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

It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.
– Sir Winston Churchill, British politician (1874 – 1965)

The sad truth is that you cannot buy yourself fit or thin, but the beauty of all of this is that the converse is also true. You don’t need extra money to lose weight and be strong. Just like when I walked into the door of Weight Watcher’s, I was willing to do whatever they told me. All you need to do is be willing to do what is required.

You can get fit for free. Walk around the block. Run around the block. Play with your dog. Play with your kids. Play with yourself. Run up and down the stairs at work. Do some jumping jacks and crunches. Carry your groceries. Carry your neighbor’s groceries. Volunteer to help your friend move. Lift cans of soup. Lift sacks of flour.

You can even get paid to get fit. Get a part-time job in a warehouse or for UPS or even at a department store. All of these jobs are very active and provide you with light to moderate exercise while you get paid. Instead of going home and watching television, getting a temporary job that is very physical might be a good option for you.

What is required: Thirty to forty minutes of intense exercise every day. You should be breathing heavy, sweating, and your heart rate should be at the cardio level.

You can lose weight and cut your grocery bills. Healthy and fresh food is actually cheaper than junk food. Fruit and vegetables are economical compared to chips and cookies. Frozen dinners are more expensive than the ingredients to cook it yourself. If money is your concern, you may have to sacrifice convenience, but it is possible to become thin without spending one extra dime.

What is required: Lower your caloric intake. Follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans or the Eat More, Lose More plan from Prevention Magazine.

As long as you are willing to do what is required, there is nothing that can get in your way. As long as you are unwilling, there is nothing that you can buy that will help you get to your goal.

Sad as it may seem, you can’t buy yourself fit. You can’t buy yourself thin. No matter how much money you spend on yoga mats and fitness balls, you will stay at the same level of fitness if you don’t use them. No matter how much money you spend on health food, you will stay at the same weight if you eat too much.

Sadder still, you can’t learn yourself fit and you can’t learn yourself thin. No matter how many gyms you join or personal trainers you hire, you will stay at the same level of fitness if you don’t exercise every day. No matter how many diet books or magazines you buy, you will stay at the same weight if you don’t alter your eating habits. No matter how many nutrition classes you take… I think you get the point.

The only way to get fit is to exercise. The only way to get thin is to monitor your eating. There is just no other way around the physics of physiology. No matter how much money you have, you are still bound by the laws of physics.

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The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 has just been released. They have helpful recommendations for physical activity, food groups, fats, carbohydrates, sodium, alcoholic beverages, and even food safety.

• The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005

With this much down to earth information available, you’ll never need to buy another diet book again.

The headlines scare me:

New Scientist – High-fat diet could harm the brain by Helen Phillips

BioEd Online – High-fat diet is bad for the brain by Jim Giles

Prevention – Are These Foods Really Healthy? by Dayna Winter, RD

Negative press is not new for trans-fats or hydrogenated oils. They have been implicated in heart disease for years now. Why do these headlines scare me when the others didn’t?

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I had no idea that little phrase would bring up so many advertisements on a Google search. I had no idea it would bring up so many books at Amazon. In fact, I have been so obsessed with nutrition and so isolated from the world of diets, that this phrase was completely new to me. I saw it in an advertisement and wondered about it.

I had no idea how little it was substantiated. After searching through pages and pages of advertisements pushing one diet or another with promise of fat burning foods or negative calorie foods, I finally found a voice of reason. I finally found an article that asks for the thing that we all should ask regarding every diet: Where’s the proof?

Diet Power – The Negative-Calorie Diet by Elena Serocki

If you think that celery contains fewer calories than it takes to digest it, then you need to read her article. There are a lot of companies out there trying to sell you their diet with their magic combinations of fat burning foods. Don’t fall prey to them.

Prevention Magazine has an article outlining the most down-to-earth diet plan I’ve seen in a long time. This is the kind of plan that you can follow for the rest of your life. It can be tailored to help you lose weight. It is based on the 2005 Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

For the full plan and all its details, see the article: Eat More, Lose More. Here are the basics:

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E-Diets has a quick little article to get you back on track after the holidays. If you have already fallen off the wagon on your New Year’s Resolutions, here are three good tips to get you back on track and fulfilling the promises you made to yourself.

Three Post-Holiday Fit Tips

Last month, I wrote an article called, “Should You Take a Vitamin Just in Case” and I linked to an article on Ortogo Healthy Lifestyle’s website. The author of that article popped in and left a comment clarifying some items.

Check out the comments here: Should I take a vitamin “just in case”? Comments

It’s always nice to have clarification from the author of a work. Thanks, Matt!

Laura,

Hi! I just found your blog via your husband’s site. Could you cover some material / links to info about juicing? I just received one for Xmas and I am very happy with the results! I can feel the difference after only a few days!

Thanks John

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Should I make my weight goals public or private? Should I tell my friends that I’m joining a gym? Should I just do it on my own and see if they notice a difference?

Goals: Public or Private?

This wonderful article from myGoals.com that talks about this subject in a very frank way. It touches upon the subject of commitment, which is a force that I have been able to harness to accomplish my goals in the past.