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

• ran 2.5 mi on 9/27/2009 at 7:07 AM with a pace of 19'15"/mi http://bit.ly/321Xet #
• ran 1.65 mi on 9/22/2009 at 6:25 PM with a pace of 31'23"/mi http://bit.ly/YtnCf #

I am totally stoked to announce that I’ve been chosen to speak at the Utah Open Source Conference this year.

• UTOSC 2009 | (Afford|Scal|Reli)Ability – Home

These are my presentations:

• UTOSC 2009 | Open Source Basics: What are you a bunch of hippies?
• UTOSC 2009 | Intermediate GIMP: Face Swapping
• UTOSC 2009 | Advanced GIMP: The Digital Diet

You may remember my entries about Face Swapping and The Digital Diet. I’ll be presenting these in person at the conference and showing you how to create your weight loss goal photos on your own using the open source (and FREE) software GIMP, so if you live in the Utah area, it would probably be very helpful for you to attend my demonstrations.

Hope to see you there!

I love this comic from Sheldon.

It reads:

How to Eat Chicken

If you grew up rich: Separate out the savory cuts from any indelicates (cartilage, arteries, veins, skin, etc.).

If you grew up poor: Plow right on in to the awesomeness (stopping only if you hit something truly nasty).

I grew up middle class, but I was starved as a child, so the “grew up poor” rules apply to me. I don’t know how to grow beyond my upbringing, but I would love to be the kind of person who can just casually eat chicken with a fork, separating the yummy bits from the gross bits instead of attacking my food like a concentration camp victim.

• ran 1.96 mi on 9/17/2009 at 5:28 AM with a pace of 19'09"/mi http://bit.ly/2ij1fQ #

Fitness Magazine provided me with a complimentary subscription in exchange for a monthly review of their magazine. I haven’t bought a health or fitness magazine for a LONG time because all the stories seem like a rehash of stuff they wrote last month. Honestly, there are only so many ways to write eat less and exercise more and sometimes I get sick of reading it over and over. So, this month’s magazine actually seemed fresh to me because I hadn’t read this kind of magazine in a long time.

They grabbed me right from the beginning with their Reader Success Secrets. Unfortunately, I was unable to find them online, but the stories were inspiring for me to read.

Even more compelling, however, was the ad for the LunarGlide+ Nike shoes on the opposing page. Unless I look for them, I rarely see advertisements on the Internet. I hadn’t heard of these new shoes, despite the fact that I visit the Nike+ website EVERY day. That surprised me and I’m smiling at that fact that I enjoyed the ADVERTISEMENTS in Fitness Magazine more than the articles.

This article, called Souped Up, was wonderful inspiration for me to cook. Usually, I don’t want to eat something unless I can see it. The fact that they had a photo for EVERY recipe was enough to make me want to cook some food. The included nutrition facts after each one was an extra bonus that made me feel completely at ease with going to the trouble of cooking these healthy meals.

The photos of the soups on the website aren’t nearly as pretty as they were in the magazine. I actually tore out the pages and added them to my cookbook for inspiration next time I want to cook.

Finally, I was so motivated by this story about Kristin Armstrong. She was training to be an Olympic Triathlete, but osteoarthritis got in her way. Instead of giving up, she focused on cycling and won the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics.

I can read almost the whole magazine on the Internet, but having the magazine at my kitchen table was a great reminder to eat healthy. I think I’m going to like receiving it every month and I’m looking forward to the November issue!

Last month, those of the Islamic faith observed Ramadan. It’s a month-long fast during the day. Instead of eating throughout the day, you are only allowed to eat after sunset. You are also supposed to refrain from sex, speaking ill of others, using profane language and smoking during those hours. The practice is supposed to lead to a heightened sense of spirituality and aid the practice of self-restraint.

This year, an AppleGeeks Lite character was following the practice with predictable results:

I’ve talked about Ramadan before:

• Starling Fitness » Ramadan Starts Tomorrow

Limiting your diet can have two effects on people:

• It can give you a sense of control: When I am able to fast an entire day, it reminds me that I am in control of what goes into my mouth, not the beast within.
• It can make you lose control: Other times, denying myself spawns a binge that will last far longer than the fast did.

I’ve found that limiting my diet is far more harmful than helpful to me, but there are others who feel a sense of empowerment from a short fast (whether for religious reasons or health reasons). The next time you’re planning on going on a fast, take into account what your eating personality is and how this will affect you in the long run.

• RT @motivation: “It is impossible to walk rapidly and be unhappy.” – Dr. Howard Murphy http://tqpage.com/1711 #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• RT @SheilaAtwood “They are able because they think they are able.” – Virgil #
• RT @SheilaAtwood The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” ~ Ayn Rand #
• “Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.” – Socrates http://tqpage.com/2480 (via @motivation) #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

“Delays Expected”

That phrase is usually means bad things. Suddenly, you’re worried about being late for work or unable to complete your chores. Whenever I hear the word “delay” it has SUCH a negative connotation that I want to avoid whatever it is.

Delayed gratification, however, is supposed to be a GOOD thing. People who can delay gratification are far more successful than those who never learned that skill. I talked about it here:

• Starling Fitness » Don’t Eat The Marshmallow

That’s all well and good, but HOW do we learn how to delay gratification? The definition of it seems pretty self-explanatory: taking an action NOW that will cause a desired result LATER. If it were as easy as it sounds, then we would all be incredibly fit and eat only healthy food.

The important thing to remember is that this is DELAYED gratification, not NO gratification. Here are the techniques that I’ve used to focus on what I will achieve in exchange.

Be CLEAR About What You Want

It’s really hard to say no to that cake or pizza when it’s right there in your face. When you can smell the frosting or melted cheese, you have to have a CLEAR picture of what your final goal will be like in order to bypass it. One way to do that is making a photo of yourself when you’re at goal. I’ve talked about this before:

• Starling Fitness » The Digital Diet

• Starling Fitness » Face Swapping with Photoshop

Being able to SEE what I’ll look like if I just say no to another slice of pizza is really helpful. I keep a copy of the photo on my iPhone ALL the time just to keep myself focused on what I want.

Make A Mantra

Sometimes it helps me to have a phrase that I repeat to myself. For me, the mantra that has worked the best for me is:

“I’m in control, not the food.”

Of course, that phrase hasn’t always been my mantra. I used to use the quote from Winston Churchill.

“It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.”

Mantras are VERY personal things, so you’ll have to choose one of your own, but here are a few to give you some ideas.

• Starling Fitness – Quote of the Month

Give Yourself Mini-Gratifications

Maybe if you only have ten pounds to lose, you can focus solely on your final goal, but if your goal is a big one, you need to have several pit stops along the way so that you don’t feel like you have had no positive reinforcement for months.

If your goal is a weight goal, you can give yourself presents for every few pounds lost. If your goal is a fitness goal, you can reward yourself for every speed record or distance you’ve achieved. Whatever your goal, you MUST give yourself mini-gratifications to keep the beast within you feeling placated.

You Have To DO It!

There is a famous story about Jim Carrey.

“I wrote myself a check for ten million dollars for acting services rendered and dated it Thanksgiving 1995. I put it in my wallet and it deteriorated. And then, just before Thanksgiving 1995, I found out I was going to make ten million dollars for Dumb & Dumber. I put that check in the casket with my father because it was our dream together.”

Hardly anyone talks about the corollary to the story, however.

“I would visualize things coming to me. It would just make me feel better. Visualization works if you work hard. That’s the thing. You can’t just visualize and go eat a sandwich.”

You can’t just make plans, visualize yourself at goal, and repeat mantras. You have to actually DO what you need to do to get to your goal. Whether that means eating healthier food or getting your butt out of bed an hour earlier every morning to exercise. Whatever you need to do, you have to DO it!

In the end, delaying gratification is THE KEY to getting to a healthy weight and fitness level. Putting off the tasty treats and luxury of sleeping in is what differentiates those that get to their goals and those that dream about them. It’s a skill that needs just as much practice as learning to play a game or how to cook a healthy meal, but when you take the time to learn that skill, you’ll profit from it far more than you can imagine!

Jere Keyes has been working hard for the last 16 weeks and has gone from 217 lbs. to 191 lbs.

• Now with 10% less of me | Blind Prophecy

He has done an incredible job of working out consistently. Here is a photo of his workout schedule.

When I read about his consistency, I was so impressed with how well he has done, especially when tempted with a birthday cake like this less than a week before:

If I found myself in front of a beautiful cake like this, I would have trouble eating it and even more trouble NOT eating it. I would have been paralyzed with indecision or acquiesce to a binge. Instead, they had a cake fight. You can read about it here.

• Green Frosting Stains | Blind Prophecy

The next time you are confronted with a beautiful dessert or savory treat, remember Jere and how his devotion to fitness really paid off. You are in control, not the food!