Tag Archives: dogs

Beauty diversity and unlikely animal buddies.

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Well this video recently surfaced in my facebook feed (thanks Gina) and I woke up singing the song and thinking of these adorable animals.  It was much more pleasant than the mental tug of war that is finding a topic for a blog post today.  And then it hit me–do a blog post about adorable animals playing with their pals.  Win. Win.

So today, I’m going to talk about body diversity.  The super cool thing about this video is how all the animals are different.  The monkey can play with the dog without telling the dog to look more like a monkey.  The dog and the dolphin can swim together without the dog having to engage in a streamlining program or getting a blow hole cut in his noggin.  And the dolphin can swim with the dog without feeling any particular need to join “Crazy LEGS(TM) a new process to grow legs in just 8 weeks!”

And it really made me think about our current standard of beauty.  It made me think about how so much of our society is shaped around the notion that if we just looked like a movie star or a beauty queen or a male stripper, everything would be just peachy keen and wonderful.  This is so silly, and so sad and so very, very wrong.  It’s a Barbie world, where all the girls should look like Barbie–tall, tiny waist, large breasts, smooth and flowing blonde hair, tiny feet and all.  Never mind that many believe that Barbie’s proportions are not only unlikely but also perhaps impossible.  (Some suggest if Barbie were an actual women, she would be 5’9″ tall, have a 39″ bust, an 18″ waist, 33″ hips and a size 3 shoe.  She would have a BMI of about 16 and would likely not menstruate.)  Yet as we’ve heard before and will undoubtedly hear again, it’s a Barbie world.

But seriously, where’s the fun in that?  It would be pretty boring if we all looked the same.  And trying to turn dogs into dolphins or vice versa could be endlessly profitable (if anybody could convince them that this needed to happen) but doesn’t seem likely to meet with any success or lead to happier canines or aquatic mammals.

So here’s to our diversity.  Here’s to our beauty in all it’s differences.  And here’s to keeping our money to go out and have a whole lot of fun with our very best buds.

Love, Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. Want me to come and speak to your school or church group or organization or business about body diversity?  Check out my speaking page here!

Slugs on Hamster Wheels, Belly Flopping Corgis and Other Poster Creatures for Unselfconscious Exercise

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Okay, so the video visual quality is not awesome.  But even before I saw it, the title had me giggling.  I mean “A Slug using a Running Wheel”?  Come On!  When I watched it, I laughed until tears came.  Because you know what?  That slug is not really worried about whether or not he is defying my expectations for fitness.  He’s not worried about what sort of gym clothes he should be wearing or where he will place in the all animal 5 meter sprint.  He’s just going about his business doing his thing.  He’s just cruisin’ along.

Some wonderful art from our friend at http://babbler-slimyslugfriends.blogspot.com/

And in doing my research for this blog post (by which I mean tootling around on Google this morning) I’ve learned that the humble slug is actually an athletic mascot!  Yes!  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Fighting Banana Slugs of U.C. Santa Cruz!

     

Seriously.  I want to go back to school for the express purpose of an Alma Mater with fighting Banana Slugs for a mascot.  For. Realz.

All of this reminded me of another delicious animal video on YouTube.  Check this one out:

Classic!  I love corgis and have a sweet corgi/chow chow mix at home.  (We’ve affectionately named him a chorgi!)  And I love this video.  While there is no question that this dog is out of contention for Olympic medals in high or even very low dive, there is also no question this dog is having a blast.  He’s not covered in existential angst.  He’s not worried whether the springer spaniel down the street is going to look better than him or make fun of him.  This little corgi is just having a blast and doing his thing!

dogsign1 copyAnd all of this has made me wonder.  Maybe we need some animal fitspiration in our lives.  Maybe instead of looking at photos of perfectly tan, hairless, glistening human bodies presumably in the process of working out, we should just watch some dogs and cats and chickens and dolphins frolicking, playing and having a great time.  Because when I’m looking for fitspiration, that’s what I want–examples of pure, unselfconscious, unadulterated fun!

What do you think?  Send me some links of some of  your favorite inspirational  exercising animals.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

Resolve to have More Creative Resolutions

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Diet_NoIt’s the time of year when all of us size acceptance and HAES (R) folks start talking about why you shouldn’t diet as your New Year’s Resolution.  And I’m sure you’ll hear plenty of good reasons like: it doesn’t work, it makes you crabby, it messes up your metabolism, it will probably make you fatter, it fills your life with shame, it messes up your self esteem and it doesn’t work.  (I know I said “it doesn’t work” twice, but I think it’s important enough to bear repeating, um, again apparently.)  But you know what?  I’d like to add another reason for not making dieting your New Year’s Resolution to the pile.  And that reason is: it’s a really boring resolution.  I mean, is that seriously the best resolution you can come up with?  “I’m going to go on a diet,” is just not original and it’s not fun.

I strongly believe that if you can inject a little more fun into the New Year’s Resolution process, you’ve got a much better chance for success.  I’ve often said the same about exercise in general.  Fun makes everything better.  And into every person’s life comes the moment where you need to decide if you are going to put time and energy into your resolution or if you’re going to sit on the sofa, eat some cheesy poofs and watch that Saturday marathon of Project Runway reruns.  If your resolution doesn’t have any fun in it, if it’s not sort of enjoyable in some way, which do you think you’re gonna pick?  Let’s get real here.

Bored kitteh finds New Year’s Resolutions boring…

That is why I am SUPER excited about a few things we’ve got coming down the pike here!  For one, I’m still collecting photos and videos for our New New Years Resolution project.  I’d like to make a new video like the one last year, but this time, I’d like to feature YOU.  But in order for this to work, I need your photos by midnight on January 31st.  So PLEASE send your photos to projects@thefatchick.com ASAP!

Next I want to tell you about a little debauchery that Ragen and I are cooking up on the Fit Fatties Forum.  This year we are hosting a Fit Fatty Decathlon as part of our Fit Fatty  Virtual Events series.  What is that?  So glad you asked!  The Fit Fatty Decathlon is a series of lots of events that you can choose and complete on your own or with friends.  Register for the events, complete 10 of them, submit photographic evidence, post on Facebook (‘cuz otherwise it never happened) and you my friend are a Fit Fatty Decathlon Finisher!  Some of the events are pretty typical (walk/run/roll a 5K).  But some of these events include sustained temper tantrums, playing with dogs, hula hooping and running after toddlers!  (Extra points if you do all of these at the same time.)  You can learn all about it HERE.

custom_tote_bagBy the way, I should mention that prices for the Fit Fatty Decathlon are scheduled to go up significantly (like I mean a lot) after January 1.  There’s even a contest for submitting the wackiest idea for your own event.  I mean come on.  How much fun is that?  So stop your darn procrastinating and SIGN UP RIGHT NOW!  Here for your clicking convenience is that LINK AGAIN.

Whatever your new year brings to you, I hope you find a way to approach it with fun.  Life is full of challenges.  And sometimes life just sucks!  Having a little fun can help get you through.  Here’s to a year full of love and light and laughing until your belly hurts!

Love, Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. Want a gift to help you learn how to feel good about your body?  This month I’m giving away “5 Things That can Help You Love Your Body Right Now! for free to members of my clique.  Just opt in RIGHT HERE!

Thursday Theater: Sled Dogs

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Just in time for the new year, I present some very, very happy doggies sledding in the snow. I do this for two reasons.

Reason #1: This video makes me laugh and feel happy every time I watch it.

Reason #2: I’d like to talk with you about one of my favorite New Year’s Resolutions. This year, I’m going to resolve to get more happy, fabulous, fun and JOYFUL movement into my life. I want to move more just for the fun of it–sorta like these dogs are doing. I want to run and romp and play just because I can.

Because I ask you–do you think these dogs are calculating the number of calories they are burning? Do you think they are wearing fitness monitors that tell them if they are in their “target training zone”? Are they pulling out their iPhones to record their number of sets? NO! They are just running around, tongues hanging out, and having as much fun as possible before someone tells them they have to come inside.

Now let me be clear. There’s nothing wrong with tracking details of your exercise program if that makes you happy. By all means use whatever iPhone app or tracking program or digital device that makes you happy. Whatever works for YOU.

But as for me, I’m aiming for more playtime followed by grown-up nap time this year.  I want to smell the seasons in the air and jump around and dance like a silly person and collapse with giggles.  I hope to have as much fun with my exercise routine in 2013 as those guys in the video up there, and I hope you do to!

Love,

The Fat Chick

P.S. If you live anywhere near the LA area, you can join us for a super fun dance extravaganza on January 6.  Details coming soon!

And it’s always fun to join us for our free live streaming workouts.  They are starting back up this year on January 5 and will air Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings from 8:30–9:30 PST.  Just go to this link to watch and dance with us LIVE!

Thursday Theater: Confirmation Bias

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The video posted above is hilarious. I mean I LOL’d big time. But then I started thinking. I thought–what an amazing example of how our society filters information to confirm what we already believe. I mean nothing in the video is really proven. There’s no evidence that cats are better than dogs. And most of the stuff in the video is totally made up. The back story of the video is invented in a way that “proves” the central thesis of the filmmaker.

Sound familiar? I mean how often have we seen a video of a headless fatty shot from a low angle displayed in slow-motion? And how often is this video used to “prove” that there something wrong with bigger people? And how often are these videos accompanied by a completely manufactured back story that have no basis in actual fact?

So my little Chicklettes as funny as the “Scientific Proof that Cats are Better than Dogs” may be, I’d love for you to use it as a primer. Use it to learn how the media manipulates images to make us inferior or less than. How often are these images used to make us believe we have to run out and buy special products to change our lives? And please remember that clever use of Photoshop and editing software do not constitute “scientific proof”

Love,
The Fat Chick

4-Legged Stress Relievers

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There is a lot of evidence out there that pets are a great way to relieve stress in our lives.  That’s not to say they are stress-free.  As anyone who has ever blotted desperately at Grandma’s hand tied-wool rug or stared despondently at the back of their once pristine leather sofa knows, pets can certainly be the cause of stress as well.  But there is more and more research linking pet ownership to lower incidence of heart disease, better stress management, lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure.  One study indicates that people who owned cats were 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack.

So my little chicklettes, here’s my prescription for stress relief: spend some time with some four legged critters.  If you already own them, spend a little more time loving on them.  And if you can’t own a pet, why not spend a little time volunteering at your local animal shelter?  There are lots and lots of wonderful dogs waiting for walkies.  And you get a 3-fer the price of one: exercise, stress relief and making the world a better place, all in one go!

Love,

The Fat Chick