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

I LOVE this advertisement. It was for some body building protein powder and I’d never buy that product, but that ad is GREAT for motivation.

Sometimes when I just can’t get the motivation to exercise, I like to think of myself as a hero. I have to train in order to be ready for when the action hits. Would I be able to run away if I needed to? Would I be strong enough to fight my way free? Thinking about these things makes it a little easier to do my workout.

The next time you’re considering skipping your workout, remember this ad and think of yourself as an action figure.

Remember in yesterday’s post when I said that things always work out better for me if I am my own cheerleader? It turns out that there is science behind the idea of keeping your goals to yourself. This talk from Derek Sivers at the TED conference explains it:

Think of your personal biggest goal. Imagine deciding right now that you’re going to do it. Imagine telling someone that you meet today what you’re going to do. Imagine their congratulations and their high image of you. Doesn’t it feel good to say it out loud? Don’t you feel one step closer already like it’s already becoming part of your identity? Well, bad news. You should have kept your mouth shut, because that good feeling will make you less likely to do it.

That backfiring of every compliment I receive when I lose weight is something that happens to ALL of us. Announcing our goals makes us feel like we’ve actually accomplished them, so from now on, I’m keeping my mouth SHUT!

Whenever I get back on track, I tell everyone that I know that I am back to eating healthy and that I need a little encouragement. All the people who love me are really good at cheering me on, but there is something about getting that feedback that backfires on me. After every compliment and every positive remark, I lose steam. I don’t know what it is about having a cheerleader that makes me slack off, but I’ve definitely noticed a pattern.

This time, I’ve kept my mouth shut.

I’ve been working on the simplest of things: tracking my food every day, staying within my caloric restrictions and following five out of my seven healthy habits every day. If I do all three, I get another day added to my “food sobriety.” I’ve been food sober for over ten days now, but I haven’t really talked about it with anyone. Having a family of cheerleaders isn’t nearly as helpful for me as being my own cheerleader.

If you have noticed that every time you tell someone about your eating plan, you blow it, then try NOT telling anyone anything. Maybe you’ll see more success if you be your own cheerleader.

This postcard from PostSecret made me feel sad.

It reads:

I think my husband loves me “the way I am” because he doesn’t want me to lose weight & be attractive to other men.

This thought is very dangerous. It doesn’t matter whether your spouse wants you to stay fat or not. Thinking that your loved one doesn’t want you to be attractive is a very defeating idea. It gives you an excuse to live an unhealthy lifestyle. It makes you fearful of getting stronger because you might hurt your partner’s feelings.

Even worse, it makes you scared of being all you can be. The idea that the opposite sex will suddenly start to find you interesting when you get to a healthy weight is scary if you aren’t equipped to fend off advances. In all honesty, people can tell when you don’t want them to hit on you.

If this secret hit home with you, let’s make a deal. You start eating healthy and exercising regularly. When you get to your goal weight, make sure you give the “don’t even try it” vibe. If the opposite sex still makes passes at you, then here are some resources you can use to protect yourself:

• How to Politely Turn Down A Date
• How to Politely Turn Down a Guy | eHow.com

Don’t let your worries about social awkwardness get in the way of your health. You owe it to yourself to live a healthy lifestyle. Move past this fear and you will feel stronger physically AND emotionally.

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 postcard from PostSecret came up a couple of weeks ago while I was out of town. It made me sad and angry to see it.

It reads:

Pretty please loose weight so my family can love you the way I do!

Firstly, I just wanted to smack the author of the secret upside the head. If you want someone to weigh less, you want them to LOSE weight, not LOOSE weight. Loose weight suggests that the fat is somehow not tight on the body. Maybe your beloved should break up with you just because you’re not smart enough to know the difference.

Secondly, if you loved them just the way they are, it wouldn’t matter what your family thought. Deep down inside, you’ll only love them if they get thin like you think they should be.

If you find yourself in this position, dump the person asking you to “loose” weight. They’ll never be happy no matter how thin you become. If you want to get healthy for yourself, that’s great. If you want to get healthy so you’ll live longer and be able to spend more time with your loved ones, that’s even better. If you want to lose weight just to earn love from the unworthy, then run away as fast as you can.

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.

I want to give a shout-out to Seventeen Magazine for their Body Peace Treaty. You can see it here:

You can read more inspiration here:

• Jess Weiner Body Peace Blog – Positive Body Image Advice for Teens – Seventeen

They were even featured on Huge (one of the best shows this summer):

Update 09-15-10: Here are some screenshots from Huge, where they sign the Body Peace Treaty.

I bought myself a subscription to Weight Watchers Magazine on Zinio and it’s one of those rare magazines that I read from cover to cover. The September/October issue was pretty good. I really liked the interview with Jennifer Hudson. Every time I feel like I just can’t get to goal, it feels good to read about someone who DID get to goal using Weight Watchers. There are lots of success stories in the magazine, but because Jennifer is famous, I liked her story the best this month.

My favorite article, however, was about hunger called “Are You Really Hungry?”

Having a checklist to go through every time I feel like eating is really helpful and I love this article the best.

There was also an article about jeans that inspired me to buy a pair of skinny jeans. I’ve wanted some ever since they got popular, but I thought I would look stupid in them, so I never even tried them on. After seeing their plus-sized model looking so hot in hers, I actually have hope that they might not look so bad on me. I guess it’s time to take a trip to the store…

Weight Watchers Magazine was great this month and totally worth every penny.

Fitness Magazine provided me with a complimentary subscription in exchange for a monthly review of their magazine.

The September 2010 issue had an article that I really liked called, “Excuse-Proof Your Diet: Chronic Cheaters, Here’s Help!” It was an amazing article, giving you tips to avoid cheating and how to talk yourself out of cheating. Here are the excuses that they tackled:

• I’m on vacation
• I have PMS
• But he’s eating all that
• What’s a movie without Milk Duds
• I’m so stressed out
• I’ve been good all week
• I haven’t eaten all day
• I need a pick-me-up
• I’m too busy to eat right

The cost of the entire magazine was made up in that ONE article, so get yourself to the grocery store and buy your copy today!

I love this advertisement. It was for Best Foods Light Mayo, but it brings to mind a very important concept about food. It reads:

Not all love notes are written. Some are made.

Many times food gets all tangled up with love. This can be a very powerful concept that you can harness to your own benefit.

Food IS Love

Many times food becomes so embroiled in the idea of love, that it feels completely impossible to distinguish the two. This idea can be harmful and it can undermine my eating so quickly that I have to keep vigilant. Whenever I visit my mom and she pushes me to eat more, I have to consciously remind myself that she is only trying to tell me that she loves me. Sometimes I DO eat more and then compensate with exercise or good planning. Other times, I ask her to pack me up leftovers so that I can eat it later. Whether I eat it later in the privacy of my own home doesn’t matter, but I give her the chance to do something special for me.

Food MADE WITH Love

I’ve talked before about the concept of making food with love. You can read the entire thing here:

• Starling Fitness » Put Some Love In Your Food

Back then, I said:

Food made with anger and bitterness doesn’t quite taste as good as food made with love and joy. That’s why home cooking tastes so good. It was made for us with love. That’s why some restaurants just make mediocre food. It was made with indifference.

The next time you’re choking down a healthy meal that just doesn’t taste right, think to yourself, “Did I make this with love and joy? Did I just throw the ingredients together haphazardly?” Next time you make a meal, really think about who is going to eat it and the benefits that you hope they will receive from the meal. It will truly make a difference in how the meal will taste (at least to you, if not the others).

Food has become so mixed up with love and family that at times it is difficult to separate the two. When you are able to accept the love without the food, you make one step toward healthy living. When you are able to eat food made with love with the reverence it deserves, you make another step toward healthy living. Keep on making these baby steps and you will get to your goal weight with the power of love.

I grew up in the Jehovah Witness faith. Although I left the church the day I turned twelve, I still think about their philosophies quite often. The Jehovah Witnesses considered the ability to be long suffering a virtue. I always thought that was moronic because if there is something making you suffer, I always felt that you should FIX the problem. Get out of the situation or solve the problem that is causing the suffering. Doing anything else is idiotic.

Instead of long suffering, they should have called that virtue endurance. Having the ability to last longer than everyone else can mean the difference between finishing the race and quitting at the first water station. Endurance is the difference between getting to my goal weight and stopping twenty pounds away, slowly gaining it all back.

I finally understand long suffering and it’s a virtue that I finally agree with wholly and completely. The next time you’re thinking of quitting, remember the virtue of long suffering and hold on for just a little longer.