Author Archives: fatchicksings

Sharing Some Boogie Time

Folks of all ages whoop it up at Summerfest!

As you may or may not know, I grew up near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I grew up in a state known for cows and cheese. And as much as I dearly love, well, cheese anyways, I have to confess that one of the things I miss most about Wisconsin is the dancing.

I don’t know how it is in other parts of the country, but it seems like folks here in California don’t get together and shake their groove things in the same way as I remember from my childhood. There are many clubs, and they are tray sheek* and stuff. And you can get dressed up and stand in a line for the opportunity to spend 4 hours pay on an inch of wine in the bottom of an enormous glass. Or you can go to burning man and smear on mud and body paint and dance in the bloody desert. But I’m talking about a different kind of dancing.

In Wisconsin we had a party for virtually everybody down by the lake. We had Summerfest and Polish Fest and Irish Fest and October Fest and Festa Italiana, and Greek Fest and Afro Fest and Indian Summer and the Lakefront Festival of the Arts and so on, and so on. And what we did was get plastic cups full of beer, listen to amazing music and dance our little hearts out. We danced on blankets. We danced on picnic tables. We danced with our girlfriends and our boyfriends. We danced with folks we didn’t even know.

I miss it.

But I do get to enjoy dancing with the students in my classes several times a week. And I do dearly love trying out new forms of music. And I am so excited to be dancing in the street again for our upcoming Hot Flash Mob in San Francisco on September 18 at around noon. I hope any of you who are near the Bay Area will join us. Just RSVP with the meetup and we’ll make sure you get all the latest details about where and when. Or just send me an email at jeanette at the fat chick dot com and I’ll make sure to mail you the deets personally. And I’d love it if you would share this info with anybody else you know who might be interested.

Because, frankly, I can’t WAIT to dance with you again.

Oh and stay tuned for a very special surprise in my next blog post!

Love,

The Fat Chick

*Fronsch for verreh, verreh sexy.

Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

Buy my book: The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that is Fun and Feasible for Folks of All Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities)–available in softcover and e-book versions

Buy my DVD: The Fat Chick Works Out! (A Safe, Easy and Fun Workout for Klutzes, Wimps and Absolute Beginners!)

Buy a book or a DVD for a friend and save $5! Just enter FRIENDBLFT in the discount code box!

Check out my Training Programs–both in person and via Skype (Starting at just $25!)

Book me to speak at your special event!

What fitness looks like*

2 Replies

Today I was tagged in a post by the super awesome Kimber Simpkins pointing me to a gorgeous new slideshow on Mind Body Green entitled I Am A Yogi. It was posted by photographer Robert Sturman as the first entry in what he hopes to be a big group of photos on Instagram portraying yogis of all shapes, sizes, ages, races, creeds and situations. Sturman says:

Whether you’re a CEO, serving a life sentence in prison, living with cerebral palsy, living with breast cancer, a full-figured human being, a burn victim, living with HIV, living at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, 95 years old, or are just plain human, I invite you to post a picture on Instagram — just one per person, please! — and say a little something about yourself. Use the hashtag #iamayogicelebration and tag @robertsturman any time through the end of September.

I am pretty excited about these slides as I think it gets at a very important part of the work I and other allies like Ragen Chastain do in the fitness industry. This work includes helping the world widen their visual definition of how fitness looks.

This so important and so necessary in a world where fitness, especially fitness for women has turned into a code word meaning, “any and all activities necessary to make your body fit my culturally predetermined definition of somebody I would like to have sex with.*” Blogger Kevin Moore had a lot to say on his scathing teardown of the “strong is the new sexy meme” here.

Strong isn’t really replacing skinny; being skinny is no longer enough. Now, ladies, you need to be skinny and ripped. It’s an additional layer of self-loathing (perfectly suited for hypergymnasiacs), just in case people had started to get desensitized to the omnipresent and psychologically crippling display of corpse-thin women in the media.

I’m not saying that the women in these ads are not fit. I’m also not saying that they are not sexy. I AM saying that they don’t get to be the only visual definitions for the words “fit” or “strong” or “sexy”–at least not in my vocabulary.

Sure, sexy can look like those women, or it can look like these folks who performed with me at the More Cabaret Gimme More! Show this past Sunday. (All taken by the amazing photographer Robert Ray.)

That is an important part of the work that Ragen Chastain and I do with the Fit Fatties Forum where we have over 300 images of men and women of all sizes getting out there and having a glorious good time being fit and enjoying the skin they’re in.

I really think if we’re going to define the “new sexy” or the “new fit” that definition needs to be (ahem) a little broader.

Love,

The Fat Chick

*I know I’m ending a sentence with a proposition. So for the grammarians out there just add “…” and a word that you would like me to use to describe you. For example–“This is what fitness looks like…smarty-pants.”

Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

Buy my book: The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that is Fun and Feasible for Folks of All Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities)–available in softcover and e-book versions

Buy my DVD: The Fat Chick Works Out! (A Safe, Easy and Fun Workout for Klutzes, Wimps and Absolute Beginners!)

Buy a book or a DVD for a friend and save $5! Just enter FRIENDBLFT in the discount code box!

Check out my Training Programs–both in person and via Skype (Starting at just $25!)

Book me to speak at your special event!

Hater Plate

1 Reply

The other day, I was waiting in the drive-thru for an iced tea to quench my thirst. Delirious with the 100+ degree heat, I had to look twice when I saw the license plate on the car directly in front of me. I even took a picture (see below). I won’t give you the exact spelling or lettering on the plate, but I will tell you that the basic meaning of the letters on the plate was unmistakeably “You Are Ugly.”

I have to admit, this gave me pause. I mean, clearly there was no reason for me to take this personally. Everyone who gazed upon this license plate saw the same message. Even supermodels would see the message that they are ugly. This message was broadcast to men and women, and even children. And I had to wonder–what kind of person orders a vanity plate that puts down everybody in the world who looks at it?

I’m sure the woman driving the car thought she was pretty cool and pretty funny behind her mirrored sunglasses. I suppose it is possible that she was simply borrowing somebody else’s car, and was feeling humiliated. But somehow, I don’t think that was the case here. I imagine that she thought she was being ironic. But I really wonder if it made her feel any better. Did it make her feel superior? Did it make her feel important? Did it make her feel a little bit more pretty?

Or was she acting out of some sort of deep pain?

And I really started thinking about how many of us are sending and receiving messages like this every day? Is putting everybody else in the world down the only way we feel able to lift ourselves up? Are we so injured by the daily barrage of messages telling us that we are unworthy, that we feel the need to lash out at the world? Have we been so indoctrinated by the world of haters that we feel like we need to become one of them simply to survive?

I don’t know. I do know it put my right off my unsweetened iced-tea (xtra ice). I felt more than a little sick to my stomach. But in the end, I think we each have to make a choice. We can continue the anger and dish back the hate. Or, as Harry Belafonte put it, we can turn the world around.

So in response to the H8tr plate, I’d like to offer this:

You and me and everyone we see, we’re ALL hot! And speaking of hot, I’d like to remind you that the second annual Hot Flash Mob is just one week away in San Francisco. Interested in joining the fun? Of course you are! So CLICK HERE!

In the meantime, don’t be a h8tr, be a “hot plater”.

Love,

TFC

Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

Buy my book: The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that is Fun and Feasible for Folks of All Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities)–available in softcover and e-book versions

Buy my DVD: The Fat Chick Works Out! (A Safe, Easy and Fun Workout for Klutzes, Wimps and Absolute Beginners!)

Buy a book or a DVD for a friend and save $5! Just enter FRIENDBLFT in the discount code box!

Check out my Training Programs–both in person and via Skype (Starting at just $25!)

Book me to speak at your special event!

Skin

1 Reply

Well a few weeks back, I issued a nudity challenge to y’all and I thought I’d check back with you to see the results. As promised, I spent 15 minutes per day in the buff, and I’d have to say, after getting over the initial discomfort, I enjoyed it! It proved a challenge at times. I had to really do some careful scheduling when we headed out for the Church Choir summit for 2 days. I also had to learn to keep a robe near by as my nakee time was when the front doorbell inevitably rang. Mailmen, neighbors, telephone book delivery people–you name it, they knocked. I was starting to suspect a conspiracy y’all.

Initially this was a challenge for me as I am still learning to love my body and also come from a Catholic, Midwestern upbringing which tends to discourage nudity for any reason. But after a while, I learned to enjoy the experience of feeling the air conditioning on my skin as my body dried from the bath. And for the last two weeks with temperatures soaring well over 100 degrees, it was a time of welcome relief. I got to think of my body not as a sex object or a reason to be shamed, but simply a part of what made me, well, me. How about you? Did you try it? What did you learn about yourself?

You know, if you are in any way interested in skin, I would like to invite you to the More Cabaret Gimme More! Show this Sunday. Ragen Chastain and the More Cabaret girls will be showing some skin and performing a whole lot of hip shaking, toe tapping fun! They will be accompanied by a whole host of other performers. I’ll be singing a few songs. And guess what?! You can see it all online with our live streamed version. We’ll be live right HERE starting at about 6 PM PST tomorrow night.

Can’t wait to see you!

Love,

The Fat Chick

Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

Buy my book: The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that is Fun and Feasible for Folks of All Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities)–available in softcover and e-book versions

Buy my DVD: The Fat Chick Works Out! (A Safe, Easy and Fun Workout for Klutzes, Wimps and Absolute Beginners!)

Buy a book or a DVD for a friend and save $5! Just enter FRIENDBLFT in the discount code box!

Check out my Training Programs–both in person and via Skype (Starting at just $25!)

Book me to speak at your special event!

Try, try again and again and again and again and again…

Leave a reply

text text

Fifth time’s the charm for Diana Nyad

I’ve been meaning to write to y’all about Diana Nyad. As I’m sure many of you know, Nyad fulfilled a lifelong dream and became the first woman to swim the 110 miles from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. One hundred and ten freakin’ miles kids! The swim took 52 Hours 54 Minutes 18.6 Seconds. (Any of you who have ever competed in an endurance event know why I’ve included this detail in such exactitude…) This is an amazing feat for any athlete. Oh and did I mention that Diana Nyad was 64 years old when she did this? Wowza!

I think the fact that Nyad completed this swim is deeply inspirational. But I think the thing that I found most moving about the whole thing is that she completed this on her fifth attempt. Yup. Five times Nyad assembled a team, got in her swimsuit, called the media and started swimming. Four times Nyad was pictured in the media being pulled from the boat or sporting welts from potentially fatal jellyfish stings as in the picture below.

Potentially fatal jellyfish stings raise welts on Nyad’s arms in 2102.

And then, at age 64, Diana Nyad got back in the water and tried again. The fifth time was the charm! I think there’s a lot we can learn from Diana, and I wanted to share a few of those lessons here with you:

1. You don’t have to look like a supermodel to be a super athlete: As you can see from the picture above, Nyad is strong and powerful and unbelievably fit. But she doesn’t look like she’s ready to hit a runway any time soon. She even seems to be sporting a little hello/goodbye arm action up there. But she’s not worrying about that. She’s not demanding to be photoshopped. Even after her successful attempt, she looked like hell. That’s what happens after you swim for over two days in the open sea. You look like hell. She doesn’t seem overly worried about it.

2. Winning Athletes Build Winning Teams: Diana did not do this thing alone. She had a team of 35 people working with her during her successful attempt including kayak paddlers who kept watch for sharks and even a jellyfish expert who scooped jellyfish out of her way as she swam. She didn’t go this alone and she expressed deep gratitude for all the people who helped her.

3. Treat Failure as a Learning Experience: Diane didn’t simply try the same thing five times. She learned from each of her record attempts and made adjustments. In particular, when jellyfish thwarted one of her attempts, she had a special jellyfish mask designed to help her avoid that particular problem. Even that caused problems on her latest swim, causing her to drink a lot of seawater and risk dehydration from vomiting.

4. You Can’t Control Mother Nature: One of the things that caused serious problems for Diana in the past was the lightning storm that ended at least one of her record attempts. By the same token, Diana says that during this last, successful attempt, the gulf stream behaved in a way that was very favorable for her. You can’t know exactly what the weather is going to do. Nature cannot be controlled but must always be respected.

5. Even Super Athletes Face Embarrassment: Five times Diana told the media she was headed for Florida. Four times she didn’t make it. Four times her name was paired with photos of her being dragged from a boat, falling short of her goal. Four times the caption said that she failed. I have a hard time imagining how much grit it takes to try again and how much guts it takes to call the media for the fifth time, at age 64 and say, “yeah, but this time, I’m gonna make it!” That is some serious, serious courage.

6. Sometimes You Gotta get out of The Water so you can Swim Another Day: Four times, Diana had to make the decision to get out of the water and stop trying. Four times, she had to accept that in order to avoid permanent damage to her body and live to try again she had to stop. On one of her attempts she had to stop after swimming for over 40 hours. Yes it’s painful to stop and admit temporary defeat. But the most important thing is to live to try again another day.

7. Successful Athletes Ignore the Nay-Sayers: I’m sure there were many people both close to Diana as well as complete strangers who told Diana she was crazy. In fact some accounts suggest that friends and family begged Diana to give up this attempt. And while it’s extremely important to consult experts on whether it’s okay to go forward, to get cleared by your doctors, to talk with the anti-jellyfish mask people, you don’t have to listen to everybody who’s got an opinion on your body or what you’re trying to do.

Lest you think that these rules only apply to ultra-endurance athletes, I can say that I have used each of these lessons in a much more humble way in my own athletic endeavors. I only completed a marathon after the third attempt. When the training for earlier marathons led to pain and cortisone shots and stress fractures, I took time off and healed completely. I learned from each try and adjusted before trying again. I ignored lots of people who said I would never make it. I enlisted the help of some truly amazing people to get across the finish line. And when I crossed that finish line, I looked like poop warmed over. It wasn’t pretty. But I did it. And each time I told everybody in the world I was gonna do a marathon, and then had to tell them that I was taking some time off to heal but would do a marathon next year, I was embarrassed. But I got over it. The third time I tried I told everybody. I solicited donations for the Arthritis Foundation. I took the risk of being embarrassed again. But I have to tell you, crossing the finish line was worth all the embarrassment I ever felt.

At this point, I’d like to offer one more lesson Diana Nyad has to offer us:

You’re Never Too Old for Fitness! And those of you in the Bay Area will get a unique opportunity to show this to the world on September 18. Learn the menopause mambo and then come on out to dance a Hot Flash Mob for menopause awareness. Show the world that women of all ages can shake their collective groove things!

Love,

The Fat Chick

Come dance with us in the Bay Area!

Leave a reply

Hello my dears! It’s September of 2013, and do you know what that means? It means it’s time for some Hot Flash Mobs! This is the second annual installment of Hot Flash Mob Movement, a worldwide, synchronized dance flash mob movement held to honor perimenopausal and menopausal women everywhere. We’ll be kicking things off in San Francisco on September 18 in honor of Menopause Awareness Month. Last year we held several hot flash mobs in the Bay Area, and Arkansas, and New York City and Huntington Beach, CA.

This movement was the brainchild of me: (certified fitness professional, Jeanette DePatie AKA The Fat Chick) and menopause expert dear friend Dr. Eve Agee.

Frustrated by the negative and fear-mongering approach to menopause in our society we asked this question:

“What if instead of fearing menopause, we threw a great big party to celebrate it?”

That’s why we dreamed up the notion of The Hot Flash Mob Movement, a series of spontaneous, hot, group dance experiences allowing women from around the world to get together, have a big laugh and shake their collective groove things. Our first 2013 hot flash mob is scheduled for September 18 in downtown San Francisco. Interested? Check out our meet up! Remember, dance makes EVERYTHING better!

Love,

The Fat Chick

Thanking Those Who Fight for Rights

Leave a reply

I love labor day. It’s a last breath at the end of summer. It’s the break that makes the beginning of the school year a tiny bit more bearable for the kids who are regretfully leaving summer break behind them. It’s a time when Americans gather and drink beer and eat barbeque and enjoy a 3-day weekend. It’s the morning after the glorious Sunday night, I don’t have to get up in the morning revelry.

But I also think it’s important to remember what labor day is really about. Labor Day was developed by the American Labor Movement as a day to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers. Labor Day was first celebrated in New York City in 1882 with local parades and speeches. Oregon was the first state to make it a holiday in 1887. Following the deaths of several workers at the hands of US military and US Marshals during the Pullman strike, legislation was rushed through and Congress unanimously voted to make Labor Day a national holiday in 1894.

The same labor organizations and activists who organized and pushed for Labor Day also fought for important rights for American workers. Before the efforts of these labor groups, the typical American work week was 60 hours spread over about 6 days. And while one might argue that in many ways the American work week is once again headed in that direction, it’s clear that our current situation would be much different if it hadn’t been for those dedicating and sometimes even sacrificing their lives to make things better for American workers.

All of this has made me think how important it is to remember and thank all people everywhere who fight for our rights. And I’d like to expand that thinking towards those who have fought for our rights to exist, work, get decent medical care, equal pay and be treated with dignity in bodies of all sizes. I can’t begin to claim that I know who all of the important players are. But I can name a few that I have known personally. Marilyn Wann has spoken and shimmied and marched and chanted at so many amazing, ground-breaking fat positive events. And her amazing book “Fat, So?” was important for so many of us tentatively beginning to move towards body acceptance. Lynn Macafee is a fierce freedom fighter who has worked tirelessly with so many size acceptance organizations to get rid of prescription diet drugs that have unpublished and deadly side effects, fight for the rights of fat parents and so much more. Bill Fabray who founded NAAFA in response to the horrible experience faced by his wife simply because of her size. Katherine Flegal who’s work with the CDC debunked a lot of the common thinking about the health effects of obesity and faced intense scrutiny and harassment by many of her colleagues. Other important writers and researchers on the connection between obesity and health include Glen Gasser, Paul Ernsberger and the Cooper Institute. There are the lawyers, Paul Campos and especially Sandra Solovay who have written and spoken in so many important forums about the rights of fat people. There are so many of brothers and sisters in NAAFA and ASDAH and so many other important size acceptance organizations who have done so much to make things better.

While I’m pretty none of us feel that we are truly where we need to be in terms of universal size acceptance, it’s important to remember that so many of us have done so much to make life better for everybody. That’s why I think it’s important to look at histories like the one created by Barbara Altman Bruno for the ASDAH blog.

And that is why I am so very excited about the project my good friend and colleague Ragen Chastain is working on called In Our Own Words: A Fat Activist History. Ragen is recording interviews with many of these people who have been so important to the movement. She’s funding the project herself, so don’t be afraid to throw a few dollars and send a little love her way!

So by all means, enjoy your day off (if you have today off). Eat hot dogs. Go to the beach. Play all day on your Xbox. Whatever makes you happy. But remember to take just a few seconds to send a little thanks to those who have worked so hard to make your life just a little bit better.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

Buy my book: The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that is Fun and Feasible for Folks of All Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities)–available in softcover and e-book versions

Buy my DVD: The Fat Chick Works Out! (A Safe, Easy and Fun Workout for Klutzes, Wimps and Absolute Beginners!)

Buy a book or a DVD for a friend and save $5! Just enter FRIENDBLFT in the discount code box!

Check out my Training Programs–both in person and via Skype (Starting at just $25!)

Book me to speak at your special event!

New Uniforms for the Sexylympics and WTF?

3 Replies

I guess I should just be glad that the IOC isn’t considering THIS judo uniform…

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I love, love, LOVE the Olympics. In general, I don’t watch much TV. I haven’t had cable for many years. But for two weeks out of every two years, my entire life stops and I become an Olympiholic. But darn it all Olympics, you’re making me so sad!

A while back we heard that there are several sports on the chopping block for inclusion in upcoming Olympic games. Not surprisingly, many of these are the less “sexy” sports– the ones without sexy sound tracks or spectacular equipment, the ones without form fitting, revealing, sexy outfits. The sport of Taekwondo is one of those sports considered most at risk. So in an effort to spice things up, the World Taekwondo Federation is reviewing some new uniforms, especially for the lady fighters.

Don’t get me wrong. This uniform is far from pornographic. Unlike the women’s beach volleyball uniforms, it does manage to cover most of the body. But this uniform proposal does leave me with a few nagging questions:

1. What is the motivation for the change, and

2. Will the uniform change equally for men and women?

Now, as this piece in the Powder Room points out, it appears that much of this site is translated loosely into English. It’s difficult to know how much of this is because of a mangled English translation. But the site does give me cause for concern.

On the one hand, the site lists a desire to move up to more technical fabrics that move and bend with the body (good) and will allow the sport to attach all of the important sensors that help spectators and judges know what is happening during the match (also good). But the site also states that:

The most important reason is to take a better advantage of our female competitors because they are a treasure. It is important to show that practicing Taekwondo gives good health, helps to stay fit and gives a beautiful body shape. This last issue must be exploited and must be used to promote Taekwondo in this specific moment, after the success in the Olympics and a great World Championship, to attract television and mass media interest.

The site also states:

The most important reason is to take a better advantage of our female competitors because they are a treasure. It is important to show that practicing Taekwondo gives good health, helps to stay fit and gives a beautiful body shape. This last issue must be exploited and must be used to promote Taekwondo in this specific moment, after the success in the Olympics and a great World Championship, to attract television and mass media interest.

Female beach volleyball uniforms help amateur spectators (and lecherous camera people) determine the difference between male and female players…

I guess I shoulda seen this coming. After all the World Taekwondo Federation acronym is “WTF”. And with last year’s Gold-Medal-winning gymnastics hair kerfluffle and soft core porn “sports reels” this is just one of a long, long line of disappointments.

And I haven’t even begun to speak yet about the IOC’s response to Russia’s “reassurances” that their laws banning “homosexual propaganda” are still in line with the ideals of the Olympic spirit. Seriously?! What was the IOC thinking? How can this ban on “homosexual propaganda” during the games possibly be okay?

We are still a few months out from the Winter Games scheduled to start in February. But I have to admit I am fearful that the thing that always drew me to the Olympics–the different countries, the spirit of world community, the focus on the incredible athleticism displayed by the competitors, the sheer joy of watching curling at 3 AM–all of these things may be fading away. I hope I’m wrong. Here’s to hoping I can continue to enjoy two weeks of 24-hour Olympics coverage (sans sexist “costumes” and blatant objectification, et avec “curling”) for years to come. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. So go ahead and leave your mark in the “comments” section.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

Buy my book: The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that is Fun and Feasible for Folks of All Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities)–available in softcover and e-book versions

Buy my DVD: The Fat Chick Works Out! (A Safe, Easy and Fun Workout for Klutzes, Wimps and Absolute Beginners!)

Buy a book or a DVD for a friend and save $5! Just enter FRIENDBLFT in the discount code box!

Check out my Training Programs–both in person and via Skype (Starting at just $25!)

Book me to speak at your special event!

Why BMI stands for “Blatantly Meaningless Information”

2 Replies

Yup, higher shoe size means higher BMI. Maybe we should re-institute foot binding for better health?

The LA Times has published another awesome article, this time taking aim at BMI. The article headline states “For nearly 1 in 5 Americans, BMI may tell the wrong story”. Although one of the main studies actually places the misdiagnosis statistic closer to 2 in 5 Americans, I have to give the LA Times credit for posting this story which goes on to detail something that many of us in the HAES (R) universe already know: BMI is not a good predictor of individual health. In short:

Having a high BMI does not mean you have poor metabolic health. Having a low BMI does not mean you have good metabolic health.

So why is this important? Well for a lot of reasons. First off, if your doctor is using BMI to determine whether or not you should get further screenings or tests, he or she is using an extremely unreliable metric to make this determination. This means as a fat person you may be exposed to a lot of tests you really don’t need. This means as a thin person, your doctor may miss some stuff that is really important or even life-threatening. I often wonder if a significant proportion of the medical costs associated with fat people are because we have so many more tests done. Or even if higher percentages of certain diagnoses among fat people are in part because we look so much harder for these diagnoses among fat people.

Another reason that BMI bias is such a big problem is that the workplace wellness gurus are using it to coerce or even force us into interventions that may be entirely inappropriate for us. For example, I’ve been talking a lot about this Michigan “walking program” for fatties. BMI was used as the sole determinant as to who had to participate. Those with higher BMIs were told they either had to wear a pedometer that reported their steps to the “home office” or they had to go to Weight Watchers. There was no initial fitness assessment done. There was no assessment of eating behaviors. The program simply assumes that people with higher BMIs don’t engage in fitness and eat very poorly. It’s entirely possible that people in the program had to reduce other, more strenuous and more enjoyable exercise programs in order to comply with the stupid walking rules. It’s entirely possible that people in the program with well-balanced healthy eating habits were encouraged towards more disordered eating habits after their new stint with Weight Watchers. It’s almost certain that people with low BMIs who are also sedentary and eat nothing but junk food were patted on the head and told to “keep up the good work”.

But we’ll never know because they never tested this stuff.

You know what? When company money and government money and my money gets spent on stupid health programs that are just as likely to make people less healthy than before, and nobody bothers to test the hypotheses because “fatties” I get pretty annoyed. In fact I’m crossing right over the line towards enraged.

It’s not like this research is all new. It’s not like the problems inherent in the BMI as a measurement of individual health haven’t been known for decades. But as long as entire industries are set on putting their fingers in their ears and chanting, “La, la, la, I can’t HEAR you!” I’m just gonna have to keep on saying the same things over and over and over. As long as people walk around with misdiagnosed brain injuries because doctors simply think they need to lose weight, as long as thin people miss out on important medical screenings because they are assumed well, and as long as some insurance programs think it’s okay to strap a piece of hardware to my a@@ to track whether I’m moving enough just because of my dress size, I’m gonna keep on talking.

You hear that universe? I’ll keep shaking my chubby fist and you and shouting that your BS. Measuring. Instrument. is not a valid way to understand anything about who I am.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

Buy my book: The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that is Fun and Feasible for Folks of All Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities)–available in softcover and e-book versions

Buy my DVD: The Fat Chick Works Out! (A Safe, Easy and Fun Workout for Klutzes, Wimps and Absolute Beginners!)

Buy a book or a DVD for a friend and save $5! Just enter FRIENDBLFT in the discount code box!

Check out my Training Programs–both in person and via Skype (Starting at just $25!)

Book me to speak at your special event!

Stuff That Weighs More Than Me: Ship Loaded with Containers

Leave a reply

This weekend some awesome friends of ours asked us to go out sailing with them. And while we were having a wonderful time, I didn’t forget about YOU my dear readers. As we passed a large ship carrying many, many containers, I was heard to say, “Quick get out your camera; I am SURE that thing weighs more than me!”

It’s difficult to make out exactly how many containers are on that ship. But I’m sure there are at least 100. Container ships can apparently carry up to 16,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). And it’s difficult to say how heavy each container is exactly, but if we do a little “back of the envelope figuring we come up with the following stats:

20′ Container weight empty: 5,290 lb (2,400 kg)

20′ Container maximum weight full: 67,200 lb (30,480 kg)

Considering an average weight of 50,000 lb per container and a minimum of 100 containers on the ship, the container weight alone would be:

5,000,000 lbs.

Conclusion: Empty or full, that container ship weighs more than me. Oh and sailing totally rocks!

Love,

The Fat Chick

Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

Buy my book: The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that is Fun and Feasible for Folks of All Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities)–available in softcover and e-book versions

Buy my DVD: The Fat Chick Works Out! (A Safe, Easy and Fun Workout for Klutzes, Wimps and Absolute Beginners!)

Buy a book or a DVD for a friend and save $5! Just enter FRIENDBLFT in the discount code box!

Check out my Training Programs–both in person and via Skype (Starting at just $25!)

Book me to speak at your special event!