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

Humans are omnivores. We have molars AND canines for eating grains and shredding flesh. There is no doubt that we are built to eat meat, but our meat consumption has reached such proportions that we are actually harming the environment with our diet.

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – Livestock a major threat to environment

According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.

Choosing tofu instead of beef could do as much to save the environment as driving a hybrid, so why do we keep eating meat?

Because it tastes good.

What can you do? Just limiting your meat intake and having it only for special occasions can be your first step toward helping the world with your choices. All those small choices add up, so when you’re ordering your dinner tonight, try vegetarian. You could start a habit that is not only healthier, but could save the planet.

Via: Michael Verdi on Twitter

Last year, Janet Jackson shocked all of us by losing 6o pounds in four months. I talked about it here:

• Starling Fitness » Janet Jackson Weight Loss

She has been able to keep the weight off for a year and according to the cover of the magazine, she will share her “secrets” with us.

What’s her secret?

Eating light and clean helps, but you really shouldn’t think of it as a diet, otherwise you feel like you are depriving yourself. If you crave something, you should have a little bit of it, then let it go and move on. Do a little extra exercise so you’re back on track.

She exercises six days a week doing cardio mostly. She has toned down on the weight training because she has injured her rotator cuff, so any workout that affects her shoulder has been cut out of her routine.

From the example menu and workout list, it looks like she is keeping things REALLY light in order to keep her size four frame.

I have to admit that seeing her look so good after a whole year is really inspiring to me. I think to myself, “Janet has been fighting this her whole life. If she can do it, then I can too.” Personal trainers and chefs? The fact that she has access to them doesn’t change my level of inspiration. I can plan my own meals. I can create a workout.

I really believe that 90% of weight loss happens in my head and the other 10% is what I do on the treadmill or put in my mouth. When I decide that it’s possible, nothing can stop me. When I decide that it’s hopeless, nothing can help me. Just seeing how well Janet has been able to keep off the weight really helps me get that 90% back into gear.

I have a few healthy snacks that help me eat healthy:

• 94% Fat Free Popcorn
• Carrot sticks
• Granny smith apples with lots of salt
• Diet rootbeer with a 1/4 cup of REAL ice cream

What are your favorite snacks?

Josh Kenzer has an excellent entry explaining how you can calculate how many calories you should eat every day:

• How Many Calories Should I Eat a Day?

Remember, because this number is based on your weight, you need to recalculate it when you lose or gain weight. If your weight loss has stalled, it might be time to lower your caloric intake a bit. Go check out his site and run the numbers. Are you eating too much? Are you eating enough?

My introduction to Molecular Gastronomy consisted of some blurry pictures from the inside of Alinea. My sister and her husband raved about concoctions that were freeze dried, laser fried or pulverized beyond recognition. They described round popping balls of flavor that burst all over your face if you didn’t close your lips fast enough. I was interested, but the price tag of a visit to Alinea was enough to keep me watching from the sidelines.

Now, it seems that I can’t read my RSS feeds without hearing about some exclusive restaurant that specializes in molecular gastronomy. What is it? According to Wikipedia:

Molecular Gastronomy is the application of science to culinary practice and more generally gastronomical phenomena.

The chefs use scientific techniques to create food, thus the liquid nitrogen, lasers and pulverizers.

This concoction, called Whim 03 was served at L’Enclume in Cartmel, Great Britain.

Here is the description from That’s How It Happened:

It was the first dish that absolutely knocked me into a cocked hat for technical brilliance. The white block was an impossibly light, and yet completely sturdy marscapone foam, topped with salmon roe, on a bed of parsley puree. The pink powder was grated frozen tuna, which reminded me of freeze dried astronaut food. The white puree was grapefruit foam, with passion fruit seeds. This was a riot of contrasting textures, with absolutely surprising complementary flavours.

Marscapone foam, salmon fish eggs, parsley puree, grated frozen tuna and grapefruit foam. It sounds like a good mixture for the “I’ll eat anything and you pay me money if I don’t barf” game. The diner at L’Enclume was quite pleased with the food, but it all smacks of the Emperor’s New Clothes to me. Sure, the tuna fish is frozen and pulverized, but in the end, it’s still tuna.

Has eating hit such a pinnacle that it is no longer about sustenance but extreme diversity in tastes and textures?

When an egg is no longer an egg, what is the point anymore?

According to Slashfood, this is not an egg:

It looks like an egg – maybe poached, maybe fried – right? You’re close, but…not really. That’s Marcel Vigneron’s Cyber Egg, made with no egg whatsoever. Rather, it’s a dollop of carrot-cardamom puree that has been mixed with sodium alginate into calcium chloride to create the appearance of a “yolk,” and coconut milk mixed with agar hardened in a ring-shaped dish.

Eating at one of these restaurants is said to be an experience that is beyond the food, but I’m having a hard time believing it. I’m waiting for the next food fad: simple and whole food served fresh, and I’m not talking about that Raw Food fad either.

For more information:

• Molecular gastronomy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• A La Cuisine!: Molecular Gastronomy Resources

I read an online article the other day about how to make Chinese Food healthier:

• Back in skinny jeans: 5 ways to make Chinese take-out healthier

I was unimpressed with it. I argued with every suggestion:

• They said: Order the Sweet & Sour Pork/Chicken or any other meat dish without the fried breading. I said: I don’t want to have to order it without the breading. That’s a pain in the butt for the restaurant staff.

• They said: Eliminate the soy sauce or ask for low sodium sauce. I said: Sodium only causes temporary weight gain and can be flushed out by drinking more water. It has nothing to do with weight gain and is only a health issue if you have high blood pressure.

• They said: Ask for brown rice instead of white rice. I said: I’m not believing the brown rice fad. I know they say that it’s a whole grain as opposed to white rice, but I want to see the facts. How much extra fiber? Brown rice is a fad right now and I’m not really wanting to jump on that bandwagon.

• They said: Order Rice or Chow Mein/Chow Fun but not both. I said: I never order Chow Mein. That stuff is FRIED in oil. Carbo-loading isn’t the issue.

• They said: Order Wonton soup instead of the Wonton appetizer. I said: The wonton in Wonton Soup taste NOTHING like the fried Wontons. That warm soup feeling is not a good substitute.

After arguing with everything that Skinny Jeans had to say, I realized something. I only eat Chinese food when I want to binge. I know how to eat healthy at a Chinese restaurant, so if it is chosen by the group I can eat without ruining my day, but if I have a choice, I only choose Chinese when I want to binge. Wonton Soup isn’t going to cut it when I want to eat friend wontons because it wasn’t about eating healthy for me. It was about feeding the starving child inside of me.

How do I eat healthy when the group chooses Chinese food? I order a single serving of steamed rice and a cup of hot sour soup. It’s easy for the restaurant staff, cheap, and pretty filling. I count about 200 calories for a half cup of the rice and about 100 calories for the soup. When I’m forced to go to a Chinese restaurant when I’m eating healthy, that’s what I choose.

When I’m tempted to binge, no simple list will ever get me past it.

Via: Food: Make that Chinese take-out more healthy – Lifehacker

Aspartame is the artificial sweetener that has taken over almost EVERY diet product on the market. Even though there are many artificial sweeteners available, aspartame seems to be the favorite right now. It’s also the favorite scapegoat of many groups, saying that aspartame was pushed through the FDA approval process and is the cause of a wide number of ailments.

The European Ramazzini Foundation in Bologna, Italy conducted a study on aspartame which stated that it caused cancer. The FDA has released their review of that study here:

• US FDA/CFSAN – FDA Statement on European Aspartame Study

They asked for the data and the ERF provided some, but not all the data. They also refused to let the FDA review the pathological slides, which are thin slices of the organs of the test animals mounted on slides so they can be analyzed. Based on the data that they DID receive, here are their findings.

Additionally, the data that were provided to FDA do not appear to support the aspartame-related findings reported by ERF. Based on our review, pathological changes were incidental and appeared spontaneously in the study animals, and none of the histopathological changes reported appear to be related to treatment with aspartame. FDA believes that additional insight on the study findings could be provided by an internationally-sponsored pathology working group examination of appropriate tissue slides from the study.

Considering results from the large number of studies on aspartame’s safety, including five previously conducted negative chronic carcinogenicity studies, a recently reported large epidemiology study with negative associations between the use of aspartame and the occurrence of tumors, and negative findings from a series of three transgenic mouse assays, FDA finds no reason to alter its previous conclusion that aspartame is safe as a general purpose sweetener in food.

To be honest, aspartame is fake food. It makes things sweet like sugar does, but doesn’t add calories. It hasn’t even been proven to help you lose weight. It might be safe to eat, but there are doubts as to whether it’s the best for you. If you have a diet soda addiction, then you can rest easy knowing that the FDA has reviewed its safety and still deems it safe, but remember that nothing quenches thirst better than water.

Via: Consumer Health Digest, May 1 2007

While we were traveling, I thought I would indulge. We bought a package of Oreos and we ate six. Why?

They just didn’t taste as good as Oreos used to taste. We couldn’t figure it out until we looked at the ingredients. They no longer use partially hydrogenated oil as an ingredient and have replaced it with palm oil.

Who knew that all I liked in Oreos was the trans fat. When I was craving Oreos, it wasn’t the chocolately cookie, it was the trans fat. I’m sure that’s the only ingredient that has changed and suddenly, they just don’t taste as good.

It’s not like my tastes have changed. I still crave Oreos and I can’t fulfill that craving now because they have removed that harmful ingredient. I know it’s better for me, but I still miss the flavor.

I had no idea that all I was craving was trans fat…

The Philco-Ford Corporation released a movie in 1967 that would show us how our lives would be in 1999. Here is a kitchen scene with a mother, her son and her husband. What will the computer allow the husband to eat?

This video seems strange to me because I remember seeing short clips like this on television and being so excited for the future to arrive. Instead, 1999 came and went. I don’t have a flying car, but I also don’t have a husband who thinks it’s my responsibility to feed him. This conversation between the husband and wife (via TV Phone) is interesting:

Wife: Earl, how about chicken salad?

Husband: Ew…

Cheese omelet?

Cheeseburger with french fries and a nice cold bottle of beer.

I’ll see…

She pulls up this screen on the computer:

It suggests roast beef, green salad and no-cal beer, which is apparently a good enough substitute for Earl.

We’re living in the year 2007 and there are no flying cars and still no calorie-free beer! The future is NOTHING like they told me it would be!

Via: Cynical-C Blog – » What 1999 Will Be Like (A Film from 1967)

I have read diet books with less helpful information about eating than is contained in this simple entry from The Diet Blog:

• The Diet Blog – What Do 300 Calorie Meals Look Like?

If you don’t desire much variety, you could only eat meals that are listed on that entry three times a day and you would definitely lose weight. In fact, if you weigh over 200 pounds, you could add a fourth meal from their list every day and still lose weight.

Me? The thought of only eating what I see on my computer screen makes me want to binge, but there are people who can eat the same thing over and over every day without any problems. If you’re one of those people, here is the most simple and healthy diet you’ll ever encounter.

Via: See what 300- to 400-calorie meals look like – Lifehacker