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

This postcard from PostSecret reminded me of the reason that most people don’t lose weight.

It reads:

I am so afraid of failing that I don’t even want to try.

I see so many people at Weight Watchers who stay the same weight, me included. Whenever I really attack the reasons why I’m not following program, it always comes down to being afraid. Sometimes I’m afraid of failing. Sometimes I’m even afraid of succeeding.

If I fail, then everyone knows that I keep trying to lose weight and I’m still STUCK where I am.

If I succeed, then I have to live in an unfamiliar world of being thin. Will that make me different somehow? Will I be conceited? Will I be constantly hungry? Will I be promiscuous?

It’s no wonder that I feel stuck sometimes.

It has been said that fear is energy. It’s the energy that we need to do something scary. They always say feel the fear and do it anyway, but I want you to USE that fear to move you past your sticking point. Every time you feel scared, go exercise, clean out the bad food in the house or call a friend and talk it out. Don’t let fear trap you in a life that is less than you deserve.

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.

The workouts from iPump cost two bucks a piece and they are worth every penny. I worked out with iPump Fat Burn.

• iPump Fat Burn: iTunes Link

They have a FREE workout that you can download to your iPhone to see what they are like:

• iPump Free Workout: iTunes Link

They have many other workouts to choose from. You can see them all here:

• iPump on iTunes

Each exercise has a video showing how to perform the exercise correctly. To play the video, press the green circle with the letter P in it. I didn’t notice this the first time I used iPump and wrote a VERY different review of this application. After a few emails with Craig Schlossberg, the founder of PumpOne, he pointed out where the play button was. That dedication to customer service is what separates a good company from an excellent company.

The videos showing how the exercises work are only accessible when you have Internet access, but you don’t need the videos to complete the workout. After you’ve done each workout several times, you can probably do the whole thing just by looking at the exercise photos. I tried accessing iPump Fat Burn while my iPhone was in Airplane Mode and it allowed me to go through the whole workout just showing me the photos and instructions. When I tried to play a video, it just popped up a dialog box saying, “This movie could not be played,” and let me continue.

As with MANY exercise programs, their idea of a beginner workout is sorely mistaken. Take, for example this exercise: the push up.

Asking a 200 pound beginner to do a push up is like asking them to do a bench press with nearly 200 pound weights on the bar. What trainer in their right mind would have a beginner bench press almost 200 pounds? That is essentially what you’re asking a beginner to do when you have them do a push up. Sure, you don’t need “special equipment” to do this exercise, but a first-timer should be doing a modified push up or push ups against a wall in the beginning. Asking beginners to do push ups or bench dips is just an exercise in frustration or a recipe for injury. As a beginner, if you find any of the exercises to be too advanced for you, do your best, modify the exercises or skip them altogether until you are strong enough to master them.

Despite their miscalculations about what beginners can actually do, iPump Fat Burn is a great workout tool. You could take it with you to the gym, use it while traveling or just workout at home. You don’t need any exercise equipment to do the workout aside from a bench or stool that can support your full weight. More importantly, PumpOne is a company that is dedicated to customer service. If you are looking for something to change up your workout, then try one of the iPhone applications from iPump.

It had been a long time since I had picked up an Avon catalog, but while I waited for my yearly doctor’s exam, I perused the catalog. I wasn’t surprised that Curves and Avon had joined forces. What surprised me were the products that they were offering.

This advertisement reads:

Curves Trimming Waist Support
Thermal-action shaper belt retains warmth and may help you shed excess water as you exercise. Supports lower back.

I’m sure it gives some support to the lower back, but are they really going to suggest that this belt will help you lose weight? Maybe my grandma would have believed that back in 1963, but does anyone believe it now? A quick search on Yahoo! Answers gives us the truth.

• Neoprene weight loss shorts? – Yahoo! Answers

Fat is not melted away by warm clothing…it is only lost when consumed by the body as a source of fuel. Do cardio for over 20 minutes and you’ll start to burn fat. The sweat under your shorts is just water trying to keep you cool…not fat.

This advertisement reads:

Curves Trimming Shorts
Sauna action neoprene may help you shed excess water weight from your lower torso to your thighs.

Again with the sauna shorts. They might make you sweat, but they aren’t going to deal with the REAL reason your hips are big: fat.

This advertisement reads:

Curves for Women Toning Flip Flops
Stylish sandals cushion feet while helping to stimulate circulation. Improve balance and posture. Natural shock absorbers challenge your muscles to strengthen.

The name of the sandals uses the word “toning,” but there is no proof that the kind of shoes you wear can tone your legs. I’ve talked about this here:

• Starling Fitness » The Fit Flop: How About Just Flop?

• Starling Fitness » Can Walking In Special Sandals Make You Thin?

There is no doubt in my mind that Curves and Avon have done a world of good for women all over the U.S., but seeing them resort to selling these sorts of products makes me wary of everything else they do.

I found this ad for SlimQuick Cleanse in a magazine a few weeks ago.

It caught my eye because of the fine print. It reads:

Dramatization. The cartoon shown used SlimQuick clease for 7 days to jump start her weight-loss program, then continued to lose weight by adding other SlimQuick products to her diet and exercise routine. Result not typical. Cartoons lose weight easily. Real people require regular exercise and a reduced-calorie diet to lose weight.

It kind of made me laugh, so I decided to look at their ingredients to see if there was anything worthwhile in the product.

SlimQuick Cleanse Ingredients: Selenium, Chronium, Glucomannan, Green Tea Extract, Senna Extract, Ginserg Extract, Lactospore, Chastee Tree Extract, Milk Thistle Extract, Artichoke, Turmeric Extract, Dandelion, Cranberry, Fennel, Peppermint Extract, Caraway, Ginger, Slippery Elm, Bromelain, and Cinnamon.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, many of these ingredients are useless for weight loss and even worse, some are discouraged from use.

• Common Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss – November 1, 2004 – American Family Physician

Here is the list of common ingredients in weight loss pills from AAFP:

The column that you want to look at is Product Efficacy. After looking at all the research, does the product actually help you lose weight? There is only one that has been proven to cause weight loss, ephedra, but it has been pulled from the market because it will kill you. You can find many of the ingredients from SlimQuick Cleanse on that list, but none of them have been proven to help you lose weight.

The truth about SlimQuick Cleanse isn’t hidden. It’s right on the advertisement in small print:

Real people require regular exercise and a reduced-calorie diet to lose weight.

Real people do not need expensive pills that haven’t been proven to do anything for weight loss.

We’ve finally reached the final episode of Super Slim Me, where healthy Dawn Porter finishes her 500 calorie a day diet in an effort to get to the elusive size zero. Will Dawn be able to fit into her glamorous size zero dress at the end of all of this?

Dawn’s experience with laxative tea shows the disadvantages of so-called cures.

In the end, she lost about four inches around her waist. Her starting weight of 147 pounds (66.6 kilos) drops to 130 pounds (59.4 kilos) and she still feels like a failure. After eight weeks of hell, she lost 17 pounds and dropped two dress sizes.

“I thought I was just going to be hungry for two months. I thought I would get really pissed off because I couldn’t eat. I had no idea I was going to feel crushed down depressed. I had no idea that I was going to completely lose my social life. I had no idea that I was going to have a headache, not sleep for two months, and I had no idea that every word that anybody said would make me want to literally lynch them. I had no idea that I was going to be so weak and pathetic. I thought, it’s just two months being hungry, I can do that.”

Her BMI dropped from 22 down to 19, on the edge of underweight, and she STILL couldn’t fit into her size zero dress. She ate her own slice of the cake of culpability for buying into the skinny model and threw out all her photos of stick thin celebrities.

On another note, here is a transformation that they did with her just like the models in magazines:

I found this in an advertisement for Aleve.

I thought it was a great motivational photo to paste in a collage with all my pictures of how I want my body to look when I get to goal, so I tore it out of the magazine.

The underlying message of the advertisement is take Aleve and you’ll be able to keep exercising through the pain. THAT message isn’t quite as positive as the initial euphoria of “Never Stop Moving.” Aleve is a non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drug called naproxen sodium. It’s like aspirin or ibuprofen, but totally different than acetaminophen.

For a long time, Advil ran advertising calling their product “Vitamin I.” I’ve even heard runners refer to ibuprofen as Vitamin I. The idea of just popping a pill instead of giving your body the rest it deserves after hard exercise isn’t the healthiest mindset to subscribe to. It looks like Aleve is jumping on that bandwagon.

There are risks to every medication. I’ve written an article here about the problems with over the counter pain relief:

• Starling Fitness » Drugstore Pain Relief

I love the idea of Never Stop Moving. I love the idea of working out every day, no matter what. I HATE the idea of choosing to take an Aleve rather than giving my muscles a rest. In the end, I choose to take the image as inspirational and forget all about what they were trying to advertise.

This postcard from PostSecret shows the power of vision.

It reads:

I’ve always been the person who lectured my friends about anorexia.

So I guess it’s karma that I’m on the verge of an eating disorder, myself.

Your mind automatically tries to move you toward whatever you focus your attention. If you focus on what you DON’T want, then you will get closer to what you don’t want. That’s why it’s so important to envision a future that you DO want.

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 week, Dawn has collected diet information from newspapers, tabloids and magazines. Who is to blame for all of this?

The cake of culpability includes: celebrities, stylists, model agencies, designers, or even the fashion shows themselves. Suddenly, all the of them refuse to even comment with her and none of them are willing to take any responsibility.

Will Dawn be able to fit into her glamorous size zero dress at the end of all of this? Tune in next week for the final episode.

This postcard from PostSecret is one of my fears of finally getting to goal.

It reads:

I will never miss the person I lost when I lost 100 lbs. +, but I will always live in constant fear that no one will love the body that she left behind.

What if I get to goal weight and I don’t like that sagging skin any more than I like that fat tummy? Sure, I can hide it with clothing, but will it make me feel any better about myself? What if I hate my body just as much when I’m skinny as when I was fat?

I finally decided that it doesn’t matter.

I’ve always hated my body. I’ll probably STILL hate my body, even when I’m finally at goal weight. The difference is, I’ll be treated better. I won’t be discriminated against by employers, health insurance companies, doctors and strangers. I will be healthier. I’ll be stronger and more able to do strenuous activities that are fun. I’ll finally be free of the shackles of binge eating. All of that is more important than loving my body.

Someday, I might be able to finally love my body, but I’m not waiting around for that to happen before I allow myself to get to a healthy weight.

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.

Every time I see an advertisement for a new kind of exercise machine, I just roll my eyes and wish they would just quit trying. This time, however, I got a little excited. I got an email about Real Ryder, which is an exercise bike that acts more like a real bicycle.

• Real Ryder-The Next Generation of Indoor Cycling

Introducing the RealRyder: It tilts, turns, and banks like an outdoor bike–works out the core, upper body, legs, cardio, and improves balance the way other indoor cycling bikes can’t.

Here is a video of it in action:

The biggest problem that I can see with the Real Ryder is that you can’t buy one. Just like so many other exercise products being advertised on the Internet, it’s not just a simple case of giving them your credit card number to get one. There is no price listed on their website and buying one isn’t as easy as filling out a form and waiting for FedEx. In fact, you have to contact a Sales & Marketing representative to even find out more information. Additionally, two of these “sales” people have the same last name. That smacks of nepotism to me, and I’ve found that it isn’t the best way to run a company.

The Real Ryder is a GREAT idea. I’d love to see it made into a video game controller so I could play motocross video games using this bike instead of buttons. I have so many good ideas that could work with Real Ryder, but if I can’t just give them my credit card and BUY one, I’m not going to believe they exist.

Update 07-22-12: It is nearly FOUR years later and the SHOP section of their website STILL says “Coming Soon.” I think I can safely assume that they’re never coming.