

Inflatable exercise shorts for men and women. Wear while doing your morning sit-ups, housework, etc. Great for exercise and for shedding body moisture. Inflate to fit. Gives support and massage at waist, hips, thighs, buttocks. One size fits all. Inflates with a simple tube.

They charged seven bucks for those ghastly things back in the 70’s, which would equate to about 38 dollars now. Would you pay forty bucks for those ugly things?!

The next time you’re tempted to buy something for weight loss, remember the Air Shorts. Save your hard earned money and let the fads fall by the wayside.

Via: Plaid Stallions : Rambling and Reflections on 70’s pop culture: Scarred Forever

• @JuleeEllison There IS a learning curve to DDR. Once you get it, though, there is an incredible feeling of accomplishment! Try again! #
• Just set up the Starling Fitness Weekly Challenges on Nike+. Make sure you sign up for the correct level. http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/ #

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A few months ago, Weight Watchers ran these commercials with the Hungry Monster:

Ever since I talked about that commercial, people have been emailing me asking where they could buy one. For example:

CAN WE PURCHASE THE LITTLE STUFFED CREATURE IN YOUR COMMERCIALD?

I was wondering if you would be marketing the little orange Hunger character in your commercials as a stuffed animal or something? I just think the commercials are really motivating and eye-catching and I would LOVE to have a little Hunger stuffed animal of my own..

Thank you,
Donnina

This week at Weight Watchers, I noticed that they are actually selling the little Hungry Monsters.

Seeing hunger personified reminds me that it’s just a little beast inside of me controlling what I eat. I need to retrain it to eat healthy food.

Update 02-03-10: The hungry monster used to be sold at Weight Watchers locations, but it has since been pulled from the market. Sorry, but you can’t buy them at present.