Category Archives: Uncategorized

Taking Your Spirit for a Walk

We’ve been talking a lot about pedometers and counting steps and walking towards physical fitness in the last few weeks. But walking does a lot more than strengthen your body and mind. Walking can also have a profound effect on calming and lifting your spirit. There are many approaches to using walking to speak to your soul. So take a deep breath, and let’s explore some of them together:

Love walking: Going for a walk with somebody you love deeply can be a great balm and help for both of your souls. If you walk with one of your children, this can be a time for you to really listen to them and focus on what is happening in their life. In order for this to work however, you really have to focus. That may mean muting your cell phone or turning it off altogether. (But don’t leave your phone at home. A fully-charged cell phone is one of your most important pieces of fitness safety gear.) This can also be a time for you to observe nature together. If your child is young, you may want to be prepared with some games that you can play as you walk like iSpy or simply naming the colors, animals, plants and shapes you encounter along the way. Love walking with your significant other can be a time for you to share the details of your day, or even just to hold hands and enjoy some silence together.

Social Walking: Walking can be a great time to catch up with friends and share thoughts and feelings about what is happening in your lives. And walking regularly with a good friend can help you keep your walking program on track. Having a great jaw session can help bring the fun into fitness and help you forget that you’re exercising. And don’t forget, laughing while walking also engages your abdominal muscles!

Prayer Walking: I’ve known some people who have found a lot of joy in using their walking time for prayer. You can take time during your stroll to pray for friends and family. You can even take time, as you walk the sidewalks in your neighborhood to pray for the people who live near you. Aside from allowing you to really focus on prayer a few times per week, I’ve talked to some prayer walkers who find that turning focus away from the physical benefits and towards caring for other people helps them to prioritize their walking program and be sure to carve time out for it. And spending time sending love out to the universe is sure to have benefits for you and for everyone you touch.

Walking Meditation: Walking is a rhythmic, repetitive process that can really lend itself towards meditation. Some people find it easier to meditate while they are sitting very still. Some others find that the physical action of walking really helps them with their body awareness and aids their meditation practice. There are many forms of walking meditation–from quite simple to more complex versions. However, here’s a few tips for engaging in a walking meditation:

1. Silence is golden. Bring your fully-charged cell phone with you, but mute or turn it off during your walk. Unless you are using music or spoken word specifically tailored to your meditation, you may want to leave your MP3 player and earbuds at home.

2. Take some time before you start to become centered in your body. Take a few deep breaths. Feel the breaths move your tummy in and out. Check in with your hands and feet, and sense how your body feels before you start out.

3. Take the easy path. Try to walk somewhere that will not require you to dodge a lot of people or obstacles. Some gurus suggest that you pick a relatively short, straight path. When you come to the end of the path, stop, reconnect with your body, turn around, and walk again.

4. Spend time as you are walking checking in with your body. How does your breath feel going in and out? How do the soles of your feet feel where they are touching your shoes or socks, and how does each footfall ground with the earth? How do your arms feel? Does your body feel light or heavy? How does the air feel as it touches your skin?

5. Send yourself some body love. A walking meditation is a wonderful time to send positive messages to your body. You can even choose a mantra–a brief phrase that you repeat to yourself over and over as you walk. The best mantras are rhythmic in nature and allow you to put a syllable on each step as you walk. Here are a few of my favorites:

I am worthy.

I am enough.

I am grateful.

Thank you body.

So what do you think? Are you interested in taking your spirit for a walk? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences as you give some of these techniques a try. Don’t forget to share in the comments section!

And yet another one of our faithful readers will be receiving a jump start to his fitness program! Rob Gokee, you’ve won a free pedometer! Don’t forget to send me an email at jeanette at thefatchick dot com with your mailing address so I can get your pedometer out to you!

Love,

Jeanette DePatie

AKA The Fat Chick

P.S. Want to get access to FREE STUFF? Just opt in RIGHT HERE!

The True Virtue of the Turkey Trot and Other Tips for Holiday Fitness

Up Hill Both Ways: 30th Anniversary of Shadow on a Tightrope

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A new generation is introduced to Shadow on a Tightrope. Photo Credit: Substantia Jones

I have to confess. I recently re-read Shadow on a Tightrope in honor of this blog carnival. I tore through the book at warp speed, reveling in the sheer, unadulterated, radical awesomeness of it. I was moved by the rawness and honesty found in so much of the writing. And I felt a deep sense of gratitude for the women who came before me in this amazing movement of size acceptance.

I felt all of these things, but more than any of these things, I felt a sense of awe. These women blazed a trail across this far-flung land. They build a bridge to one another through their written words. And they did it with pencils and typewriters.

Now I understand that there’s a real danger here that I will tell the activism equivalent of walking to school and back, in the snow, and that it was uphill both ways. But isn’t that sort of what we are talking about here?

In reading these stories, I was struck by how hard it was for size activists simply to find one another. I was fascinated by the level of manual work they did, collecting checks to cover the costs of photocopying medical journal articles and studies, copying them and mailing them out to one another.

I was also struck by how often a writer in the anthology refers to years or even decades in isolation–believing they were the only one to feel the way they did. And I was moved by the joy expressed in finding even one like-minded soul with whom to have dinner, swap letters or share late-night phone calls.

It’s hard to speak of size acceptance today, even with the myriad of online research resources and the powerful forums and channels that bring like minded activists to the distance of just one click from one another. While it’s true that modern life brings a different set of headaches (like moderating yet another absolutely vile YouTube comment) it also brings us comfort and tremendous support. Often, within seconds of writing a blog post or sharing a thought on Facebook, I’ll have a word or two of support or encouragement. I can debate difficult questions about the nature of size acceptance in real time, with scholars throughout the world. But even so, it can be hard to stand aside from the mainstream on notions of weight, weight loss, fat acceptance, and Health At Every Size.

But how much more difficult was it back in 1983 or even earlier? Shadow on a Tightrope, was created in a time when writers put their stake in the sand, said their piece and then waited weeks or months or even years to see what the world had to say about it. Yet it’s astonishing, how many stakes were planted, and just how much ground was covered by this early work.

We owe a debt of gratitude to these early pioneers. That’s why I am so excited to see projects like this one, celebrating the 30-year anniversary of a seminal work in the Size Acceptance cannon, or the history project initiated by Barbara Altman Bruno on behalf of ASDAH, and the tremendous work being done by Ragen Chastain to document the stories of the founders of this movement in their own wordsl

I am proud and honored to share in some small way, my heartfelt thanks to those who not only added to the scholarship side of the size acceptance movement, but also paved the way for me to step off the diet/body hatred merry-go-round and learn to love my body far, far earlier than I would have done without their guidance. For helping me reclaim weeks, months, years and even decades for body love, self acceptance and even joy, I’m very, very grateful.

Perhaps 30 years from now, the young upstarts will be rolling their eyes and wondering how we old farts ever built a movement without transporter beams and holographic recording. If at that point we are able to leave behind even a small fraction of work on par with that found in Shadow on a Tightrope, I will count us successful indeed!

Love,

Jeanette DePatie

AKA The Fat Chick

P.S. Want to get access to FREE STUFF? Just opt in RIGHT HERE!

Exercise, Empowerment and Free Botox at the Finish Line

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OMG does my makeup look okay?

My friend and colleague Kjerstin recently posted this article about the upcoming “Diva 5K” in Miami Florida. The race, which exhorts women and girls as young as 8 years old to “Run like a Diva!” is offering an amazing prize package including botox (for winners 18 and older) and teeth whitening and laser hair removal (for winners 15 and older).

I cant even…

To my mind, one of the best things about participating in an event like a 5K is to empower women to think about their bodies in terms of what they can do rather than obsessing about how they look. Women can focus on being strong, and capable. Women can focus on being healthy and vibrant.

Unless we’re talking about the Diva 5K where women are encouraged to be wrinkle-free, white toothed and OMG hairless! Apparently all participants will get a chance to be greeted at the finish line “where handsome young men from the local dance schools will sweep you off your feet.” Because heaven knows, we can’t be interested in walking or running or otherwise exercising for our own sakes. Goodness NO, girl. We run to be thin, hairless, wrinkle-free and gorgeous for the hot “MENZ”! Jeez don’t you know anything?

As a fitness instructor with several decades of teaching under my belt, I find this sort of thing so intensely frustrating. We claim as an industry that we want people to exercise. And then we make ridiculous promises to people that we know are false, and we trivialize the unbelievable potent real rewards that come with being fit.

The fitness industry has always promised that if you exercise hard enough, you’ll look like a hot, young, supermodel, AND a hunky hot man will be waiting to sweep you off your feet. I’ve rarely seen that notion put into practice in quite as concrete a manner as we’re seeing with this Diva 5K, but it is a common notion nevertheless.

Yet, in reality, a 5K will make you look like a supermodel ONLY under the following conditions:

1. You looked like a super model BEFORE you started training for a 5K,

2. You have a hair and makeup crew near the finish line ready to bathe you, do your hair, airbrush your skin and make you over, and

3. Your finishers photos are heavily retouched in Photoshop.

Here’s a quick demonstration of what I’m talking about:

The sad thing is that the TRUE benefits of exercise (like lower stress levels, better blood glucose levels, better mood management, better sleep, a stronger sense of self esteem, a stronger immune system) THOSE benefits are often downplayed or overlooked. The transformations of the people that I have taught have had very little to do with looking like a model. I’ve seen a Mom, for the first time ever, have enough stamina to take her kid to Disneyland all day. And a man, who for the first time in twenty years can take his wife dancing again. I’m talking about people who can now bend over and tie their shoes, or walk their daughter down the aisle without pain or get their blood pressure or blood glucose levels under control. I’m talking about young women who for the first time in their lives look in the mirror and see power and competence and confidence rather than simple disappointment that they don’t look like the “after” picture they have been taught to envision for themselves.

I’ve done several races in my life ranging from a 5K Turkey Trot to a full on marathon. And yes, I have won some medals. And I plan to run some more. But if you’re standing at the finish line waving a gift certificate for free airbrush tanning or liposuction for me, I’d advise you to beware. I just might use my hard-won leg muscles to kick you somewhere soft and very private. Even if you ARE a hunky guy from the local dance class.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie

The Fat Chick

P.S. Speaking of handing out rewards, I’m happy to announce that our second winner in The Fat Chick’s Great Pedometer Giveaway is Susie Kline! Yay Susie!

Why this Might Be the Best Week all Year to Start Exercising

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Sure, any time is a good time to start exercising. But if you live in the United States, this might just be the best week all year to start a new program! Why? I’m so glad you asked!

In most of the United States, this past Sunday, we set the clock back in honor of the end of “daylight savings time”. Now in many ways this is a bloody nuisance. But in one important way, this can be a new exerciser’s best friend! You can exercise at any time of the day, but I think people have the greatest degree of success if they start exercising first thing in the morning. There’s a lot of reasons for this. It allows you to get your exercise in early, before too many life traumas and distractions can get in the way. And if you’re like me, and you don’t bother to shower or do your hair or makeup before you work out, it means you only have to get “duded up” one time in a day. Roll out of bed, don spandex and get to it! And exercising late in the day can either be dangerous (too dark) or make it difficult to sleep at night.

All in all it’s best to just get up a little earlier to start exercising. The hardest thing is training your body to wake up earlier. Except, this week, you PROBABLY WON’T HAVE TO! Your body is already trained to wake up one hour earlier, because you set the clocks back. So if you start this week, like this very moment, you can go through that transition without actually getting up any earlier in the morning! Yup! You’re Welcome!

Now the one challenge with this is training your body to go to bed a little bit earlier at night. But we have a couple of tricks up our sleeve in this department as well. First of all, it’s getting dark earlier, like oh my gosh it’s the middle of the afternoon earlier. This will help you feel sleepy. Also, exercise in the morning tends to help people sleep better at night. So you’ve got that working in your favor as well! And in terms of all of the holiday craziness, you get about one week’s respite from trick or treating and making your kid’s Halloween costume (and 4 dozen spider cupcakes) and shopping for Thanksgiving. Because I’ll tell you what. Once the Thanksgiving cleaning, and shopping and cooking and eating all begin, it becomes a lot harder to start a new exercise program. And you could be be sitting at the Thanksgiving table being silently thankful that you started to move your body in new and joyful ways this year.

And let’s not forget the weather. In much of the country, the weather is beautiful this time of year. There’s a crispness in the air that gives a new pep to your step, and the autumn leaves put on a gorgeous show that changes every day. Of course, it can also be rainy and snowy and crummy, but then you can go check out the new holiday decorations at the mall, BEFORE the mall opens and the gabillions of people descend.

Of course, any time is a good time to start exercising. I just think this week might be a teensy bit better. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section.

By the way, reader Kim Rodriguez may have a special reason to get started as she is the first winner in our Great Fat Chick Pedometer Giveaway. We’ll be giving away four more pedometers, so keep your eyes peeled to see if you are one of the winners. If you didn’t enter before yesterday, don’t worry! We’ll be doing other giveaways. In fact, if you’d like to make SURE you don’t miss one, why not join the Fat Chick Clique. You’ll be sure to get some free stuff right away, and I’ll make sure you don’t miss another one of our amazing giveaways! Just opt in RIGHT HERE!

Love,

Jeanette DePatie

AKA The Fat Chick

Overcoming Parking Karma and Adding More Steps to your Life

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Earlier this week, I wrote a post all about using the pedometer to gradually add to your fitness level. It’s easy to use. It’s safe. And it’s cheap! All you need is a pedometer. And this week, you could even be one of five lucky people to win a free pedometer from The Fat Chick! In that post I gave you a lot of advice about how to calculate your average daily step count, and how to figure out how much to ramp your step count from week to week. Today, I’d like to give you five steps to quickly and easily work more steps into your life. Here you go:

1. Park further away. Actually, this simple tool can actually allow you to exercise while SAVING TIME. My husband has terrible, terrible parking karma. It doesn’t matter where we are going–be it the the mall, the movie theater, the grocery store, but this guy is terrible at finding good parking. I used to comment on this fact all the time. And when I would, not so politely ask, “Could you have parked any further away?” my husband would look at me calmly and say, “Yes.” He would then proceed to park in the spot furthest possible from our end destination. Over time, he has stopped even trying to find the closest spot. And you know what? I’m pretty sure we get where we want to go even faster. Rather than circling the lot like a brain-dead vulture for endless minutes, we just park and walk a little further. We get more exercise, we skip the frustration of arguing with people who “steal our spots” and ultimately we get there quicker. Win. Win. Win.

2. Stop doing everything online. When I work freelance in an office, I add a lot of steps to my day and get stuff done faster by simply getting up from my desk and walking over to the person I want to talk to. They aren’t ignoring me to check out their stats on Facebook or Instagram because I can see them and talk to their faces. I found that I got people’s attention by talking to them directly and people were a lot less likely to procrastinate on stuff that I asked them to do if they realized I was likely to actually knock on their door and, you know, ask them to do the stuff. While online shopping is extremely convenient, all that gets exercise is your fingers. So I get up early and head over to the mall every once and a while to get some holiday shopping and some extra exercise into my life.

3. Get off the bus a little sooner. For those of you who take public transportation, this is easy. You just get off one stop before your final destination and walk the rest of the way. But there are opportunities for all of us to use this technique. How about the shuttle bus at the airport, can you get off one terminal sooner and walk a little further? Or the bus or tram that takes you to the parking lot, can you get off the shuttle a bit further from your car?

4. Find opportunities for “Spontaneous Boogie-down Sessions”. Sure you can get up from your computer and simply stretch or walk towards the coffee machine, but what fun is that? Why not set a boogie alarm? Set an alarm on your cell phone or computer to go off every so often and take a “Boogie Break”. Pick and awesome song, grab your air guitar and just go to it. Extra points for getting everybody in the office involved in spontaneous flash mob awesomeness. Extra EXTRA points if you get it on camera and send me a link!

5. Go walk around somewhere awesome! Even in the depth of winter there are fabulous places to go walking. Go walking outside and look at holiday decorations. Go walking at an amazing museum or park or zoo. Check out a botanical garden or pumpkin farm. There are so many fun things you can do while walking around. Go do some of them!

Also, please let me offer this note for people who don’t walk so well. All of these suggestions can be tailored for people who are less mobile. It’s all a matter of scale. Maybe you can’t walk from the furthest reaches of the parking lot. That’s okay! Maybe pick a spot that is one slot further away from the front door. Maybe park your scooter just a few feet further away from your destination. You can totally do a chair boogie if a standing boogie isn’t really in the cards for you. The point here is to do something a teensy, teeny, weenie bit more than you did yesterday. But only if you want to. There’s no rules here–only options and opportunities. You are in charge of you. So only do what feels right for you in your body.

Also, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Do you have a special technique that you use to get extra steps into your day? How about sharing them in the comments section? And don’t forget to follow the directions below to become eligible to win a free pedometer.

WIN A PEDOMETER FROM THE FAT CHICK!

All you have to do is click this link The Fat Chick Pedometer Giveaway and then follow the directions! Once you get there, you can like my Facebook page or put a comment on the blog or write a tweet. It’s easy and fun. Just remember to click this link first: The Fat Chick Pedometer Giveaway

Good luck!

Love,

Jeanette DePatie

AKA The Fat Chick

Wicked Witch Hands Fat Kids Shame-Filled Letter instead of Candy

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*Loud record scratch noise*

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog to make this public service announcement. Apparently a woman in North Dakota called into a local radio station saying that she will hand trick-or-treaters that she deems too fat a letter along with their candy. The thin kids will just get candy. After the interview, she emailed a copy of the letter she plans to send along to the radio station.

Want to know what the letter will say? Here it is in all its glory:

Happy Halloween and Happy Holidays Neighbor! [Picture of a cute pumpkin]

You are probably wondering why your child has this note; have you ever heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”? I am disappointed in “the village” of Fargo Moorhead, West Fargo.

Your child is in my opinion moderately obese and should not be consuming sugar and treats to the extent of some children this Halloween season.

My hope is that you will step up as a parent and ration candy this Halloween and not allow your child to continue these unhealthy eating habits.

Thanks!

Yup, apparently this woman called into a radio station (anonymously) and claimed she would be handing these letters out to the fat kids this year. She won’t tell us her full name or where her house is. There is no way for a parent to avoid this house with their kids because nobody [as yet] knows where she lives. But she says she’s going to do this, because, “It takes a village, people!”.

I guess nobody told her that she’s been designated the village idiot and thus probably won’t be put in charge of the welfare of the village children this year.

This whole thing is so appalling, I frankly had a hard time figuring out where to start. So I guess we’ll start at the beginning of this amazingly articulate missive. *Insert eye roll here.*

It begins “Happy Halloween and Happy Holidays Neighbor”. Because nothing says “happy holidays” quite like shaming your child in front of his peers and offering unsolicited and uninformed opinions on your parenting skills. But that’s okay because I’ve got crappy clip art of a jack o’ lantern here, see? And the jack o’ lantern is smiling so that means I’m being nice.

“You are probably wondering why you are receiving this note;” Yes indeed. I am wondering why you decided to send a judgmental and shame-filled letter home with any child. Since we all know that shame doesn’t make kids healthier, happier or thinner, I would really like to know why you thought it was okay to do that to a kid in front of her peers. Given the fact that shaming kids tends to lead to unhealthy behaviors including binge eating, drug use, alcohol abuse, smoking and eating disorders, I would really like to know what made you think this was okay.

The letter goes on, “have you ever heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child?” Yes I’ve heard this saying, but I’m pretty sure it means something different than you think it does.

Then the letter says, “I am disappointed in “the village” of Fargo Moorhead, West Fargo.” To which I would respond. Well I am too. If the village contains judgmental people like you who think that, based solely on a child’s appearance you have the right to shame that kid in front of his friends and send an anonymous letter to the parents telling them that they don’t know how to raise him, I think our “village” has a problem.

Okay, this next line makes me incandescent with rage. She says, “Your child is in my opinion moderately obese and should not be consuming sugar and treats to the extent of some children this Halloween season.” O.M.G. First of all, how exactly are you determining that the child tips the scales as “moderately obese”. Are you measuring height and weight and calculating B.M.I. on the fly? Are you pulling some skin calipers out of your “candy cauldron” and doing a little skin fold testing there on your front porch? Or are you basing your calculations on which kids are chubby in a way that insults your delicate sensibilities? Oh wait, I forgot. It says it’s your opinion. Did I ask your opinion? Did anyone? No? That my dear villager is a sign you should Just. Shut. Up.

But the last sentence of the letter is the real kicker. She closes by saying, “My hope is that you will step up as a parent and ration candy this Halloween and not allow your child to continue these unhealthy eating habits.” It is unbelievable how many unsubstantiated assumptions this woman is able to cram into one little sentence. It assumes that the parent is not doing their job. It assumes that the child has unhealthy eating habits. It assumes that the parents don’t ration candy. It assumes that the parent is unaware that the child is chubby and is somehow negligent as a parent. Does she know this because she knows the child and the family and the situation? Does she have a crystal ball that shows definitively, in each particular situation what is happening in that child and family’s life? Does she know if the kid is taking medications that make weight gain more likely? Does she know if the kid has a metabolic disorder? Does she know if the kid has just lost a parent or is coping with unbridled bullying at school? Or is she spewing hate all based on the fact that Tammy’s tutu is a little too tight?

And she closes with the word “Thanks”. Yes, and let me also offer my thanks.

Thanks for shaming kids in front of their friends. I’m sure that will make everything better.

Thanks for taking the one holiday of the year which is really about kids having fun and wrecking it for them.

Thanks for offering your completely unsolicited and unsubstantiated, bitchy and judgmental opinions on people’s parenting skills based on your personal prejudice.

Thanks for making kids cry.

Thanks for increasing the chances these kids will turn to drugs, alcohol, tobacco or an eating disorder, because everyone knows, a fun-sized Snickers bar is the worst thing in the world.

Thanks so much for staying anonymous while you are bullying kids. Because nothing says, “It takes a village” quite like putting on a mask and lobbing fireballs at children from behind a wall at a safe distance.

The kicker has to be the moment in the radio interview when asked by the hosts of the show why she didn’t give out toys or stickers instead of candy. Our protagonist, who identified herself only as Cheryl, said she didn’t want to be the “mean lady” in the neighborhood.

Um. I’m sorry. That’s not what you meant.

What you really meant is that you only wanted to be mean to the FAT kids, so that makes it okay.

Trick or Treat is supposed to mean give me a treat or I’ll play a trick on you. All I can say, is that if this woman actually follows through and hands out these letters, she is likely to face some pretty staunch retribution. #theVillageTPdYourHouse. I think she might find the village throwing eggs at her very fragile glass house.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie

AKA The Fat Chick

Step into Fitness the EASY Way

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So often we think getting started in fitness requires a big ramp up. We think need to find a class that fits with our schedule. We plan on buying lots of fitness gear. We do a bunch of research on whatever form of fitness we’re considering. AND we try to figure out when in our insane life schedules we will find time for all of this to happen.

And for many forms of fitness, these steps will be necessary. But there is a way to step into fitness that requires an investment of $0.00 to $15.00, that you can fit into your day any time you like. I’m talking about counting steps. And it’s very cheap, easy and usually safe, if you do it the right way. (In fact it could be FREE if you are one of the WINNERS of The Fat Chick Pedometer Giveaway –see details below!)

Unfortunately, many of us do step counter training the wrong way. You may have heard that most of us adults should aim to get 10,000 steps per day. So you might be tempted to go out and buy a pedometer and start walking 10,000 steps per day. But for many of us this is the wrong way to get fit. In this blog, (and in my DVD and in my Best-Selling Book) I’ve spoken at length about the 10 percent rule. This rule states, “Thou shalt not increase thy exercise–either by intensity, frequency or duration by more than ten percent per week.” So if you are currently averaging 1,000 steps per day, jumping all the way up to 10,000 steps per day is likely to be frustrating and painful, and may even lead to injury. This is not what we want.

Here’s the right way to start step counter training.

1. Buy a step counter (or WIN one). It does not need to be fancy. It needs to have a step counter readout and a reset button. That’s it! You can spend $100 for a Fitbit or even more for a fancy workout tracker, but you should be able to find a tracker for $15 or less.

2. Get out a calendar or a piece of paper. Again you can use fancy tracking software, but a plain old calendar will do. Or you can even use your Google calendar or smart phone calendar to track.

3. Put the step counter on first thing in the morning, and wear it all day. Now for the technical bit. WHERE you WEAR the tracker on your body is important. If it’s not placed on your body in the right place, it won’t count all the steps. And doing lots of steps that don’t count will make you feel cheated and resentful, or possibly just very sad. We don’t want that. Start by clipping the pedometer to your waistband parallel to the floor. Clip the pedometer towards the front of your body in line with the middle of the front of your thigh and your kneecap. Now walk 100 steps (count out loud). If your count is plus or minus three steps from 100, you’re good to go. If not, you may need to adjust the pedometer until you find the right spot on YOUR body to get an accurate count.

4. At the end of each day, record the total number of steps on your calendar or piece of paper.

5. At the end of the week, determine your average daily step count. Just add up all the steps, and divide by the number of days you walked. So if I walked seven days, I would add up all those steps and divide by seven.

6. Use your average daily step count to determine your ten percent point. This is super easy. Just move the decimal point over one to the left. So if your average daily step count is 3214, the 10 percent point is 321.4! See? Easy peasy!

7. Set a daily step count goal that is up to ten percent higher than your previous average daily step count. So, using our previous example, we would add 3214 to 321.4 which equals 3535.4. So in this example, you could set a goal for the next week UP TO 3535. Remember, that is your max. You could choose to increase one percent per week or ramp ten percent every other week. Do what feels good to YOU!

That’s it. Just follow those simple steps and you’re on your way. Later this week, I’ll give you some advice about increasing your step count. But in the meantime, here’s how you can win a fabulous new step counter from yours truly.

WIN A PEDOMETER FROM THE FAT CHICK!

Good luck!

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. Want to get access to other FREE STUFF? Just opt in RIGHT HERE!

The Terror of a New Exercise Class

Fitness Training and Trash Talking

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Did you know that it’s “Fat Talk Free” week? I just found out yesterday and I’m super excited. A whole week dedicated to not trash talking our bodies?!? Sign me up! The day was created by sorority Delta, Delta, Delta. You can see their video here:

Today I’d like to talk about how to talk to your body while you are fitness training. We’re all familiar with the notion of trash talking in sports. That’s where you call out your opponent and do verbal intimidation to help you win (or at least get air time). If you want to see some amazing examples of trash talking in sports, you can follow this link to the Top Ten Sports Trash Talkers. Unfortunately many of us have also faced trash talkers, gawkers and mean people who have tried to derail our fitness attempts in various ways. From having people belittle your fitness efforts to offering unsolicited advice to throwing eggs at you while you run, other people can be brutal about your fitness efforts.

(Honestly, who throws eggs at people who are exercising?)

But as awful as other people can be about our bodies while we exercise, we are often the hardest on ourselves. It’s so easy to slip into the habit of disparaging our bodies when we work out. How often do you find yourself making negative comments about your body or your capabilities before, during or after exercise? Maybe you find yourself saying things like, “I’ve got to work out these flabby thighs. I hate my thighs.” Many of us do this so often, we hardly recognize it any more. When I catch my students saying things like this about themselves during class, I stop them right in their tracks and ask them to apologize to their bodies for being so mean. I’m serious! Because it starts with one little comment, one person engaging in a little bit of “Fat Talk” and soon the entire class is feeling bad about their bodies–whether they choose to verbalize it or not. Because trash talking your body doesn’t just affect you. It affects everyone around you. This is why trash talking your own body in public is kind of selfish. Because just a few minutes of saying hurtful things about your own body is all it takes to get everybody around you focusing on their own bodies in a hurtful and negative way.

(Fast forward to about 1:00 to hear a discussion about hating your thighs…)

I also sometimes hear my students trash talking their own abilities. They will say things like, “I’m so uncoordinated!” or “I just can’t dance.” And again, I stop them right there. Because if you tell yourself you are uncoordinated or that you can’t dance, you will believe it to be true. And if you believe it to be true hard enough, you will make it true. But there is absolutely no reason for this kind of talk. First of all, everybody struggles sometimes with exercise. Let me say that again. EVERYBODY STRUGGLES SOMETIMES WITH EXERCISE. I don’t care how gifted or athletic you are, when you try something new or significantly increase your exercise efforts, you are going to struggle. It’s hard enough to do new stuff without telling yourself, before you even start, that you can’t do it. It’s fine to laugh at yourself a little when you struggle. There’s no point in taking yourself too seriously. But if you tell yourself you can’t do it often enough, you’ll be right. Celebrate yourself for trying. Revel in the awkwardness that means you are stretching outside of your comfort zone and doing something new and fabulous for your body.

Trash talking has no place in amateur fitness efforts. It may have a place in competitive professional sports, if only to pump up TV ratings. But in real, every day life, trash talking will only harm your fitness efforts and the efforts of those around you. There’s only a few days left in “Fat Talk Free Week” but I’d like to invite you to take this time to practice happy body talk and happy body thoughts while you work out. Be your own cheerleader! Sit yourself on the stool in the corner of the boxing ring and massage your own shoulders. Tell yourself you can do it often enough, and you’ll be right!

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

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