Tag Archives: bullying

Bullying is Ugly, But we Need to Look at it with “A Brave Heart”

This ugly, UGLY picture was taken today of a poster that was taped to a wall at Northern High School in Calvert County, MD. There’s a lot of argument about the poster–which we will get to in a minute. But in the meantime, let me tell you just what interesting timing this poster has for me personally.

As I sat in the audience last night at a Producers Guild Pre-release screening of “A Brave Heart–The Lizzie Velasquez story” I heard the people around me gasp. We had reached the part of Lizzie’s story where she recalled at age 17 finding an unauthorized video of herself posted on YouTube. The video was captioned “The Ugliest Woman in the World” and had been seen over 4 million times. And the comments–oh the comments. People said things like , “Why didn’t her parents abort her?” and “Kill it with fire!!!” I heard people whisper things like, “oh my God!” and “I can’t believe it.”

I could believe it. I haven’t lived Lizzie’s Velasquez’ story. Nobody but Lizzie has lived that amazing life. But I’ve lived with the hate. I’ve read comments like that on my own blog and twitter feed and especially my YouTube account. I’ve swapped stories with other fat activists about the death threats and the rape threats and the doxxing and all other forms of online harassment that so many of us experience on a daily basis. And I thought how privileged some of the people in that audience were–that they didn’t really know that sort of online hate existed. That they found it difficult to believe.

I was so proud of my husband, who stood up during the Q&A to relate that he had been completely ignorant of how bad the online climate was, of how unbelievably ugly it could be, until he started reading some of the comments that people have directed at his own wife. He reiterated how important this movie was–how relevant it was–because adults need to understand just how bad it is out there.

The movie, directed by Sara Bordo also talked about how dire the consequences of bullying can be. Lizzie arose triumphantly out of her bullying experience. But Tina Meier’s daughter didn’t arise from the bullying at all. After some particularly bad cyberbullying by her peers, Meier’s daughter committed suicide. Tina and Lizzie have teamed up–working to get new federal antibullying legislation passed in the US.

Again, as the audience came to this point in the story, many gasped or covered their mouths in shock. I simply nodded my head and cried. Because I already knew Megan’s story. I knew what had happened to her. And I knew, just a little of what she felt. Because as I told Lizzie and Sara after the screening and the Q&A, I could have been one of those kids. I might have not made it out. I was bullied relentlessly as a teenager. I came home sobbing, vomiting and covered with hives from the stress of it. At times I felt I could no longer take it. But I got relief. I didn’t have email or a Facebook account. At the end of the day, I could escape at home to my loving family. I had two whole days per week free of it. Today’s kids do not. Because of social media, these kids have to deal with this 24 hours per day and seven days a week. Given that situation, I honestly don’t know if I would have made it.

Lizzie and Sara at the PGA screening.

But this is not a fun or easy or comfortable subject. Many people who don’t have to deal with this sort of bullying would rather imagine that “it’s not really that bad” or “it’s not that big of a deal.” Which leads me to the picture posted above. A student took a photo of that poster. The picture was posted online and has gone viral. The original poster stated that the photographer believed that the poster had been taped up with the at least tacit permission of at least one teacher. And the feathers are flying. Many people are demanding answers. Did a teacher know about this poster? Did a teacher give permission or at least know it was being posted? Who is the kid responsible for this thing? And are they being disciplined?

Naturally the social media frenzy puts the school in a bad light. But in a classic case of spin cycle, the Superintendent stated:

We are aware that a photo is being circulated on social media of a poster from NHS that makes a mean and inappropriate reference to obese students. That poster was not approved by any teacher or staff member and was up no longer than five minutes. The matter is being appropriately handled by the administration.

This is a good example to all of how a 5 minute bad idea can live forever on social media and be distributed with inaccurate references to good people. Rather than having a lifespan of 5 minutes, this poster (with the help of many well-meaning people) was effectively copied and posted in every hallway, classroom, and home. You can help put an end to the unfair reference to NHS staff and the continued distribution of this inappropriate message by deleting or, at the very least, refusing to pass it along. Thank you.

There is a certain amount of sense in choosing not to spread hate with wild abandon. That’s why I didn’t link to Ms. Arbour’s nonsense and don’t give clicks to a lot of other ugly things out there. But there are some problems with this response. First of all 5 seconds in the eyes of a particularly vulnerable person are enough to do irrevocable harm. 5 minutes, in a high school hallway, is an eternity. And while I respect the school’s right to deal with this problem according to its own policies, I have to vehemently disagree with the idea that simply not sharing this photo will make the problem go away. (It won’t.) And I think that people need to be confronted with the level of nasty that truly exists before they are tempted to say they don’t have time to be “P.C.” that fat people are just whining and that fat shaming is an imaginary concept. It is so very, very, very real.

That’s why I applaud Sara Bordo and Lizzie Velasquez for having the courage to show the bullying it all its true ugliness. Refusing to censor Lizzie’s hate messages along with refusing to drop Megan’s suicide story resulted in the movie receiving a controversial PG13 rating. This means that most schools won’t be able to screen the film because of the rating. I find it fascinating that any kid old enough to move a mouse can be exposed to this online without warning and without context or support. But a movie that explains how bad it is and gives kids and adults tools to discuss it is rated PG 13.

With Lizzie at the screening.

I really want to recommend that you and yours find a way to see this amazing film. It is a stark look at the brutality of bullying. It is also a warm, ultimately uplifting story about how bullying can be (sometimes) overcome. It’s a great starting point for the deep conversations we need to be having about this topic–however more comfortable it might seem to simply walk (or run) away from it.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. I’d like to remind you that the Fat Activism conference is just a few short weeks away. Ragen and the organizing committee and I have put together an absolutely amazing lineup of speakers who can help you figure out just exactly what can be done.

Weight (Stigma) Affects School Children’s Grades

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My dear friend and colleague Angela Meadows recently penned this important article for The Conversation discussing the issues surrounding weight, school children and academic performance. There have been a number of studies over the years linking higher weights with lower performance in school–particularly among female pre-teens and teenagers. Many of these studies have sought and eliminated co-variables in other health issues, potential depression and the onset of menses in women. However, many of these early studies seemed to avoid what would seem the most obvious connection between school performance and weight–the impact of weight stigma on school children of all ages (especially girls).

Angela then shared with us the results of a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health specifically documenting the results of weight stigma on kids in school. For the most part, the study which followed over 3,000 kids for over 10 years found no significant difference in test scores for the kids who became fatter. However, the study indicated that as the students weights went up, the teacher’s evaluation of the kids abilities went down. (Primarily for reading in girls and math in boys). And to a certain extent, as weights went up, the students evaluations of their own abilities went down. Although, the studies didn’t specifically measure attitudes of weight bias in teachers, Angela pointed to other studies that do just that.

Angela goes on to discuss important research linking weight stigma to bullying by other children as well as studies that indicate that much of the lag in academic achievement by fatter kids can be explained by bullying from both fellow students and educators.

I have not been shy in the past in saying and saying and SAYING that stigma does not make people healthier, happier or thinner. In fact weight stigma makes people less likely to seek medical treatment, leads to disordered eating and risky behaviors, leads to more stress, anxiety and illness and yes, leads to lower academic performance. And since there is literally no scientifically proven way to help most people lose a lot of weight and keep it off, perhaps telling people to lose weight to avoid this stigma is ill advised.

We know that weight-based stigma is harmful for people of all ages, yet we continue to march in the war on obesity for the fatties’ own good. We continue to fight body fat and ignore the plain fact that it is our societal attitude towards fat people that is causing much of the damage. We continue to wring our hands and shout “What about the children?” as an excuse for maintaining this war on big bodies, without addressing the simple fact that the number one casualty of the “war on obesity” seems to be from “friendly fire” on the folks we are purporting to help. At what point will we finally realize that stigmatizing children into a fruitless attempt to change their body size so that they can avoid weight stigma is at best, seriously messed up?

I hope that moment is coming and I hope it is coming soon. Our kids have enough to deal with just trying to grow up in this world without being victimized by the very people who we engage to help them. I hope that we can start some efforts to seriously help our educators and child caretakers recognize weight bias in themselves and work to push past it. I hope that we can stop allowing our kids to be collateral damage from a war that it is nearly impossible for them to win.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

Kids, Bullying and Plastic Surgery

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I was somewhat floored this weekend as I listened to a brief radio report on my local public radio station about kids and plastic surgery. The story (which made reference in the intro to Renee Zellweger’s altered appearance at a recent awards show) talked about the number of kids having plastic surgery and the reasons behind it. The report opens by talking about the number of teenagers who have had Botox (TM) in 2013. According to the report, that number is 17,958. Now the report was careful to state that most of these procedures were for medical reasons. Botox is used to treat migraines, strabismus (cross eyed) and facial spasms. Yet when all was said and done, over 1,000 of these Botox procedures were performed on kids in America for “purely cosmetic reasons”.

Now I’m not going to tell any parent or kid what they should do with their own bodies. It’s their body and their choice. I don’t think I would let me kid have Botox treatments (if I had one). But you know what, I think it’s a lot easier to judge if you are not in the situation. In fact the report went on to state that cosmetic procedures are on the rise among young people, and experts suggest that the reasons for that rise probably include social media culture and the rise of the “selfie” as well as a rise in bullying in our schools.

My knee jerk reaction at the time was, why aren’t they fixing the BULLYING? Why are kids undergoing the risks and rigors of plastic surgery all because kids can’t stop being mean? And then I remembered my own school days. There was a period in my school life, after I had moved to a new school where I was bullied relentlessly. I was verbally abused and physically abused. I had my property repeatedly stolen or damaged. It was so bad, that I often got physically sick from the stress of it all. My parents were extremely worried, but I felt that their involvement would only make it much, much worse. There was no surgery that could have fixed my situation. And even if there were, I doubt we could have afforded it. But I wonder, if there were a medical fix, that we could afford if we would have used it. I was miserable. My parents were deeply concerned. Would we have undergone a medical risk if it meant that the problem would go away? I don’t know.

What I do know is that not all people who are bullied can have that problem fixed by surgery. The reasons for the bullying are not always physical or may not be easily physically corrected. And even for surgery that is readily available, a whole lot of people cannot afford it. And this lack of access to procedures that can make our social media selfie red carpet ready is just another gaping chasm between the haves and the have nots in our world. So on the one hand I sort of feel like the families that are “opting out” of bullying by changing their physical appearance are making things even harder for the families that do not have that privilege.

It’s easy to heap scorn on the families who seem to take the whole notion of cosmetic surgery very lightly. The report stated that husband/wife cosmetic surgeries are followed only by mommy/daughter plastic surgeries in popularity. It’s easy to heap scorn on the privileged families who hand out boob jobs as high school graduation presents.

But I’d like to suggest that not all cases of kids and families choosing plastic surgery over bullying are quite that simple. If I could have had a surgery to make the bullying stop, might I have done that? I honestly don’t know. And if I had done it, how would my life have turned out differently? Would I be as strong? Maybe not? Would I be less fearful now? Would I take greater emotional risks at this point because I spent less time as a target–less time being wounded? And if my parents had chosen that route would they be wrong for perpetuating the need for perfection just because they wanted me to live my best life, be less in pain?

I don’t really know all the answers here, and I think that’s a good thing. In my mind this is not a simple or black and white thing. I sincerely believe that we need to change the culture of perfectionism, social media shallowness and cruel bullying among young people. And I think that erasing differences by changing whatever faults the bullies choose to target in their victims ultimately make things worse for all of us. But I think it’s important to view this subject through the lens of compassion. Because if back then, when I was a kid, I would have been able to undergo a brief medical procedure that would make the bullying stop, even for a minute, I don’t know that I wouldn’t have done just that.

Love, Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. Want me to come to your school and talk about bullying? BOOK ME!

P.S.S. Want free stuff? Join my mailing list!

The Childhood Obesity Challenge

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Uuuuugh! Well we’re halfway through “Harass Kids About Their Weight Month” otherwise known as “Let’s Build Eating Disorders As Young As Possible Month” or “Childhood Obesity Awareness Month”. I’ve mentioned before how I feel about this. I can’t think of any adult or child in this country who is not aware that the dominant culture likes little kids to be thin. I don’t know of any kids who aren’t aware, by age five or six, that thinner is better. And this whole month seems designed to amp up the shame felt by larger kids and parents of larger kids to “11”.

This was brought home to me in a very visceral way today as I read a facebook post by a parent who had a negative reaction to being nominated for “The Childhood Obesity Challenge” on facebook. I have no idea how widespread this “challenge” is. Apparently a “friend” in this woman’s feed posted an apres workout “sweaty” (that’s a selfie where the folks are sweatin’ y’all) with the following text:

“Another sweaty for (fb friend)’s call to action for childhood obesity. Children learn from example. I will challenge some amazing parents I know to do the same. You all inspire me and make me better.”

Only problem, the parent with the negative reaction had been a fat kid. She understood the real challenges of being an obese kid in a fat-hating world. And her kid was also not as thin as some in society deemed acceptable. And her kid was facing health challenges that made exercise difficult. Yet there she was, nominated to post a picture of her sweating after a workout to prove to kids they shouldn’t be fat.

Seriously.

Yes, kids do learn by example. And if we want our kids to be healthy, here are a few options of things we could model:

1. Let’s choose not to judge by appearances. You don’t know what is happening in another person’s life by looking at them. You don’t know if they are healthy by looking at them. Let’s not make snap decisions about a person’s health or moral worth because of how they look.

2. Exercise can be fun! Let’s not ruin exercise by making it about arbitrarily changing our body size. Let’s make it about getting together and having a great time! Because sometimes moving our bodies feels awesome!

3. Exercise can be fun, but it’s not a moral obligation. And exercise is a whole lot easier for some people than for others. Let’s decide not to worry about how much exercise other people are doing. And let’s decide on exercise for ourselves based on our own bodies and how we feel.

4. Let’s not panic about our body size! People come in all shapes and sizes. There are greyhounds in this world and there are pit bulls. Everybody looks a little different than everybody else and that’s okay.

5. Let’s not boil down a very complex issue like childhood obesity into some silly facebook game, okay? Let’s choose to accept that body size is influenced by a wide variety of factors–both inside and outside of our control–and learn to love our bodies as they are. That way we won’t feel quite so much need to judge other people’s bodies, okay? (See point #1).

And if modeling points 1 through 5 doesn’t work, we could always model how to fake a sweaty. (A little blush, a little water spritzed on the face and hair and TA DAAAA instant sweaty!)

Or if you want to be more professional about it:

I can’t help but be frustrated by the whole notion of Childhood Obesity Awareness Month as it currently stands. It’s time for a Childhood Weight Stigma Awareness Month. During this month we could talk about how to help kids avoid eating disorders, we could talk about how bullying based on size is at record levels, and we could talk about how social media is pressuring kids and parents more than ever to have “perfect bodies” at all times. That’s a movement I could get behind.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. Want to hear me speak with YOUR group about how to teach fitness to kids in a way that isn’t damaging to them? Book me to speak!

P.S.S. Want to get free stuff? Join my list!

A Sensible Approach to Healthy Kids

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Folks of ALL ages dancing their hearts out!

I have to admit that the blog post I did on Monday broke my heart. The idea that it is even possible that a six-year-old girl may have died because of weight stigma is just so sad. I need to reiterate, that none of us can know precisely what that doctor was thinking. But the testimony she gave at her own trial makes me more than a little suspicious.

And you know what? It doesn’t have to be this way.

There are far simpler ways to help kids be healthy. Not the least of which is simply helping them find safe places to play and joyful places to move their bodies. Because one of the best things we can do to help kids be healthy is offer them fun ways to get exercise. Yet another study came out this week that indicates that cognitive abilities among kids have a lot more to do with fitness levels than BMI. But this fact, doesn’t seem to deter those who feel the best way to help kids be healthy is to send home a BMI report card. Despite the fact that BMI is very loosely correlated with health in young children, and that focusing on BMI makes kids more likely to develop eating disorders, and that focusing on BMI tends to lead to shame in kids which not only makes them develop other bad health behaviors, but also tends to make them gain weight, we are STILL PERPETRATING THIS NONSENSE IN SCHOOLS. Let’s focus on helping kids be healthy without increasing the risk from eating disorders. Remember this chart?

Helping kids be healthy can be positive and fun. This past weekend I led some fitness demonstrations at a local event. The City of Hope hosted its Foothill Fitness Challenge event here in Duarte and over 1,200 people showed up. It was so much fun! I led two fun dance demonstrations and was so excited to see moms and dads and kids all dancing together and having a good time. Check it out:

It made my heart so happy. Little kids and big kids and grandmas were all dancing together. If we want to help kids be happy, LET’S DO THAT! Let’s find some kids, put on some music and dance with them. Sure maybe it’s simplistic, but it’s also fun and is likely to do no harm.

So what do you say? I challenge you to connect with a kid and go out and play this week. Dance, bike, throw a ball around–whatever makes you (and them) happy.

Love,

Jeanette (AKA The Fat Chick)

Talking about Bullying

Thursday Theater: Dancing Queen

For the 100th Time, Shaming People Doesn’t Help!

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This week I ran across even more research that indicates that shaming fat people does not turn them into thin people. This is hardly the first time this sort of research has surfaced. I’ve talked about this many, many, many times. But somehow, it seems nearly impossible to get public policy people and health people to get it through their heads. They still advocate BMI report cards and singling kids out for special “health interventions” and still do not think they need to add “body size” to any of their legislation about bullying. And meanwhile, bullying against fat kids is getting worse.

Maybe we should make them all stay after class and write 100 times on the blackboard, “Shaming people does not make them happy, healthy or thin.” It doesn’t save our country money. It doesn’t save our children. Shaming people about their weight does not do anything positive at all. Shaming or bullying people about their weight:

Despite a mountain of evidence that dieting and shaming don’t work, and a mountain of evidence that dieting and shaming cause harm, we still have public policy and health experts suggesting that we help kids by shaming them and teaching them to diet. I think we just might have to give them all a piece of chalk and make them stay after school.

Love,

The Fat Chick

P.S. Want to learn about a body positive approach to health and wellness? How about checking out my book or my DVD?

The Courage to Try

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In putting together my new college “Love Your Body” speech and in reading Ragen Chastain’s awesome blog post, one thing has been coming up over and over again. That thing is how being uncomfortable with our bodies tends to rob us of our ability to reach our full potential. Ragen talks at length about how many people in our society react with genuine surprise when they encounter a fat person with talent. I have to admit, it’s really got me thinking.

I think any time a person performs in public or even simply raises their hand in class or is willing to take a definite side in a public debate, it takes a lot of courage. Anyone putting themselves out in this way is open to somebody calling them out, calling them names or simply laughing at them. As a fat person, simply walking down the street can be enough to fuel criticism, catcalling or cruelty. Is it any wonder then, that many fat people don’t want to call additional attention to themselves by raising their hand, taking part in a debate or getting up in front of an audience to dance, recite poetry, act or sing?

Lately it seems everywhere we turn we see talented people being publicly ridiculed for their weight. Recently, star actress Melissa McCarthy was skewered by film critic Rex Reed, not for her performance, but rather for being a “cacophonous, tractor-sized, female hippo…who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success…” This woman, with her “short acting career” spanning a mere 17 years, currently stars in a hit prime-time network television show and a movie that opened number one at the box office, has been nominated for over 15 major awards including an Oscar and boasts a Prime Time Emmy on her mantle. Apparently that’s considered a short, gimmicky career if you happen to be fat.

And regardless of how you might feel about Governor Chris Christie’s politics, here’s a guy who’s had a hard time in the public eye. Apparently being a governor who has done yeoman’s work in helping rebuild New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy is not enough to quiet the noise about his weight. Christie faced criticism from Former White House physician Connie Mariano who recently told CNN that she’s worried Christie might die in office were he elected president. When Christie pointed out that Mariano has never examined him or his medical records and therefore has nothing upon which to base this prediction, a wave of sympathy was unleashed–towards the doctor. Mariano responded to Christie’s criticism asking whether he is acting presidential. However, it doesn’t look like anybody is asking whether Mariano is acting like a real doctor by diagnosing a person based on the way he looks in a suit on TV.

So what happens when you are a talented fat person, taking those first tentative steps towards sharing your gifts with the world and you are confronted with these stories? Does it help you feel more courageous? Are you eager to be creative and make yourself vulnerable in a world like this?

I have no doubt that there are millions and millions of deeply creative people in the world who happen to be fat. But in this climate, in this environment, I think it’s a wonder any of us step out into the light. Even those of us who have had tremendous success face constant criticism for our size. We are constantly dismissed because we don’t fit an exceptionally narrow standard of beauty. And so we learn, at a very young age to keep our talents to ourselves, to hide our light under a bushel basket, to be quiet, to be small. And many of us, for fear of being laughed at, may not even try. We may not dance. We may not sing. We may not even speak.

I wonder what we can do to help encourage the young people around us. It’s a tough world out there filled will bullies. Are there kids around us that we can nurture? Can we help the kids around us learn to reach deep inside in this world filled with hate and give it all they’ve got? Can we encourage them to lift their lights out of the bushel baskets and let them shine? We can, if we only have the courage to try.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Buyer Beware: When the Trainers at the Gym are Big Stupid Bullies

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What happens when you sign one of those one-sided, draconian gym contracts and then find yourself verbally and emotionally abused by the trainers in that gym? Think you’ll get out of the contract? Maybe, maybe not. In the ever growing pile of “stuff on my facebook feed that makes me totally aggro” was this story on a site called Consumerist. This site shares stories of people who feel they have been ripped off. I am disappointed that the Consumerist felt the need to redact the name of the gym, although they are happy to name other companies (Kohl’s, Michaels) in other stories. Maybe they felt that the gym was so small it might be a little too easy to figure out who the bad guys are and where they park their cars.

Anywho, the story’s victims, Shayla and Mr. Shayla joined a gym. They took the first of their two “free personal training” sessions with a trainer who “pressured them” to sign up for personal training services. (*Note this happens very often in some gyms.) When the couple (both plus-sized) mentioned that they were going to try on their own for a while, the trainer looks at their bellies and says, “Obviously what you’re doing so far, isn’t working.” So Shayla and Mr. Shayla tell the manager they want a different trainer for their second (and final) free training session. But now the first trainer is harassing Shayla and Mr. Shayla at every opportunity. The wronged couple jumps through many hoops to try to talk to a manager. When they finally get through, they ask to be let out of their contract. They are denied at every level. As Shayla says, “I am forced to watch them deduct money from my credit card each month (a portion of which, naturally, goes to my abuser), with no recourse until my contract expires.”

At the end of the article there’s an opinion poll asking:

Should the gym let Shayla out of her contract?

___No. If she doesn’t want people to point and laugh, she should lose more weight.

___No. She should wait and see whether her complaint does any good first.

___It’s her fault for not buying personal training sessions.

___Yes. Everyone should be able to find exercise that suits them in a respectful, jerk-free environment.

First of all, let me tell you that I was able to maintain the tiny thread of hope I hold out for humanity when I saw the responses–over 92 percent voted for the final “yes” response. But I have to tell you, I thought of a few other options:

__Yes. And if the company won’t do it, she should contact her local television station and share the story for a potential “expose” story. Lots of stations love these stories and companies should expect public humiliation when they allow their employees to humiliate customers.

___Yes. And Mr. and Mrs. Shayla should get x-large t-shirts printed that say, “I don’t train with [Name of personal trainer] cuz’ he’s a bully.” and hand them out in the gym parking lot.

___Yes. And somebody should remind that gym about what happened when 24 Hour Fitness thought it was cool to put up billboards that were insulting to fat folks.

___Yes. And redacted, my @ss. I need the address, phone number and license plate number of that bozo that was doing the bullying!

But seriously folks, there are a few important lessons to be learned here. One lesson is to be very, very careful when you join a gym–especially for a period of time of one year or longer. There are many super-awesome completely reputable gyms that will give you a wonderful, safe, comfortable place to work out. There are, unfortunately, also a number of gyms out there who just want to get you to sign a contract and will never, ever, like for any reason, let you out of it. They don’t care if you have a good experience. In fact their idea of the perfect customer is the one who is a perpetual member who never, ever shows up at the gym. Don’t believe me? Go take a look at some of the complaints with your local Better Business Bureau. I’ll bet at least one group is about a lousy gym with bad business practices. Buyer beware, people. Check out Yelp. Google the name of the gym you are considering and the word “complaint”. Ask around. If you do get a contract, there should be a reasonable clause in it for both parties to opt out. Don’t listen to any glib verbal assurances given by the salespeople. Go with what’s written on the paper. Consider trying the gym for a month or even three before signing up with a contract. If there are no month to month or even 3-month options, consider this a red flag and check even closer into the gym’s practices. Again many gyms are awesome, but some clearly are not. Be careful.

And finally, yay for Shayla and Mr. Shayla for standing up for themselves. There is no excuse for any fitness professional to treat you with anything other than courtesy and respect. EVER. None. Zero. Nada. If this happens to you, call it out, complain about it, but don’t put up with it. Because people of all sizes deserve courtesy and respect.

Love,
The Fat Chick

P.S. Looking for a safe place to work out? How about your living room? You could always try my live streaming classes. They are totally cost and contract FREE!

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