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

This postcard from PostSecret showed up a couple of weeks ago.

It reads:

I just realized that veganism
has become an excuse for my EATING DISORDER.

I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of disordered eating. I tell myself weird lies all the time to justify a binge. Sometimes I can recognize them as a lie, sometimes they slip right past me and I find myself doubled over with stomach pain.

I truly believe that veganism is the most healthy way to eat… for SOME people. For others, it easily turns into a way to binge or starve yourself. It is entirely possible to get fat on a vegan diet, just like it’s possible to starve yourself to death on one. It’s not the veganism that caused that person’s disordered eating, but it sure is a good excuse.

What excuses are you using to get in the way of your perfect life? Are you letting yourself slide on daily exercise? Are you slipping in food that you know is your downfall? Are you limiting yourself too much? Watch yourself carefully today and make sure you are living the life that you want to without letting any excuses get in your way.

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.

About a week ago, I had a nightmare. There was a horrible disease that was turning people into violent zombies. It would happen very quickly, just like in the movie, Omega Man. I would turn around and my best friend was suddenly a zombie, trying to attack me. They were weak and pathetic zombies, easily defeated, but it was still scary.

Mike and I were safe in our new house, and we learned that the problem was in the food supply. SOMETHING about the food supply was turning people into zombies. I felt such a wave of relief. I said to Mike, “This is PERFECT! All we need to do is NOT EAT and we’re safe from the disease! We have enough fat on us to last MONTHS, which just might be long enough for the scientists to figure out which food is turning people!” I was overjoyed. All we had to do was not eat and both of us would be safe!

Then Mike said, “Like you could do that!” His voice was joking, but it did ring true. I was crushed with the knowledge that even if food could KILL me, he didn’t believe that I wouldn’t eat. It hurt my feelings so bad that I immediately woke up.

In REAL life, Mike would never say anything so rude to me. He has always been so supportive of me and all my eating problems. The truth of the matter is, foods that are high in carbohydrates HURT me. Sugary and starchy foods really make my stomach writhe in pain.

Yet I still eat them.

My reality isn’t too far from the horror of that dream. Even when food is “killing” my stomach, I still eat it. I don’t know HOW to reduce my carbohydrate intake without setting off my feelings of deprivation, but I’m going to figure out a way to do it. I’d much rather live a long and pain-free life than end up with a disease.

Photo via: the WAREHOUSE: the Omega Man

This postcard from PostSecret showed up today and it made me think.

It reads:

I think one of the reasons I like you is because you’re not insanely thin, like the rest of my friends.

Honestly, thoughts like these make me scared to lose weight. What if I lose weight and no one likes me anymore? I’d have to change my lifestyle quite a bit in order to be thin. What if it changes me so much that I lose all my old friends?

I’m sure many of us have fears like this and they don’t all have to do with weight. Going to college, getting a promotion, getting married (or divorced) or even having children can bring up all these same fears. There is only ONE thought that makes me feel better when I start thinking like this:

Things are going to change anyway.

There is NOTHING I can do to stop things from changing. I can’t predict HOW they are going to change, but the one thing I can count on is that my life will be different in five years whether I lose the weight or not.

I might as well have a different life AND a healthy 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.

If you’ve been exercising heavily lately, you might have been tempted to use a topical analgesic like BenGay, but according to a recent study, it might not help you much more than a placebo.

• BBC NEWS | Health | ‘No proof’ that muscle rubs work

They looked at 16 studies involving nearly 1,300 patients using creams containing salicylate – a close drug relative of aspirin.

Results from four of the studies showed topical salicylates performed better than dummy creams against acute pain, but when lower quality studies were excluded, the results were not statistically significant.

When it comes to rubefacients they do not work well enough to take any notice of them.

As a child, my grandmother used Icy Hot every night before going to sleep. The smell of that ointment reminds me of her to this day. It almost seemed like the act of rubbing in the balm was far more healing than the balm itself.

If you have been exercising heavily, take the time to give yourself a little massage and see if that helps ease the pain. If you feel any relief from using BenGay, it’s more likely coming from the act of rubbing it in than from the cream itself.

Via: Drop the Bengay and Aspercreme?

Wendy Bumgardener from About.com was flashed once while she was out walking on the trails. She didn’t look at the flasher and hurriedly walked away. Did she do the right thing?

• Walking About.com: How to React to a Flasher?

While most flashers are not immediately dangerous, some do progress to accosting, groping, and even rape. Calling the police with a good description and photo when possible is the right thing to do to protect others.

Walking and running outside are the best and most inexpensive methods of getting exercise, but there ARE risks. Flashers are only one of them, but they are incredibly RARE, so don’t let fear of pervs in the park keep you from your daily walk.

This postcard from PostSecret reminded me of my high school days.

There is a weekly pill box with a tab from Monster Energy Drink in the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday sections. It reads:

I haven’t eaten since Sunday.

When I was in high school, I thought the way to lose weight was to just not eat. Back in the Eighties, they didn’t know as much about metabolism as they do now (even now, they have just scratched the surface of human physiology). I remember starting some new diet pills and I decided that I could drink as many Diet Cokes as I wanted, but I wasn’t going to eat.

That worked for three days and then I ate an entire box of discount Twinkies from the bakery thrift store.

Now I know that I have to eat OFTEN to lose weight. It doesn’t need to be a lot, but it really helps if I eat every two hours or so. I feel fuller with the same amount of calories and I feel like I’m eating all day, because face it, I am. I’ve finally found what works for me. To lose weight, I need to EAT!

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.

My hair stylist was significantly skinnier. I had seen her a mere six weeks ago, so she had lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time.

“You look great!”

“Thanks! I’ve been doing a new diet.”

“Really? What are you doing?”

“It’s the HCG diet…”

She continued talking, but I froze up. That was that diet that was promoted by Kevin Trudeau and the FTC slapped him with a huge fine. I squeezed my eyes.

“Isn’t that the one with the injections?”

“Yeah. I go to a medical spa. I actually haven’t even met the doctor. I just go in once a week and the nurse hands me the injections that I give to myself every day. The doctor looks at my file, though.”

“Hmm…”

“Of course, you have to follow the diet, too. It’s really low fat and pretty restrictive.”

“Wow…”

I keep my mouth shut. Over the years, I have learned that people don’t want to hear me burst their bubble. They don’t want to know about double-blind testing against placebos. They don’t want to hear about the fact that they would have lost all that weight by themselves without those expensive injections. They don’t want to hear about the placebo effect. They just want to continue living their weight loss fantasy.

And who am I to burst it for her? Heck, the placebo effect is WORKING for her! I’m not going to get involved with the power of that.

If you want to know the SCIENCE, however, it’s pretty damning when it comes to HCG injections. Here are links to just two of the many studies that were conducted in a proper manner (1976 and 1990), showing that HCG is no better than saline solution when it comes to benefits of weight loss.

• Chorionic gonadotropin in weight control. A double-blind random cross-over study of the effectiveness of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) vs placebo in a wieght reduction program [JAMA. 1976] – PubMed Result

Two hundred two patients participated in a double-blind random cross-over study of the effectiveness of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) vs placebo in a weight reduction program. Serial measurements were made of weight, skin-fold thickness, dropout rates, reasons for dropping out, and patient subjective response. There was no statistically significant difference between those receiving HCG vs placebo during any phase of this study (P greater than .1).

• Human chorionic gonadotrophin and weight loss. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial: Bosch B, Venter I, Stewart RI, Bertram SR. Department of Medical Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, Parowvallei, CP. [S Afr Med J. 1990] – PubMed Result

Low-dose human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) combined with a severe diet remains a popular treatment for obesity, despite equivocal evidence of its effectiveness. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the effects of HCG on weight loss were compared with placebo injections. Forty obese women (body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2) were placed on the same diet supplying 5,000 kJ per day and received daily intramuscular injections of saline or HCG, 6 days a week for 6 weeks. A psychological profile, hunger level, body circumferences, a fasting blood sample and food records were obtained at the start and end of the study, while body weight was measured weekly. Subjects receiving HCG injections showed no advantages over those on placebo in respect of any of the variables recorded. Furthermore, weight loss on our diet was similar to that on severely restricted intake. We conclude that there is no rationale for the use of HCG injections in the treatment of obesity.

For more information about Kevin Trudeau:

• Starling Fitness » The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want You to Know About

This postcard from PostSecret made me crinkle my brow in confusion.

It reads:

I told everyone I ran the race…
But really, I went to Starbucks, enjoyed a latte, and watched everyone else run past the window.

My confusion was, “So what?” Races are held to earn money. If you paid the entrance fee, they got what they wanted. If you didn’t run the race, you didn’t get all the benefits of training, so anyone can tell that you didn’t run it. It all was a big confusion until I realized how different I am from a lot of people.

I don’t care if other people know I ran a race. The MOST important thing about running a race is that I know that I did it. It was never about impressing other people. I’ve been trying my best to impress myself all along.

Ironically, no matter how many races I run (or walk), I have yet to really impress myself. I might as well have sat at Starbucks for all the lack of self esteem I’ve achieved from race participation over the years. The only thing that has been better is that I am stronger. I can’t deny that, no matter how much I feel like I have to prove myself.

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.

This video was made by BenjaminLotan. His description of it:

Compilation of Rachel Ray mmmmm’ing after tasting food on her show 40 dollars a Day… slowed down to 40% original speed…

All of the shows on the Food Network seem strangely obsessed with food. I know it’s the Food Network, but come ON! It can’t taste THAT good! Of course then there are some of the shows on the Food Network, where the insanely skinny hostess tastes all the food, but you never see her swallow on camera. I just imagine that she spits it out as soon as the camera stops rolling.

This obsession with food CAN’T be healthy.

Via: Littlest, Yellowest, Differentest – RACHEL RAY EATS HER FEELINGS

This in depth article from Newsweek talks about Oprah and her dubious and sometimes conflicting health advice.

• Live Your Best Life Ever! | Newsweek.com

This is Oprah’s special brilliance. She is a gifted entertainer, but she makes it seem as though that is beside the point. Oprah is not here to amuse you, she is here to help you. To help you understand your feelings; drop those unwanted pounds; look and feel younger; get your thyroid under control; to smooth your thighs, nip and tuck your wrinkles, awaken your senses and achieve spiritual tranquility so that you can at last be free to “Live Your Best Life.”

This is where things get tricky. Because the truth is, some of what Oprah promotes isn’t good, and a lot of the advice her guests dispense on the show is just bad. Some of the many experts who cross her stage offer interesting and useful information (props to you, Dr. Oz). Others gush nonsense. Oprah, who holds up her guests as prophets, can’t seem to tell the difference. She has the power to summon the most learned authorities on any subject; who would refuse her? Instead, all too often Oprah winds up putting herself and her trusting audience in the hands of celebrity authors and pop-science artists pitching wonder cures and miracle treatments that are questionable or flat-out wrong, and sometimes dangerous.

I’m glad that someone is willing to mention that sometimes Oprah doesn’t give the best advice. She is so beloved by so many that it’s hard to suggest that she might not be an authority. She’s not a doctor and MORE importantly, she’s not YOUR doctor. She is a talk show host. She is producing a television show for ENTERTAINMENT. Don’t get your medical advice from a talk show.

I truly believe that Oprah wants to help people, but she is easily fooled by the many people out there just eager to make a quick dollar. All it takes is a MENTION of something on the Oprah show to make it immediately sell out. I believe Oprah has raised the bar of daytime television so high that we have forgotten that in the end, she’s just a talk show host, not some infallible goddess.

Via: Consumer Health Digest, June 4, 2009