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

I’ve been wearing this turtle necklace lately to remind me that “Slow and Steady Wins The Race.” The more I think about the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare, however, the more I think that everyone got the moral of the story wrong.

If you are unfamiliar with the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare, here is a brilliant Disney version of it:

Slow and steady wins the race only if the fast people dink around, get cocky and lose sight of their goals. What REALLY won that race is humility and determination. When the hare saw that he had a good lead at the first, he took a NAP! The tortoise was able to pass him. DON’T SLACK OFF!

Later, when the hare saw that he was so far ahead of the tortoise, he started playing to the audience of adorable bunny girls. So the tortoise caught up to him. BE HUMBLE.

Near the end, the tortoise is so close to the finish line and the hare is still goofing off. I love this image of him working his hardest to win the race. WORK YOUR BUTT OFF!

Finally, at the end of the race, the tortoise wins because he’s willing to stretch himself almost out of his shell. STICK YOUR NECK OUT!

Wearing my little turtle necklace reminds me of all these things and every time I’m tempted to skip a workout, I think about that turtle sneaking by while the hare took a nap. Every time I get a little too excited about losing a pound or two, I remember that tortoise plodding along while the hare flirted with the girl bunnies. Every time I think about taking it easy on my exercise, I think of that turtle busting his tiny tail to finish that race. There is so much more to that story than “slow and steady wins the race,” and I try to remember it all:

• Don’t slack off
• Be humble
• Work your butt off
• Stick your neck out

Having a physical reminder of all of that around my neck really helps keep me on track. Here’s a fancy version of my necklace here: Mother and Baby Turtle Diamond Pendant Necklace at Amazon.com. Here’s a less expensive version: Mom and Baby Turtle Silver Blue Opal Necklace Pendant with Chain. Sometimes I wear this bracelet as well: Silvertone Turtle Link Magnetic Clasp Fashion Bracelet.

You don’t need jewelry to remind yourself of your goals, but you do need SOMETHING. Whether it’s a picture, a mantra or mannerism, you need to have something to remind yourself of all the things you want to be.

I needed a good motivational picture of a girl running with the words “Don’t Give Up” on it for my wall in front of my treadmill. I made one for myself, so here it is for you as well.

If you click on it, you can get the full-sized version. I found the picture on Flickr here:

• Running Girl from aarmono on Flickr

I looked FOREVER for a good “Don’t Give Up” picture for my wall, but they are either too wordy…

Or just the words all by themselves…

Or too much Jesus…

This one was REALLY close, but when I’m running on the treadmill, I’m not really inspired by kick boxers.

Or not exactly what I was looking for…

I don’t know exactly what stacking stones has to do with perseverance. I kind of think that things that make me want to give up actually have a USEFUL purpose and stacking stones isn’t really a useful activity, so it really didn’t help me.

I just wanted something SIMPLE that said “Don’t Give Up,” so I had to make one myself. I hope you like it.

Update 06-11-13: I found another one on MotiveWeight:

On Weight Watchers, you can eat as much fruit as you want for “free.” Zero points for fruit. That has been a drastic change in my diet because I have been eating low carb for the last year off and on (mostly off), so fruit feels like a decadent treat to me. Not nearly as decadent as ice cream, mind you, but sweet and delicious.

The other day, someone at Weight Watchers talked about her Yonanas machine that turns frozen fruit into ice cream. I would have scoffed at that idea, but twelve years ago, I had eaten a delicious treat at Banana Joe’s Fruitstand in Kauai, Hawaii. The girls at the stand assured me that it was only frozen fruit. I had chosen a pineapple and banana concoction and it tasted like the best ice cream on earth. If this Yonanas machine was the same as that machine they had in Hawaii, then maybe this lady was right.

Here is a video showing you how to use one:

I hate having a different appliance for each food, but I couldn’t resist. I’m here to tell you that the mango “ice cream” that I made the first night tasted SO good that I could not believe that all that was in it was mango. The texture was creamy, just like ice cream, but the only ingredient that went into the machine was frozen mango that I had purchased at the grocery store on the way home.

When I tried blueberries, it wasn’t as creamy as the mango, however. It was more like a hard, sorbet… with blueberry skins. It still tasted good, but the texture didn’t feel like ice cream.

Honestly, the pineapple treat didn’t taste as good as the one from Banana Joe’s twelve years ago. That one was made with fresh pineapple straight from the vine, so I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to top it. It was still delicious, but didn’t taste like the best ice cream on the planet like that one at Banana Joe’s did.

These treats are so delicious and because they are made from fruit with no other ingredients, they are “free” on Weight Watchers. I have my doubts that I’ll be able to lose weight by scarfing down frozen treats like this, so I guess I’ll have to see how my weigh-in works out next week.

I love this quote I found on Week in Review. – tk(o).

It reads:

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

-Socrates

Now, I don’t know if Socrates actually said that or if it’s a misquote, but I truly need to remember this. Whenever I am feeling like I am fighting myself, I need to remember to BUILD. If I ADD good foods, there will be no room in my tummy for bad ones. If I ADD good habits, I won’t have time to waste doing things that harm me. If I ADD an exercise routine, then I won’t be a lazy lump sitting around.

I don’t need to stop eating bad food, break bad habits or stop being a lazy lump, I need to BUILD a better me.

I saw this photo on Instagram Fitness.

After a little research, I found that it’s a photo of Tricia Kelly (tkofitatx) on Twitter and she also has a website called tk(o)..

It took her four years, but now she is a hard and lean Cross-Fit Lovin’ Machine!

Congratluations, Tricia! Keep up the good work! You’re an inspiration to all of us!

I saw this awesome quote on Funeral for My Fat they other day and it made me feel so good.

It reads:

“Whenever you feel sad just remember that there are billions of cells in your body and all they care about is you.”

This quote is attributed to Will Ferrell, but it doesn’t look like he came up with it. All my internet searching was fruitless and it’s one of those random anonymous sayings that has been plastered all over Twitter, retweeted, reblogged and rehashed until we can’t tell who said it first.

Quotation sanctity aside, it’s a great quote and imagining each of those cells within me hoping that I do the right thing each and every day is really inspiring.

I truly enjoyed Retrospace’s tribute to the The Suzy Chapstick Workout.

It gets more and more hilarious the further they delve into the book until poor Suzy is doing exercises like The Rover.

I wonder if the Insanity workout that people are oohing and aahing over right now will seem as silly in thirty years.

I found another good little story in that book I found at a estate sale last month:

Habits influence the character, as air currents influence an airplane, and whether the habits speed us on the way of our wishes or retard our progress, their effect is not the less important because they sometimes are imperceptible.

It’s a little wordy. I prefer:

Habits affect you just like air currents affect an airplane.

They can speed you up or slow you down, even though they’re nearly invisible.

It’s true. The difference between a “naturally” skinny person and an overweight person are tiny, almost imperceptible habits that are in place. Fidgeting when nervous or thinking is one such habit. Or perhaps chewing gum instead of mindlessly eating. Maybe it’s going for a run when things get really bad as opposed to going to bed. They are things that are almost invisible, yet they make the difference between a thin body and a fat one.

What small habit can you add today that would make you thinner? Here are a few to choose from:

• Get out of your chair every hour and walk around.
• Exercise first thing in the morning
• Set your fork down between bites
• Choose fruit or veggies at snack time
• Eat protein with every meal
• Get 7-8 hours of sleep every night
• Plan your meals
• Sip water between each bite of food
• Always have a healthy snack on hand
• Plan your exercise every day
• Eat all your meals without distractions
• Carry walking shoes with you so you can take a walk whenever
• Stand up instead of sitting down
• Chew gum when you’re upset
• Always be on the lookout for fun physical activities
• Read healthy cookbooks for new food ideas
• Moving around when playing video games, watching TV or reading

What is ONE small habit that you could incorporate into your life? Choose one and work on it for a month. Then next month add another one. Keep doing that until you have a host of wonderful habits that speed you up instead of bad habits that slow you down.

When I heard that Abercrombie and Fitch made XL and XXL sizes in men’s clothing, but the largest size in women’s is a 10, I almost blew a gasket.

• Business Insider: Abercrombie & Fitch Refuses To Make Clothes For Large Women

Their nearly naked male models made me uncomfortable enough to avoid the store before, but now, they can kiss my money GOODBYE.

In fact, it made me want to show up at their store and do this!

Then I remembered. That’s how real life is.

In real life, women who are overweight are discriminated against ALL the time. In fact, pretty people get FAR more perks than ugly people. It’s wrong, but discrimination is rampant against people who aren’t sexy. Some scientists even argue that it’s hard-wired into our brains. We should do everything we can to avoid this behavior in ourselves, but at the same time, we need to be aware of it.

If you ever need inspiration to stay on the treadmill for ten more minutes, this is it. When you get to your goal weight, people will take you more seriously. They will listen to what you have to say. They will deign to allow you to buy their over-priced clothes.

F-You, Abercrombie & Fitch! Forever 21 has been there for me during my fattest times and I am buying EVERYTHING in their store when I’m at my goal weight. If they can showcase their “fat” clothes on models and make them look THIS good, then you have NO excuse!

Via: Funeral For My Fat, Abercrombie & Fitch Refuses To Make Clothes For Large Women

This postcard from PostSecret is touching AND insensitive.

It reads:

You’re fat. Get over it. I STILL LOVE YOU! You can change if you want.

If someone wrote this to me, I don’t know how I would feel about it. Part of being able to change something is accepting it. I know that. I also would love to hear that an important person in my life loves me, even though I feel like a whale.

I guess the question in my mind that pops up has to do with the contradiction. If you love me, why would you care if I lose the weight? I guess you could love me AND want me to be healthy and fit. That’s not a contradiction, really. Something in that card strikes me as wrong, though and I can’t quite put my finger on 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.