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Being in Flow

If being in flow makes me a lone wolf, I’ll howl at the moon…

You know in this multitasking, multitrack, insanely busy world, I’d like to put in a word about the joy and power of being in flow. Wikipedia defines flow as:

Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does.

For me, being in flow is a powerful force in my life. I find as I get older, I seek more and more opportunities to be in flow, to be absorbed by a single task or experience, and to live in the moment.

Don’t get me wrong. I am as busy as the next person. And don’t think for one minute that I’m not spending a significant portion of my life trying to do two things at once: driving and talking on the phone, eating dinner and watching TV, walking down the street and thinking about what I’ll make for dinner that night. I’m as guilty of trying to do two things at once as the next person.

But can I let you in on a little secret? I really, really suck at multitasking. I am not good at trying to do two things at once. And my experiments in multitasking–well they usually end in tears. Driving while talking on the phone means ending up in a part of town where I never planned to go. Eating and watching TV often results in me not really enjoying my food or the TV very much. Thinking about dinner while walking down the street just may mean walking right into another person or even a light pole. (True story, sigh…)

The truth is, I’m more effective doing one thing at a time, and I’m much, much happier. In fact, I’m happiest when I get to live in flow. This happens when I start writing my blog and an hour goes by and I didn’t even realize it. This happens almost every single time I teach an exercise class. It happens when I sing in public. This happens when I speak in front of others. This happens when I fall into a really great book. I find myself actively seeking more opportunities to experience this wonderful state of flow.

Flow is the experience of living in the moment and being utterly and joyfully absorbed by only one thing. Time passes quickly. Worries about other, unrelated things, melt for a while. Flow is being with another person and giving that person your full undivided attention. Flow feels good. And it is my instinct that flow is really good for you. There’s not a whole lot of evidence regarding the health benefits of flow. It’s hard to induce and hard to recognize and measure. One study, done on pianists shows that the players not only performed better in a state of flow, but also experienced lower blood pressure, lower heart rate, and a relaxation of the major face muscles.

I know the more I’m in flow, the less I’m worrying or obsessing over things I can’t change, and the better I get at doing whatever the heck it is that I’m trying to do. I just worry sometimes that in our hyperactive, wired, highly stimulated world, I’m more than a little bit too antiquated to keep up with the pack. Oh well, I guess there’s a place for the the lone wolf too. I wonder if I’ll achieve flow howling at the moon?

Love,

The Fat Chick

Obesity Panic: Now Available at Birth

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Counting baby’s fingers and toes and BMI

The Washington Post recently reported on a study that purports to predict which kids are most likely to become obese. This study claims that you can use a simple formula to predict which kids are more likely to get fat over the course of their lives. Apparently, worried parents can follow the formula (using a simple online tool) shortly after the baby’s birth to begin obsessing over the child’s potential chub before they have even brought their bundle of joy home from the hospital.

That’s just great, isn’t it?

The article goes on to suggest that doctors and parents will know shortly after birth, which kids can “benefit most” from interventions aimed at preventing them from becoming fat. The article admits that helping people lose weight once they are heavy “has yielded disappointing results”. So the article suggests, we might have better success in preventing kids from getting fat in the first place.

Hmmm. Based on what, I wonder? Is there any proof that these interventions work? Is there any evidence in the world to indicate that kids who receive these early interventions wind up thinner or more healthy than those who don’t? And what does it do to these kids to be singled out at such an early age?

Reading a little further in the article, I came across this little gem:

The authors note that such a formula if used in common practice could help physicians allocate health-care resources by steering those kids who most need help toward nutrition and psychological counseling. They further note, though, that their formula should not be used to stigmatize some families or to falsely reassure other families that their babies are not at risk of becoming overweight in the future.

Okay, so let me get this straight. The formula can help doctors figure out which kids to start badgering about not getting fat (starting at birth) but reassure us that those kids and families shouldn’t feel singled out (because we tell them not to). And God forbid you parents with kids at lower risk for obesity should relax your vigilance for even a minute. Your kid could wind up fat anyway. You just can’t be too careful.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

How long before we have Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers for babies? How long until health insurance becomes more expensive for families of “high-risk” kids? How long before parents are crunching potential BMI numbers before they even decide whether or not to have a kid?

I don’t know about you, but this sort of thing really, really scares the crud out of me. It’s not enough that we have five and six-year-old kids with eating disorders. Nope. Now we’re supposed to be obsessing over the gene size and the jeans size of children before they even start solid food.

Why don’t we just make healthy foods and a safe place to play available to all kids? How about we don’t start messing with kids innate and intuitive skills for playing and eating before they even begin to form their first words? How about we teach all kids about Health At Every Size and give them tools for healthy, happy, expansive, joyful lives instead of teaching them to fear and hate their own bodies before they are out of diapers?

Let’s, at least for a little while, let kids be kids.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Where there is Hatred, Let’s Sow Love

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Recently my good friend Deb Lemire sent me a link to this amazing Ted talk. Why not go take a look right now? It’s that good. I’ll wait.

It’s clear to me that Lynne is an amazing woman–one I’d love to meet one day. She said many, many true and moving things in her short talk. But one of the things I’d particularly like to talk about today is her discussion of the war on obesity, and her assertion that war is about hate.

I think it’s important to share this business about this war on obesity. There are new people every day who join the ‘righteous’ and march out in this war. The recruits are now younger and younger with indoctrination beginning in kindergarten and even preschool. So what’s wrong with it? Why not fight against this crushing “disease” which is “killing our children”?

In answer, I’d like to begin with two words: collateral damage.

I think many of us have been caught in the “friendly fire” of the war on obesity. Many of us have seen the disapproving looks as we dare to order a roll (maybe even with real butter!) to eat with our salads. We’ve been photographed and filmed with our heads cut off and displayed for the wartime propaganda. We’ve been made scapegoats and blamed for everything from high prices for flying and insurance to global warming. We have been named bad parents and some of us have even had our children torn from our grasp. We are the butt of the joke, the cautionary tale, the perennial ‘before’ photo and the ’cause of the downfall of the human race’.

Except, for one problem. It ain’t necessarily so. There is little evidence that fat people raise health insurance rates to any significant degree. Flying is expensive because of a whole host of reasons including high fuel prices, inept airline management, a complex web of travel taxes and tariffs and poor aircraft upkeep among many other factors. There is little reason to blame fat people for any of the problems the world is facing right now.

And even beyond those issues, there is one other. The war can’t be won this way. You can’t hate fat people thin. For all the marching and the propaganda and the fabulous uniforms and billions of dollars spent, people aren’t getting any thinner. All the money we’re spending and the people being emotionally and physically damaged in the crossfire is for nothing. We are not making people any thinner.

I’d say that perhaps some of this money should be spent on determining what should be done to make the world healthier and happier without causing massive casualties from collateral damage, except we already know what actually works. It’s called Health At Every Size or HAES and it’s for every BODY. There is a lot of evidence that healthy habits are a better determinant of health at all sizes than body size. So HAES simply suggests that we work on making healthy behaviors available and attractive to folks of all sizes, and stop trying to make fat people into thin people.

Why can’t we focus on health irrespective of size? Why can’t we focus on making healthy options like good locally sourced food and safe places to walk and play for people of all sizes, races and economic levels? Why can’t we focus on teaching our children to love and respect their own bodies and those of everyone around them?

We can. As it says in the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, “where there is hatred let us sow [your] love”. So, let’s do it! Let’s commit to being body pacifists. Let’s throw down our weapons and walk out on the battlefields and bring aid and succor to those who are hurting out there. Let’s find the kids who are wandering around shell shocked and bewildered and show them that there is another way. That making a healthier body is about having a healthier community and a healthier world forged from love and not hate. “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

Love,

The Fat Chick

Stuff That Weighs More Than Me: World’s Largest Santa Snow Sculpture

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Check out this magnificent snow sculpture, reported to be the largest ice/snow sculpture of Santa in the world. The sculpture was created in Harbin China (where the temperatures can dip down as low as -35 degrees Celsius or -31 degrees Farenheit) to celebrate the city’s world-renowned ice festival. The huge Santa is the star attraction of the festival, expected to draw over 800,000 visitors between mid-December and February.

There’s little question that this particular Santa is huge. Just how huge is he? Glad you asked! Here’s the stats:

Height: 80 ft.

Length: 525 ft.

Now the question of weight. The sculpture is estimated to contain over 13,000 cubic meters of snow. This works out to about 459,091 cubic feet.

The weight of a cubic foot of snow varies widely depending on the water content of the snow. According to the University of Arkansas paper, “Ice and Snow Accumulations on Roofs”

“The water content of snow may range from 3% for very dry snow to 33% for a wet, heavy snow to nearly 100% for ice.”

Our Santa ice sculpture is clearly closer to ice than dry snow, so let’s split the difference and say, conservatively, that the snow is 30% water. That takes us to 137,727 cubic feet of water. A cubic foot of water weighs 62.4 lbs.

Soooo. Final weight stats:

Volume: 459,091 cubic ft. of snow containing 137, 727 cubic ft. water.

Weight: 1 cubic foot of water 62.4 lbs.

Weight of World’s Largest Santa Sculpture (est.) 8,594,185 lbs. (nearly 4300 tons)

Conclusion: The World’s Largest Santa Snow Sculpture weighs more than me.

Thursday Theater: The Fat Chick Onstage at The Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas

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Check out this video of me performing on the Soundwaves Stage, poolside at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. It was the end of the day and the sun was going down but we still had a blast. And even though there were a lot of typical hard body athletes, everybody got their Bollywood Bounce on and we had so much fun!

BTW, it’s never too late to join in the fun. Just sidle on up to your computer and dance along!

Love,
The Fat Chick

Women’s Wednesday: Exercise as Medicine for Perimenopause

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The Fat Chick leads a group of laughing and dancing menopausal and perimenopausal women in a Hot Flash Mob in Manhattan.

Are you perimenopausal? Many of us have come to think of menopause as something that happens to “older women”. Many of us don’t believe that we are old enough to be experiencing perimenopausal symptoms. But denial ain’t just a river in Egypt, ladies. As my Mom once told me, “I had been talking about ‘those old ladies’ as if it was a group that didn’t include me. I had kind of a rough day when I realized I needed to start saying ‘we old ladies’!” But denial aside, this condition can begin long before the moniker of old lady could reasonably apply. Perimenopause is the segment in your life between when your periods start to change and up to a year after they have ended completely. This process typically begins in your 40s, but may begin in your thirties. It typically lasts five to fifteen years. Some women have significant symptoms and some women have no symptoms at all.

Some typical symptoms of perimenopause include:

Vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and simply sweating more.
Psychosocial symptoms like anxiety, impatience, poor memory and depression.
And physical symptoms like body aches, fatigue, and insomnia.

There is a lot of debate about treatment for menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms. While some doctors suggest hormone replacement therapy (HRT), there may be significant risks associated with that approach. Some studies indicate that HRT is effective for treating the vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats. However, other studies indicate that HRT may increase risk for breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. And HRT hasn’t proved very effective at coping with psychosocial or physical symptoms like body aches, fatigue, weight gain or insomnia.

But do not despair. There is significant and growing evidence that regular, moderate exercise can be extremely effective in improving Quality of Life (QOL) and relieving perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms. Regular fitness activities have been show to increase brain function and offer relief from depression and anxiety. Exercise can improve overall mood even 24 hours after the original exercise session. A recent study indicates that women who engaged in moderate physical activity had significantly reduced hot flashes, sweating, weight gain, bloating and issues with intimacy.

Menopause and perimenopause can be a difficult time in a woman’s life, but it doesn’t have to be. This time can also be a time of great creativity, strength and power. And, as the women who have participated in The Hot Flash Mob Movement (created with partner Dr. Eve Agee) have learned, it can also be a lot of fun. And whether you are pre-menopausal, perimenopausal, menopausal or post-menopausal, exercise is a safe, effective, inexpensive and fun way to have a better quality of life. So ladies, why not gather up some girlfriends, lace up your sneakers and get to it! You’ll be so glad you did!
Love,

The Fat Chick

The Power of Being Wrong

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Yesterday I posted a story about some women who verbally attacked me. As I mentioned, I think these women were willing to go to these lengths of nastiness simply to avoid having to admit that they were wrong about anything. And you know what? I’ve met so many people like this. I’ve met people who will give up friendships and jobs and deals and money and even marriages all because they are not capable of admitting they could have possibly been wrong about anything. I’ve watched people lose everything simply because they were unable to utter those little words, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

How often do we watch somebody on the freeway, pull a totally ridiculous, dangerous and downright illegal move, and then honk their horn and flip people the finger as they speed away. “Nope, can’t admit I’m wrong,” they think. “Better make sure everybody else knows it’s their own fault.” So they compound the originally dangerous situation with an ever more dangerous situation and put their life as well as the lives of those around them at risk.

What is this all about? Why will we hurt other people and even act outside of our own best interests just to be right about everything? I know that I see it sometimes in myself. Sometimes I will fight for hours or even days against admitting it even when I KNOW down deep that I’m wrong about something. But I’ve learned over the years that as hard as it is to force those dreaded words past my tightly clamped lips, it is the right thing to do. And if I want to have friendships and family relationships and a marriage that works, I have to do it. You can be right ALL the time or you can have friends. You can’t have both. Unless you want to be alone, you have to learn to say it. Let’s practice together now: “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”

There, that wasn’t so hard, was it? Well, no. It’s easy to say those words out of context. But it is good practice for later. Nobody is right all the time–not even me. If we can learn to simply admit it, apologize and move on, the whole world will be a much better place.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Sit Down Piggy

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Look, I captured a (feline) bully.

“Sit down piggy. You just sit yourself down you fat b@#$ch!” My mouth hung open as I heard these words leveled at me at a local restaurant. I asked, “Excuse me? What did you say?” and the tirade went on and on. Seriously. They called me piggy and fat b!@#ch over and over again. Apparently these two young mothers (apparently sisters) didn’t have a whole lot of interesting things to say. (Frankly, I’ve faced more creative bullying from 8-year-old kids.) So, not knowing anything about me, they grasped at the one insult they felt sure would leave me dejected and destroyed. But it didn’t quite work. Neither dejected nor destroyed, I simply stood my ground, and looked at them and asked, “What is the matter with you people?”
I could go into a long drawn out story about how we got to this moment. Two birthday parties right next to one another in a very crowded restaurant. We could hash out details about who gave whom a dirty look and which children were running amok. And so on. And so on. But I can tell you that after everyone else in their party had left, and on their way out the door these two women, walked by our table and said, “I hope you enjoy your party, you b$#ches!” Which led me to walk up to them and say, “Excuse me?”. Thus launching them into the tiresome and oh so repetitive “fat piggy” tirade.

Like so many of us, I had a severe attack of staircase wit afterwards. I thought of 1,000 things I wish I had said about the wonderful example they were setting for their darling children, the fact that they were willing to go to unbelievable lengths to avoid taking any personal responsibility for anything, and their astonishing lack of creativity in the playground taunting department. But you know what I really wish? I wish I had recorded them on my camera phone. I wish I could save that moment and share it with the world. I wish I could show others exactly what people of size put up with every day. Because I know this happens every day.

In this particular situation, I knew I was headed into a minefield. I was confronting someone who had bullied me. But so often, while minding our own business, walking down the street, shopping at a grocery store or riding a bike, we face bullying and teasing and harsh words for no reason at all. We are mooed at. We have people comment about the contents of our plates or our shopping carts. We have insults hurled at us from speeding cars. And I could go on and on about the unspeakably horrible things people leave in the comments sections of our pages and blogs and online profiles. Those of us who are fat, know this. We know that abuse happens all the time. And it happens to nearly all of us at one time or another.

But many folks who are average sized or thin, do not know about this abuse. They have no idea what fat people go through. I suspect many of them would be horrified if they saw this behavior. And I think if they saw this with their own eyes on a blog or on YouTube, some of them just might choose to rally behind us fatties.

So the next time this happens, I hope I have the presence of mind to channel my inner documentary filmmaker, pull out my cell phone and record that nonsense for posterity. I’ll let the world see the ugliness these bullies throw down. Future bullies had just better watch out. They may become an unwitting star in my big fat reality show.

And if you just happen to capture on your cell phone some video of the bullies being nasty, closed minded and possibly not very creative towards you, could you send me a link the video? Just send the link to jeanette@thefatchick.com and put “I captured a bully” in the subject line. I’m putting together a little project called “capture the bullies” to shine a light on this ongoing hateful nonsense.

In any case, it’s important to keep in mind that no matter what, we don’t have to let the bullies rule our lives and we don’t have to let them win. Because as I along with several others have pointed out via Ragen Chastain’s amazing project, we are better than the bullies.

Stay strong my friends.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Stuff That Weighs More Than Me: Kermit the Frog Balloon from Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

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I love parades. Well to qualify, I love watching the holiday parades in my jammies in front of the TV accompanied by a box of cereal and some milk and a warm blankie. I’ve always loved watching the Tournament of Roses parade on New Year’s Day and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. So naturally, I thought I’d turn to yesterday’s Macy’s Parade to find fodder for today’s blog.

One character that has been a mainstay of the parade since I was a kid is Kermit the Frog. I must confess that I am an avid Muppets fan, and those fuzzy little guys hosted my absolute favorite childhood TV show, “The Muppet Show”. So naturally, I’ve always loved the giant Kermit the Frog balloon from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

It, turns out that Kermit has had an interesting run as a parade balloon. The balloon was “launched” during the 1977 Thanksgiving Day Parade. Apparently the real Kermit the Frog was on hand to report about the balloon (in his Muppet News Flash garb complete with a trench coat, press fedora hat and microphone). Reportedly, Kermit expressed his chagrin that his giant balloon counterpart was naked. Kermit has appeared live at the parade several times throughout the years.

The original Kermit the Frog balloon suffered a few major incidents over the years. In 1985, the balloon ripped along its stomach and lost over 80 percent of its helium. Apparently it was carried for the last part of the parade route by its balloon handlers. In 1991 the balloon caught on some trees in Central Park West, tearing a hole in the balloon. One again, the balloon was carried much of the way by his balloon handlers. The balloon was cheered wildly by spectators as he appeared to “swim” down the street.

After the 1991 incident, a new Kermit the Frog balloon was created, and it was that version that we saw in yesterday’s parade. Here’s the stats:

Width: 36 ft.

Height: 61 ft.

Length: 78 ft.

Volume: 11,000 cubic feet of helum

Weight: Well over 1,000 lbs.

Conclusion: The Kermit the Frog Balloon from Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade weighs more than me.

Thursday Theater: With a Thankful Heart

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Good morning my dear Chicklettes! This Thanksgiving I am grateful for so many things! And, in addition to my wonderful heart, I am especially grateful for the amazing and wonderful gift of my whole mind and my entire body:

Feet that step and skip and dance,
Legs that have carried me towards my loved ones and all that I dream,
Knees that flex under the load I sometimes have to carry, and kneel in awe of the beauty of this world,
Thighs that make a lap for holding warm, squirmy, squiggly children and a resting place for the chin of my fabulous dog, Max,
Hips that sway and shimmy and shake to the beat of the beautiful old earth, and make a place to rest my hands when arms akimbo, I face the dangers and toils of this world,
A round, soft bottom that cushions me when I fall,
A warm, generous tummy that creates the energy I need to live and love and shakes merrily when I giggle and gufflaw at the delicious absurdity of life,
A broad back that allows me to bend down to help others and help shoulder their load,
An expansive chest that swells when I breathe the rich and wonderful air, that powers my speech and my song, that gives me a place to cradle that which is beloved,
A powerful neck that allows me to turn my head and see not only that which is right in front of my eyes, but all of the wonder that surrounds me,
Lips to kiss,
Tongue to taste,
Teeth to bite when the need arises,
Eyes that convey the beauty of the universe to my mind and allow others to see into my soul,
Ears that record the music of the earth from the soft shushing of the surf to the boom of a storm to the whisper of a lover sharing a secret,
And a heart and mind capable of recognizing the incomprehensible nature of the gift which I have received.

Here’s hoping that Thanksgiving is full of all that makes you happy and joyfully devoid of the stuff that tempts you to choose to relinquish your peace.

Love,

The Fat Chick