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

Svetol is a green coffee extract that is supposed to help with weight loss. The websites promoting it say:

“Clinical studies demonstrate the twin actions of Svetol:

-The slimming action results from a decline of the body mass index which leads to weight management. The results of the study show a reduction in weight of 5.7% after taking the supplements for 2 months.

-The shapelier body contour results for an increase in lean body mass and reduction in fat. The results of the study show an increase of the LM/FM ratio of 4%.”

They are quick to use words such as “clinical studies” and “reduction in weight”, but I can’t find anything online to show the results of the studies, whether they were performed by a reputable facility and whether they were double blind. Without this information, there is really NO PROOF that Svetol does anything but take your money away. Remember, don’t spend any money on a nutritional supplement that hasn’t jumped through the hoops and proved what they are saying.

That doesn’t mean that nutritional supplement manufacturers aren’t going to jump on Svetol like it’s the best thing in the world. Expect to see lots of products with Svetol included like, CoffeeSlender, which is an instant coffee containing the extract. Considering how eager food manufacturers are to put “weight reducing” supplements into EVERYTHING (Remember chromiumn?), let’s just hope it doesn’t poison people or cause horrible side-effects like ephedra did.

Via: CoffeeSlender: Weight Loss Coffee?

I just got back from a quick trip to Vegas. Rather than brave the Christmas shopping, we hit Sin City. I saw this commercial for Carl’s Jr. before we left. To our surprise, The Palms actually offers the Carl’s Jr. meal on their room service menu. If Sin City has everything for everyone, why is it so hard to get a healthy meal there? I guess healthy eating doesn’t really fall into the category of sin, does it?

Via: SupersizedMeals.com – The Carl’s Jr. $6,000 combo meal

The Diet Blog has a funny article about the advertising for a cookie from Japan that is supposed to help you lose weight.

• The Okara Cookie

The English translation accentuates the hilarity of eating cookies to lose weight:

“The most effective way to diet is to eat Okara cookies instead of usual supper. However, it is a serious thing isn’t it? First of all, we encourage to eat cookies for the breakfast.”

The poor English aside, Okara cookies aren’t very different from meal replacement shakes or protein bars. Skewing full meals prepared with fresh, whole foods in favor of processed shakes or bars has never worked for me. I always feel more hungry after a diet shake than I did if I had eaten the same number of calories in “real” food. The awkward translation just makes it more obvious.

Next time you are tempted by meal replacement shakes, bars or even Japanese soy cookies, remember that there is no replacement for healthy food. It may take a little longer to prepare or require that you plan ahead, but your health is worth it. You deserve a little extra preparation and planning. Give it to yourself.

I vividly remember what it felt like to be a fat kid. I remember how my grandma treated me. I remember how the kids at school treated me. I remember it all so vividly. If my parents had been able to provide it, would I have had liposuction when I was twelve years old? Hell, yeah!

That’s how the twelve-year-old mind works. I wouldn’t have worried about complications. I wouldn’t have realized that not changing my eating habits would just pack on the pounds again. I wouldn’t have cared about any of that. Just to have the hope of not being the fat kid would have been enough for me. Of course, that faulty logic is the reason that twelve-year old kids aren’t allowed to sign contracts or enter into marriages. We protect our children legally and sexually, but it seems like the story of Brooke Bates and her liposuction surgery left her woefully unprotected.

• ABC News: 12-Year-Old Girl Has Liposuction

Fortunately, she is healthy and not dealing with some of the infection and blood loss nightmares that other people have dealt with. When asked if they were scared, her mother said that they weren’t. Their faith in the doctor seems unwise considering how many other people have suffered at the hands of this kind of operation.

I’m disturbed by this article and video in many ways. I keep hearing the word “normal” thrown around like it’s an idol to be worshipped. The doctor that performed the surgery on Brooke said,

“It can change their lives to be a normal person.”

An overweight boy earlier in the interview said,

“I just want to be normal.”

Even the narration joins in the game:

“…even shed hope for a normal future.”

Normal isn’t an ideal to look up to. No matter what you do, you won’t be normal. No matter what your body looks like, the kids at school will find SOMETHING to make fun of, whether it’s your name, how smart you are (or aren’t), or even if you are the fastest runner. The pursuit of normal isn’t a race you can win. It’s like running in a hamster wheel. You burn a lot of energy, but you still end up feeling like an outsider. Liposuction can’t cure it because it has NOTHING to do with the body and everything to do with the mind.

Bad call, Dr. Robert Ersek, bad call.

Via: Big Fat Blog: 12-Year-Old Has Liposuction

I think this video is supposed to promote weight loss surgery, but it seems to do the opposite for me. If you have ever thought about having weight loss surgery, this video is a vivid reason on why you shouldn’t. Not only do you have to endure an unpleasant surgery, you have to eat healthy to keep the weight off. Weight loss from gastric bypass surgery or any other weight loss surgery happens because you change your eating habits. If you have to change your eating habits anyway, don’t bother with the medical torture. Learn how to change your habits now.

Sometimes I think people are tempted by weight loss surgery because they think they deserve the pain. Maybe they think that if they suffered so much that they wouldn’t dare go back to eating poorly. Or maybe they think that the cost of the surgery is going to be a deterrent to eating poorly. It all sounds like punishment to me.

Instead of punishing yourself with weight loss surgery, do something nice for yourself today. Feed yourself some fresh veggies and fruit, maybe even some lean protein. Give yourself the rush of some heart-pounding exercise. Find other non-food-related ways to be nice to yourself. You don’t need weight loss surgery. You need someone to love you so much that you WANT to be healthy. That someone can be you.

I stopped watching The Biggest Loser pretty early this season. I don’t like that new trainer. I really miss Jillian and it seemed even MORE commercial than last year. Last year’s constant Jello commercials really bugged me, but this year, everything was a commercial, so I stopped watching.

I guess my instincts were right on about the commercialization of the show. Last week, on my trip to the grocery store, I saw a huge display of bottled water with last year’s “Biggest Loser” advertising it. Penta Water is filtered water, so it doesn’t pretend to be diet water, but I was still offended. The look on Matt’s face told me all I needed to know about Penta Water. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes weren’t. You don’t watch a season of reality TV without being able to recognize when someone isn’t happy. Matt, if you’re out there reading this, you don’t need to sell your body to Penta Water.

I looked away when they did the “Pudding in a Cloud” episode. I glazed over every glimpse of Jello, One-A-Day vitamins, Diet Rite and Timex watches. I even turned the other cheek when an entire episode was turned into a commercial for The Planet Hollywood Casino and Las Vegas. But, come on? Biggest Loser Water?

Bad form, Biggest Loser, bad form…

I don’t like to give bad reviews. I prefer to find something else positive to talk about instead. There is so much to write about, you really don’t need to hear me talking negatively about a product that is trying to do some good in the world and just doesn’t do it good enough for me.

When I see articles like this, however, I want to scream to the whole world:

• Dieters skip doctors, turn to ‘magical thinking’ – Diet & Nutrition – MSNBC.com

This article talks about a survey with startling statistics:

“70 percent of Americans who are trying to lose weight are following their own diet plans and have no interest in seeking a doctor’s help.”

I can understand that. I have received HORRIBLE advice from general practitioners about diet and nutrition, so I can see why most of us are trying our own diet plan. This statistic surprised me, though.

“One-third have tried dietary supplements of unproven benefit — pills and powders that promise to burn fat, boost metabolism or melt pounds without the sweaty hard work of exercise or the discipline and deprivation of diets.”

One-third?! Thirty-three percent?! Even if it was ten percent, that would be far too many people trying products that have no proven benefit. No matter what they promise you, don’t spend your money on that junk. One-third is a HUGE amount of people! Even if each person only spent a dollar, it would amount to 100 million bucks! No wonder my email box is filled with spam trying to promise me magical weight loss! No wonder Starling Fitness comments are regularly vandalized by comment spam trying to get YOU to buy magical weight loss! Even if only 33% of you respond, that’s a major profit.

Don’t do it!

I know you’re tempted right now. Halloween just passed us by and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. After that, there is the month-long binge of Christmas to survive. Buying a bottle of pills that promise to boost your metabolism or burn fat while you sleep is really enticing, but don’t do it. Eating healthy during this time of the year is the best Christmas present you can give yourself. Plan for it now and you’ll be able to afford it by then.

Via: Integral Options Cafe

Now that we have entered the dark months, it is imperative that you prevent The Invisible Pedestrian Syndrome when you are out walking or running for your exercise. There have been so many times that the only reason I was able to see the pedestrian jaywalking across the street is because their dark clothes blocked out the headlights of the oncoming traffic.

Wendy has some gear for keeping yourself very visible this season:

• About.com – Night Walking Fun Gear – by Wendy Bumgardner

Here are some tips that don’t cost much:

• Wear light colored clothing: I know that black sweat suit is much more fashionable than white or powder blue, but it makes you INVISIBLE in the dark.

• Try reflective tape: You can buy reflective tape at the hardware store and tape a few bars across your back, down your arms and across your chest. It won’t wash well, but if you only wash your coat once a year, it should last the season.

• Carry a flashlight: Carry it in the hand that is closest to the street, so that the cars can see you from further away. It isn’t so you can see so much as to make you more visible.

Be safe during these dark months. No one wants to get hit by a car during their workout. Just taking a few precautions can keep you from getting injured.

There is a new kind of weight loss surgery that is being developed and it eliminates cutting into the body:

• Scalpel-free obesity surgery on the horizon – CNN.com

The procedure is described here:

“Natural orifice transendoscopic surgery, or NOTE, requires no incisions because instruments — such as long tubes with robotic arms and staple guns — can be inserted through the mouth and snaked down the esophagus. Another possibility, he said, is inserting a sleeve, or a tube, into the intestines that would interfere with calorie absorption.”

I’m all for surgeries that are less invasive, but no matter how much I weigh, I wouldn’t be the first one to sign up for this one. Are you willing to sacrifice your vocal chords and the ability to sing well just to lose a few pounds?

If you are willing to take the physical risks involved, then be willing to exercise and eat healthy. Don’t let the medical industry sell you ANOTHER weight loss surgery with unproven efficacy. Love yourself enough to take care of your body by eating right and exercising. It’s worth it.

Via: Big Fat Blog: Scalpel Free Weight Loss Surgery – Who Benefits?

Researchers at BYU must have too much money on their hands. They are working on a test that can detect eating disorders by testing a sample of hair.

• Treatment Online: Hair Test Can Identify Eating Disorders, But How Useful Is It?

The folks at Treatment Online have a good reason why this test might be just an excuse to bill the insurance company.

“A month of growth is necessary for the test to be administered. But often patients in treatment are seen on a much more regular basis, and may fall back on unhealthy eating behaviors after a short time. The scale, used by many therapists in office environments, provides a much more valuable readout in terms of progress. In that way, even if the hair test was refined, it may still only prove to be a beneficial back up.”

More importantly, the fact that poor eating habits can be detected in the hair just shows how damaging diseases like bulimia and anorexia are to the body. Don’t give in to the temptation. Choose life and eat a healthy and balanced diet with moderate exercise.