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

I have my McDonalds trained well. I can go through the drive-thru and order an Egg McMuffin without the muffin and they will give me an egg, ham and cheese wrapped up without the muffin. They don’t even blink when I order it anymore and they send me through the drive-thru pretty quickly.

I timed it once. From the time I stepped into the garage to the moment I got back home, I was able to get myself a Low Carb Egg McMuffin in only fifteen minutes. That was five minutes driving there. Five minutes driving back and less than five minutes in the line.

For fun, the other day, I threw together one egg, some ham and a slice of cheese. It was the same ingredients I get from McDonalds, but I had to cook them. I thought that it was a big pain in the butt until I timed it.

How long does it take me to cook a Low Carb Egg McMuffin on my own? FOUR minutes.

FOUR MINUTES! I can’t even drive to McDonalds in that amount of time!

So many times, I think that getting “fast” food is easier, but it’s not. By the time I get into the car and drive over there, I could be EATING my homemade version. All I need to do is make sure I have the ingredients in the fridge and I am ahead of the game.

The next time you’re tempted to just grab some fast food, remember that it might just be quicker to make your own.

Photo via: Treadmill Tricks & Drive-Through Shopping

Camilla Luddington was the model for the new Lara Croft game and she plays Dr. Jo Wilson on Grey’s Anatomy. She admitted to keeping thin by running with the ZOMBIES, RUN! app.

She said,

They’ll make it seem like zombies are chasing after you at the same time, so it’ll be like, ‘Zombies at 500 meters.’ And they’ll be like ‘Augh!” So it makes you run really fast! It works for me! It makes me feel chased!

I love the look on her face at that point.

I’ve never run at night with the app, so I apparently haven’t experienced the full terror that I could.

Actually, the other night, I rounded a corner and there was a guy with a dog and he was bending down and it was the middle of the night and I was listening to Zombies, Run! and I screamed in his face because he scared me so much rounding that corner!

I’ve talked about how much I love this game here:

• Starling Fitness – Zombies, Run! Makes Exercise Fun
• Starling Fitness – Zombies, Run! 2 Is Coming This Spring
• Starling Fitness – I Am Runner Five

Listen to the Zombies, Run! people talk about designing the game:

If you haven’t tried this game and you have an Android or iPhone, then it’s definitely worth the eight bucks to download this app. Using the Five Buck Workout Rule, you only need to exercise with it twice to make it pay for itself.

Via: Zombies, Run! | Zombies, Run! fever is spreading

That ARThletic Girl posted this about running.

It reads:

What defines you as a runner isn’t how many miles you’ve run or how fast you run. What defines you as a runner is the decision to lace up your shoes, get out the door and run.

It’s right. Even if you’re shambling no faster than most people can walk when they’re in a hurry, you are doing something good for yourself and your body. The next time you don’t feel like you are a good enough runner, remember this. It’s not the speed or the miles. It’s the lacing of the shoes and stepping out the door that makes you a runner. Now get out there and do it!

This image from healthy moi is spot on. It’s called, “Things To Do Before Your Run.”

It reads:

Thing to do before running

Wear comfy underwear

Drink water

Use chapstick

Go to the bathroom

Make playlist

Stretch

Pick the right socks

All of these are so important for comfort during a run! Great infographic, Healthy Moi!

Via: this summer

I love this image I found on Fitspo Addict.

It reads:

Burn Fat Not Oil

I am a TRUE believer of riding your bike to work and I’ve written about it MANY times:

• Starling Fitness » You ARE Traffic
• Starling Fitness » Is Riding Your Bike To Work Bad For The Environment?
• Starling Fitness » Riding My Bike To Work
• Starling Fitness » Save Gas By Walking or Riding Your Bike
• Starling Fitness » How To Ride Your Bike To Work
• Starling Fitness » PostSecret: Bike To Work
• Starling Fitness » Copenhageners Ride Bikes To Work

The healthiest and strongest body I ever achieved was when I was riding my bike to work every day. Now that I work at home, it’s harder for me to get as intense workouts. The motivation of getting to work on time always made me push hard and keep going, even on huge hills. With a little planning, you can save money on gas and make your butt look better than anything you’ve experienced before.

A while back, Raining In Reverse posted a photo with this description:

my mom ordered nothing for dessert so they gave her a plate with “nothing” written in chocolate syrup on it

She has since removed that photo, but you can NEVER fully remove a photo from the Internet, so it’s around and I found it. In honor of her feelings, however, I have cropped her disappointed mother out of the photo.

I absolutely LOVE this photo. It’s sort of liberating. It’s perfectly okay to order NOTHING for dessert. The next time everyone else is ordering chocolate gooey decadence or carmel plastered fry bombs, remember Raining In Reverse’s mom and order NOTHING. It’s so much better in the long run for your body and peace of mind.

Via: Lay Beneath the Stars

Sometimes a before and after photo is so motivating that people all over the world notice it. That’s the case with this photo.

Usually, I’m pretty good at Internet sleuthing. I can find the original posting of an image and source it correctly, but the best I could do was this post on Tumblr back in November.

• IMAGINE THE DAY

Considering that she posted a ton of other before and after pictures the same week, I don’t think this is HER picture.

It’s just such a perfect picture that doesn’t look doctored or photoshopped at all (aside from putting two photos next to each other). And that look of pride on her face is freakin’ priceless!

Who is this girl? What is her story? I want to know! If any of you recognize her, please tell me!

The other day I was needing some inspiration, so I typed the word, “thin” into the search on Pinterest. This is what I found (click the picture to see it full-sized):

Tons of links to “Thin Mint” treats isn’t really the kind of dieting and exercise inspiration I wanted, but it sure made me laugh!

For the kind of Pinterest motivation that actually HELPS, here are my Pinterest boards:

• Starling Fitness Low Carb
• Starling Fitness Motivation

I found this image on LOSING THE WEIGHT, GAINING THE CONFIDENCE.

It reads:

I’m done being fat.

I understand that feeling. It usually happens when I’m at my FATTEST, not when I’m thin. I’ve been so close to ideal weight that I almost felt thin, but at that time, I never felt like I was “done being fat.”

The moments when I am at my most aggravated and most angry with fat are when I’m the fattest. But, the words, “I’m done being fat,” have two meanings. It can mean I am so frustrated with my body that I can’t take being fat, but it can also mean that I’m thin now.

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be able to say those words and mean that I am thin now and done being fat ever again.

Via: I CAN DO IT

I love this simple image from Fresh, Clean, Fit!.

It reads:

Tough Times Don’t Last. Tough People Do.

Every time I hit a rough patch, I need to remember this. I am tough and I’m going to outlast this.