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

I saw this image on I CAN DO IT the other day.

It reads:

The most important weight loss muscle?

Your Brain

Change your mind, you will change your body.

Aside from the fact that the brain isn’t a muscle, it’s a good thought and it reminded me of the Eiffel 65 song called, “Move Your Body.” [iTunes link].

Here is a video of Sims exercising to the song:

Here are the lyrics (repeated ad infinitum):

Workout your mind mind – Workout your body
Move your mind – Move your mind mind
Move your body, every everybody.
Move your body, come on now everybody.

If you wanna to move the world, start with your body.
Yo, come on, you gotta start with something.
If you wanna move your mind, just move your body.
Move your mind, move your mind, it’s gonna cost you nothing.

If you wanna move someone, start with your body.
Yo, come on, and try to move somebody.
If you wanna move alone,
Then everybody will move along with you.

I found this great dance video with the same song here:

The truth is, moving your body is a GREAT way to shake the cobwebs out of your mind. It sets you free from your rumination and lets you think clearly. Exercise can dissipate negative moods and alleviate your depression.

Conversely, if you focus on fitness and succeeding, your mind can make your workouts easier. Imagining how good you’ll feel after the workout can make your time exercising better. Visualizing your success will help you get there quicker.

We like to think that our minds are separate from our bodies, but they are tied together with sinew, hormones and blood. If you want to make your mind better, move your body. If you want to make your body better, move your mind.

This image from Hello there, fellow fitblr says it perfectly:

It reads:

Healthy Mind + Healthy Body = Happy Life

So true!

Update 04-29-13: I found another good motivational poster about this subject from Turning day-dreams, into reality.

It reads:

By changing your mind, you change everything.

It’s true in both the positive sense AND the negative. If you decide that the plan you have been religiously following and seeing success with doesn’t work, it will STOP working. This is ALL a mind game. Play it in your favor.

This Summer posted an image of this tank top the other day and I just love it.

It reads:

Sore Today STRONG Tomorrow

I couldn’t find that exact tank top for sale, but I found this nice one on strongconfidentYOU on Etsy.

Buying the shirt, however, doesn’t create the results. If you want to be strong tomorrow, you pretty much have to exercise TODAY. So, make sure you get your workout in today, no matter what excuses pop into your mind.

I love these images from DIEThoroscopes.

They are great goals:

• Sleep Eight Hours Each Night.
• Drink Eight Cups of Water Each Day.
• Exercise Three Times Each Week.
• Eat Three Snacks Each Day.
• Eat Three Meals Each Day.
• Focus On One Goal At A Time.

These are all great goals to have and such a visual way to remember them!

This image from I CAN DO IT is a perfect visual reminder of your goals.

In particular, the bulletin board on the left that says, “Pounds to Lose” and “Pounds Lost” is such a good visual indicator of your goals that it would be hard to ignore. Just think how good you would feel when you got to move a little clothespin over to the lost section. Think how HORRIBLE you would feel if you had to move it back!

You could do this with a jar and pretty stones or glass beads like in this picture from My Sister’s Jar.

You could use popsicle sticks with rewards like 365(ish) Days of Pinterest did.

I’m imagining a bulletin board with push pins and rewards at the end of each five pounds. I think that might break it up nicely.

You have to do SOMETHING to motivate yourself with weight loss. If not, you’ll end up rewarding yourself with food and you don’t want that.

When I started watching this video, I thought Riffraff67 was a cute little guy and I was going to enjoy watching him play Dance Central 2. It was a song I haven’t played yet, so I was just interested is seeing how the moves went, but I found myself entranced by Riffraff67’s dancing!

While I was watching this video, everything I had thought about this guy at the beginning evaporated like water spilled on a hot stove. I thought he was cute and kinda cuddly before the video started, but afterward, I thought he was a DANCE GOD!

The next time you feel like you’re not in good enough shape to do something, remember Riffraff67’s dancing. With enough practice, it doesn’t matter what your body looks like. All that matters is how good you can do what you are doing. Whatever it is that you like to do, get out there and practice! Practice! Practice until you can do it with such grace and skill that no one can argue with how awesome you are.

If you have been letting your New Year’s Resolutions slip, here is a video to get you back on track. It’s called “This Is The New Year” by A Great Big World [iTunes link].

The lyrics are so inspirational:

Another year you made a promise

Another chance to turn it all around

And do not save this for tomorrow

Embrace the past and you can live for now

And I will give the world to you

Apparently, it was a song featured on Glee [iTunes link]. Here is that performance:

The lyrics and tempo of the song are so upbeat, it doesn’t matter who lip syncs the song. If you have fallen off the wagon, get back on and put this song on your workout playlist!

This motivational poster from I CAN DO IT really made me feel better.

It reads:

Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise, just like the muscles of the body.

I’ve always believed that if you craft a diet that has enough of the proper nutrients, you won’t be tempted to eat poorly. Unfortunately, I have NEVER found a diet that left me completely free from cravings or temptation. Low carb has made me feel like I’m not starving, even though I’m eating few calories, but I’m still tempted to eat things that aren’t healthy for me.

That’s where mental will comes in. Low carb brought me to the point where I’m not fighting my body’s hunger, but I have to fight my eating habits that I have developed over the years. Every time I stop myself from eating a carb-filled treat, it’s like a workout for my mind. Every time I avert my eyes in a store or at a restaurant, I’m building my mental muscles.

The same is true for exercise. The workout itself is building the muscles of my body, but the act of getting out of my bright blue comfy chair builds my mental will. Being disciplined enough to do a workout every single day doesn’t come naturally to anyone. It’s something that every athlete has to develop.

The next time you’re tempted to do something that you know will go against your plans, STOP yourself. Just take a moment to consider that this is your chance for you to build your will power muscles. Make the right decision and you will feel your abilities grow with each good choice.

Damn, Nike! Why u wanna make me cry?!!

Here’s the full transcript:

When I was growing up, girls just didn’t run in public.
No one on my all-boys team would pass to me.
Dad told me I couldn’t be a boxer. He said I was too small.
There was a guy who tried to spit on me and then push me out of his way.
There comes a point where you have to be sure of yourself.
People aren’t used to women being so passionate.
It scares them.
One day, I just said it doesn’t matter what other people think.
I’m a fashion model who can dunk. I’m a girl. That doesn’t mean I have to wear a skirt.
Doesn’t mean I can’t get all fired up.
They used to say that girl is crazy.
But then I just kept winning.
I didn’t set out to dominate. I just did.
Somebody’s got to be the best.
So why not me?
I’m 55 years old and I run close to 70 miles a week. ?I never felt like quitting. There’s something telling me to do it every single day.
Just want to play ball.

The more Nike does commercials like this, the more I love them. Why can’t they show just as much respect to people who are overweight as to women and minorities?

After writing yesterday’s entry about Zombies, Run! I found this fan art from phantoms-siren on deviantART.

She says:

I’m a huge fan of the iPhone app ‘Zombies, Run!’ As a chronic pain and fatigue sufferer anything that can make exercise bearable is wonderful, and this game actually makes me want to go out and, if not run, then walk really fast. I know that Runner 5 isn’t necessarily female, since anyone playing is Runner 5, but this is what I ended up with.

It seems the app is helpful to a huge group of people. Just ask RoOkin.

He has lost 2 stone (that’s 28 pounds to us Yanks) for his upcoming wedding and Zombies, Run! has helped him. So much so, that he bought the t-shirt.

At DragonCon last year, this cute girl dressed up as Runner 5.

I loved all this fan art so much I made a little of my own.

It reads:

I am Runner 5.

I will distract the zombies.

I will pick up supplies.

I will save the world!

Original photo via: Runner by Aarni Heiskanen on Flickr

Oh, and this has NOTHING to do with Zombies, Run!, but I love it anyway.

Via: work sweat achieve

Here is where you can download the app:

• Zombies, Run! for iPhone
• Zombies, Run! 5K Race Training for iPhone
• Zombies, Run! for Android
• Zombies, Run! for Windows Phone

This image from work sweat achieve is something I want to believe.

It reads:

Run your self doubt into the ground.

I’ve always been plagued by low self esteem and self doubt. It gives me hope that if I run long and hard enough that they will both be trampled into the ground. Could I somehow pound my self loathing into a pulp while running? I think I might actually might be able to do that. When I was running regularly, I felt much better about myself than I do now. I still hated myself, but I felt better. For all I know, I was one run away from finally crushing my self doubt into nothingness if I hadn’t quit.

Why should I exercise every day? Because it gets me one day closer to conquering self loathing for good.