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

On September 1, 1915, a 14 year old girl swam across the Hudson river, turned around and swam back. Her name was Mary Elizabeth Miller. This photos is part of the George Grantham Bain Collection at The Library of Congress and it is supposed that it might have been mislabeled. It could be that this photo is a documentation of the famous swim across the Hudson.

Mary E. Miller by The Library of Congress from Flickr

I used to love swimming when I was a little girl. Now, as an adult, I get no pleasure from spending hours in the pool like I used to. What was so fun when I was younger just seems boring now and I wish I could get that childhood enjoyment out of it again. Part of the problem is that I’m so blind without my glasses or contacts that I can barely see well enough to not bump into things, so swimming is a lot less fun. Part of me just thinks that’s an excuse, though.

It’s not like I have trouble being seen in a swimsuit. I like to lie by the pool in the sun. I have a swimming suit that I love and I shared my methods for getting comfortable with a swimming suit here:

• Starling Fitness » Get Into That Swimsuit This Summer: Week 1

Sometimes the joys of our youth do not translate to joys in adulthood and it’s hard to release them. We just need to find other methods of activity that appeal to us as adults.

This exact incident happened to me when I was playing Wii Fit the other day. I am so surprised when Joy of Tech gets things so right every time:

Of course, it didn’t ask me where my “obese husband” was, it asked where Elvis was. Mike and I set up our Elvis Mii on Wii Fit so people could play the game without playing as one of us. As cool as the Wii Fit is, it’s not really set up for party games. It’s more of an exercise game, so when our friends want to see what it’s like, it bugs me if they play using my Mii. Of course, it has been weeks and weeks since Elvis has played, so the Wii Fit balance board asked me where he has been.

I didn’t have the heart to tell my imaginary trainer that Elvis is dead.

Here is an excerpt from FAT: What No One Is Telling You that was shown on PBS.

The story that this woman tells is a familiar one. Everyone who gets their life in control can tell of the day when they realized that others considered them fat.

What’d ya think her her frickin’ problem is?

I don’t know. Maybe she’s cryin’ ’cause she’s frickin’ fat and no one wants her.

If you want to see the rest of the show, you can see it here:

• FAT: What No One Is Telling You . PBS

I watched the whole thing and the most true thing was said by Dr. Lee Kaplan:

This isn’t simple. This is not a simple balance between energy in and energy out. If it were, we would have solved the problem a long time ago. We have a very rich and accurate physiological system that keeps our energy in balance. And all that system has to do is get disrupted by a tiny percent. Just a one percent mismatch in that system can lead to a 130 to 140 pound weight gain over your adult life.

The biggest problem I have with this video is that it really promotes gastric bypass surgery, but at the same time, they tell the truth about the lack of results:

Only 5% of the people who get gastric bypass surgery get to a normal weight.

Honestly, medical science doesn’t know what makes us fat. The most important thing is to take a new look at fat people. Fat prejudice is the most important issue right now and blaming the victim has stopped us from finding the solutions more often than it has helped.

As if I wasn’t excited enough about my Wii Fit, it looks like Raymond Raving Rabbids are going to use the Wii Balance Board for their next big game. Here is the promotional video:

I LOVED the Rabbids in their last two Wii games and I can’t wait for this new one!

Here is my previous review:

• Starling Fitness » My Arms Are Killing Me

I have been regularly exercising with my Wii Fit and running in place every day. I really like the Island Lap in the Aerobics section of the game. By accidentally running too fast, I found myself following the yellow dog while running on Wii Fit Island the other day. He takes you on a completely different route on Wii Fit Island. This person on YouTube filmed it:

You can also follow a chocolate lab and I was passed by a white dog, so I’m going to try to follow him next. It’s fun to discover these hidden routes in this game. I had no idea that running in place could be so fun!

Here’s a video of kids following the chocolate lab:

Here’s a video of the same kids following the white dog:

Apparently there is also a black dog that you can follow. You should mute this video so you don’t have to listen to the racist kids.

This postcard from PostSecret reminded me of a friend of my grandmother who is probably long dead now.

When I was really little, I remember my grandma’s friend. As children often do, I said what I shouldn’t have said and asked her why her face was so wrinkled. She told me that when you get to be her age, you always have wrinkles, but hers were the good kind because she had smiled her whole life instead of frowning. Whenever I feel myself frown, I consciously smile so that I’ll get smiling wrinkles instead of frowning ones.

When the fashion magazines write about wrinkles, they never mention this. It is possible to be completely covered in wrinkles and still be beautiful. I know this because of my grandma’s friend. I hope to live long enough to be a good example of it myself.

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 showed up a couple of weeks ago.

When I first got my drivers license, I worried that someone might be always checking the weight that I had listed on the card. This postcard would have been my worst nightmare back then, but now, I realize that there is no hiding my weight. No matter what number I put on my license, a complete stranger can see how much I weigh just by looking at me.

For the last twelve years, I have put my current weight as of that morning on my drivers license. I have always thought to myself, “When I get to goal weight, I’ll get a new drivers license.” I STILL haven’t gotten to goal weight, but at least I am completely honest with myself where I am.

No matter how many times I tell myself that it’s just a number, I’m still embarrassed by it.

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.

NakedJen has decided to start a new exercise program and get back to eating healthy. She blames it all on suffering from Divorce Brain, but it sounds like a good start to me:

• nakedjen: Vegan Sunshine Every Day At 5:00 A.M.

On the first day of new regime, her dogs, Buddha and Stella, were unsure of what was going on, but by day three, they were excited to join her:

So, if you’re still reading, you might be interested to know, that I’m on day 3 of this insanity. This morning I didn’t even need the alarm at 5:00 a.m. because Buddha and Stella woke me up at 4:50 a.m. Stella jumped on my head. Buddha gave me kisses. It was still hot as Hades. We still did our 12.6 miles. I’m still going to yoga later today.

Jen also gave us a recipe for her Vegan Pineapple Nectarine Coconut Morning Bread. It looks delicious!

If you have been feeling a little stale with the heat and exercise, click on over to NakedJen’s post and remember that even in the sweltering heat of the summer, you can live a healthy life.

If you are one of the many people who have bought a Starling Fitness Yearly Journal, then you know that the quote of the month is about unrealistic standards. You can see the quote here:

You can either hold yourself up to the unrealistic standards of others, or ignore them and concentrate on being happy with yourself as you are.

Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content, #352, 05-04-05

Questionable Content is a soap opera webcomic and I read it EVERY weekday. You can see the episode with that quote here:

• Questionable Content#352, 05-04-05 She Reads Too Much Cosmo

I don’t know how Jeph understands the minds of women so well, but more power to him. I’m still learning how to be happy with myself as I am, but it’s nice to know that I’m not alone.

If you would like to order your own Starling Fitness Yearly Journal, you can do so here:

• Starling Fitness » Order Your Starling Fitness Yearly Journal

If you order it now, you can choose the month you want it to start and it will last you a year from that date. You won’t have to throw away any unused days from the first of the year. You can start fresh now.

A few months ago, Life Fitness announced that they are making treadmills (and other machines) compatible with Nike+. That’s only a good thing if your gym uses these new Life Fitness machines. If you’re a member of 24 Hour Fitness, tracking your workouts just got easier.

• MacDailyNews – 24 Hour Fitness first to offer Nike+iPod experience in the gym

Beginning in July, select 24 Hour Fitness clubs in New York, San Francisco, Miami, Denver, Portland and Salt Lake City will begin receiving Nike iPod enabled gym equipment, just in time for members to use the new machines to prepare for and compete in the Nike Human Race on August 31, 2008.

I KNEW there was a reason I kept my 24 Hour Fitness gym membership! I’m so lucky to be in one of the lucky cities where they are testing this new technology. All of a sudden I am excited about going to the gym again!

If you don’t know what Nike+ is, I’ve written several articles about it:

• Starling Fitness » Tune Your Run With Nike and iPod

• Starling Fitness » How to Use Nike+ on ANY Type of Shoe

• Starling Fitness » First Glance: Nike+iPod

• Starling Fitness » Nike+ After Two Weeks

• Starling Fitness » Ask Laura: Should I Buy a Nike+?

• Starling Fitness » Nike+ Distance Inaccuracies

• Starling Fitness » Nike+ Addicted

If I had to choose one invention of 2006 that totally changed the way I exercised, it would be the Nike+. Knowing that Nike, Apple, Life Fitness AND 24 Hour Fitness are going to support this innovative program just makes me more happy.

Via: 24 Hour Fitness will install Nike+ gym equipment – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)