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

The headline is appealing and it screams at you from the checkout line. “Sexy New Diet Secrets! From Oprah’s drop to Jessica Simpson’s Daisy Duke transformation, get the skinny on how the stars shed the pounds.”

What are these “sexy” and “new” “secrets”? What are Hollywood’s latest ways to get thin fast? I strongly suggest that you buy this magazine this week. You need to read it to believe it. For once, they told the truth. Eat less and exercise more. Every beautiful woman in that magazine said that the simple truth is that they were exercising like crazy and watching their food carefully.

My favorite quotes:

Renee Zellweger: “It feels good to finally go to the gym after… nine months.”

Kate Winslet: “I can’t think of any other way than eating less and exercising more.”

Gwen Stefani: “I have to struggle to have this hot body!”

Kate Hudson: “I’m back to a size 4, but I worked hard at losing it.”

US Weekly Recommends: Eat Square Meals – Work Out Consistently – Be Realistic

Who knew that the Sexy New Diet Secrets would be the tried and true?

ABC News reviewed the latest issue of The Annals of Internal Medicine, which assessed the supporting data from ten weight loss programs.

“Of the programs researchers examined, only Weight Watchers had strong documentation that it worked.”

I don’t need supporting data. All I have to do is look at pictures of myself from three years ago to know that they work.

Also reported at Newsday.com: Study Big on Weight Watchers

My friend is doing a cleanse. She’s blogging about it and I want to link to her.

Yes, Please! Cleanse – Day One

I personally don’t believe in starving yourself of food, but hers is more of a really restrictive healthy food diet with a couple of days of liquid fasting and colonics. I’m watching her progress with a morbid fascination. (more…)

The idea that Christmas comes once a year is a common excuse to binge. The thought, “This is my only chance to eat this,” is the precursor to many a broken promise to myself. Not this year. I have finally realized that it’s not true.

(more…)

This Saturday at Weight Watchers, my leader, Janece had a discussion about being positive. She wants us all to be an inspiration to those around us. For homework, she gave us the following items:

1. Only watch television shows that are inspirational.
2. Only listen to music that is inspirational.
3. Inundate ourselves with motivational things (positive magazine articles, books, etc.)
4. Only say positive things. Not one negative word out of our mouths all week.
5. Be positive at the scale, no matter what it reads.

How can negativity affect our weight loss?

(more…)

My Weight Watchers teacher is back on the soap box about soda. She has stopped drinking soda about five weeks ago. Her flatter stomach and the absence of weight swings have been attributed to the carbonation fast. She is drinking only water now and she is adamant about the benefits of getting off pop.

(more…)

I’ve gotten tons of hits from people who are looking for this information:

• Vegetables and fruits
• Soups (non-creamy)
• Whole Wheat Pasta, Brown Rice, Potatoes and Grains
• High Fiber and other cereals without added sugar
• Lean Meats, poultry, fish and eggs
• Fat-Free Milk Products
• Healthy Oils
• Condiments
• Coffee, Tea and sugar-free beverages

This is the “magic” list of core foods that are allowed on the Core Plan for Weight Watchers, but I’m going to be totally honest with you. If you are looking for this, you need to get your butt in the door of a Weight Watchers and pay the minimal fee to go to the classes. A magic list of foods is not what you need to help you achieve your goal. You need the full program to get you through this process.

(more…)

They were playing poker in their tent. I felt like I should be playing with them, but I just couldn’t bring myself to get interested in the game. Instead, I read the book I brought along.

“I hate this future.”

Stacey and Dan looked at me with confused faces.

“I don’t like the future that this book has set up. It’s too depressing.”

They were still confused, so I tried explaining more.

“In this book, being thin is like a religion. It’s against the law to be fat.”

“That’s not a diet book?” I don’t remember who asked me.

“No. It’s sci-fi and I hate this future.”

“We thought you were reading a diet book or maybe a non-fiction book about the diet industry.”

It was then that I realized that I was already living in the future that I hated.

(more…)

This week, Weight Watchers is starting a new plan. They did this to us last year at this time. Just when I thought that everything was settled and the summer lull in traffic was progressing nicely, guaranteeing me a good seat every Saturday morning, they introduce a new plan and the place is standing room only again. Do they mix things up just to boost attendance? After attending for the last three years, I’m starting to wonder.

(more…)

I’m drinking a 20 ounce Diet Mountain Dew: the most caffeine laden drink I could drink without choking down a coffee. After getting completely off of any type of carbonated, caffeinated or artificially sweetened beverage a few months ago, here I am. Drinking a Mountain Dew.

(more…)