Tag Archives: exercise

Taking a Vacation from a Common Equation: Calories in, Calories Out

Myrtle, Esther and Bessie take a little trip outside of their comfort zone…

For the past few days, I’ve been back in Missouri. First we went to Rolla where my husband was presented with an honorary degree for his ongoing work in computer science. (Seriously, how cool is that?) And now we’re in St. Louis catching up with some of our friends that we haven’t seen in a few years. So I thought this morning I would talk about being on vacation and how it might apply to my work in size acceptance.

One thing that being on vacation can do is give you a broader perspective on how people live in other parts of the world. One thing that I ran across this week (as I was “on vacation” from doing more productive work on my computer) was this article containing 23 photos of people next to how much food they eat per day.

Marble Moahi, Mother Living with HIV/AIDS, Botswana – 900 Calories

What struck me so much about these pictures, besides the fascinating variety of different types of food consumed was the drastic differences in calorie consumption among these people. The Botswana woman above is pictured with the meager meals she eats each day totaling just 900 calories. Compare that with the picture of the man below.

Willie Ishulutak, Soapstone Carver, Canada – 4,700 Calories

This fellow is pictured with over 4,700 calories which he eats each day. Notice anything interesting here? How about this. Willie Ishulutak eats over 5 times as many calories as Marble Moahi. Now there is little question that some of Willie’s calories are, um, liquid. But he clearly consumes a lot more calories than she does. And while Marble is somewhat thinner than Willie, neither of them appear to be particularly fat. This goes against the grain of what many of us have been taught about bodies and nutrition right? If we use the old adage of calories in calories out, Willie should appear a whole lot fatter than Marble. But lo and behold, it just ain’t so.

I would like to invite you to explore this article and these photos with me. And I would like you to join me on a vacation over the notion that if fat people just ate less and exercised more they would be thin people. These people could be lying about what they eat. I’d love for you to take just a little time off from the adage “calories in, calories out”.

Now to be fair, this photo essay hardly constitutes a formal study on the notion of calories in, calories out. The photo subjects could be lying about what they eat. The photographer could have selected an atypical day’s worth of food for the photo shoot. But we’re on vacation right? So what if we took just a little time off from assuming that fat people lie about what they eat or that thin people exaggerate how much or how little they eat? What if we just took a little time to assume that both Marble and Willie are telling the truth?

The next logical step might be to assume that Willie burns 5 times as many calories as Marble. While this is certainly possible, it seems unlikely in the extreme. If we assume that Willie is a 150 pound man (which is a very rough estimate), he would burn approximately 430 calories per hour walked at a brisk pace. Willie consumes 3800 calories more per day than Marble. Taking brisk walking as a calorie burning exercise, he would need to walk 8.8 hours more per day than Marble in order to burn all of those extra calories. I suppose it’s possible. But let’s just take a little trip past the notion that Willie walks a marathon or two every day in order to “keep his figure”.

Look, I am not suggesting that there is no relationship whatsoever between calories consumed and body size. It seems logical to assume that some relationship is there. But I wonder if we could agree, at least temporarily that it is not that simple. So many of us have had “calories in, calories out” thrown at us from so many directions. Sometimes it seems that everybody from our online haters to the surgeon general of our nation is eager to suggest that if we ate just a little less, and exercised just a little more we would be thin. But I’d like to invite you to punch the time clock and walk away from this notion for just a little while.

I am far from expecting that I will change the world or even change your mind with my little blog over here. But I do hope that from time to time I am able to “give you pause”. I hope I can help you step outside of our culturally held beliefs about weight, food, exercise, health and more. Because sometimes just a little time away is all we need to reenforce the idea that the world is quite a bit more complicated than the advice offered around the water cooler. Sometimes life doesn’t fit into neat and tidy axioms–no matter how much money is spent trying to make them. And while we might not be ready to give up some of these simplistic ideas completely, maybe you could try a little time off and see how it feels. Who knows, after a few weeks you might be ready to adopt some of these new ideas full-time.

Love,

Jeanette (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. I would love to invite you to take another Virtual Vacation with me on the Fit Fatties Forum! We’re moving our bodies as we explore the world. And tomorrow is the last day for super early bird pricing! CLICK HERE to learn more.

Also, if you’d like to learn more about fitness and health and get FREE STUFF, be sure to join my mailing list here. Let’s keep in touch!

Why the First Ten Minutes of Exercise are the Hardest

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DISCLAIMER WARNING STUFF FIRST

It’s very important to know your body. There are certain warning signs that may let you know that your body is in distress. I talk about some of those signs in this document here. I call them the dashboard indicators. If you are new to exercise you should read up on these signs before you begin. If these dashboard indicators appear, you will need to STOP and figure out what’s going on before you continue with exercise. If however, you are not experiencing these dashboard indicators and just hate the first ten minutes of your workout, then please read on.

WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED BLOG…

It’s a common theme with my exercise students. They often say, “After about ten minutes of working out, I feel pretty good, but those first ten minutes, really SUCK!” First of all, let me assure you that the first ten minutes are fairly hard for everybody. And there’s actually a pretty clear and well-understood reason for it, too.

WARNING…SCIENCE TYPE STUFF AHEAD

When we go from standing or sitting still to exercising, our body demands far more energy in the form of oxygen than our body is ready to supply. Our muscles need a chemical called ATP in order to contract. But the aerobic systems in our bodies only have about ten seconds worth of ATP laying around at any given moment. After ten seconds your body needs to start making ATP. Your anaerobic systems can supply maybe another two or three minutes worth of ATP, but after that, your body needs to switch over to the aerobic system again to start producing more ATP. Your body doesn’t know that it needs to switch over to the other system until your oxygen is significantly depleted and your carbon dioxide levels have started to go up. And even after your body knows to switch to the aerobic system, that switchover from the anaerobic system to the aerobic system can be kind of rough. At this point, you begin to breathe harder and your heart rate rises. But by this point, you not only need to create enough ATP to keep moving, you have to repay your “oxygen debt” where your body’s need for oxygen lags behind your body’s ability to make oxygen.

This sloth may be experiencing an oxygen debt. Or not…

This period of time, while you are working through the “oxygen debt” can feel pretty yucky. You may feel a burning sensation in your legs and feel significantly out of breath. Your heart rate will ramp up pretty quickly and after just a few short minutes, you may feel like running right back home. But if you stay with exercise for just a few minutes longer, you may well find that your efforts “smooth out”. Your body’s need for oxygen lines up with your body’s ability to deliver oxygen and you feel a lot better.

Many, many exercisers (including me) experience this sensation. Being really fit may help you move through this transition a little more quickly and smoothly but won’t necessarily help you avoid this “oxygen debt” altogether. But there is something you CAN do to make this transition a little easier–a proper warmup.

Doing a gradual ramp up to exercise, starting slowly for a few minutes before you start to run or cycle or dance away can really help you through the “terrible ten” minutes at the start of a workout. Start with a walk, or a very slow roll on the bike or a very slow dance. This signals your body to “start the aerobic energy pipeline” without creating such a huge oxygen debt. Less oxygen debt means less discomfort and a shorter period of discomfort. Try a warmup before your next workout and see if you don’t feel better.

But it can also be extremely helpful just to realize that this is perfectly normal. It doesn’t mean that your body is defective. It doesn’t mean you suck at exercise. It just means that you have to get your body to accept, “hey, we’re gonna exercise now.” Your body may respond like a seven year old kid saying, “I don’t wanna go to school!” You may find it helpful to sneak up on your body by starting out with a warmup and gradually working into the whole exercise thing. But you may just have to accept that the first few minutes are gonna suck and slog through it. Better miles are ahead!

Love, Jeanette (AKA The Fat Chick)

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The Unwritten Sports Stat: Female Athletes Must Be Gorgeous

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A friend forwarded me a link to an interesting article in the Guardian about how female athletes fear that how they look may outrank how well they perform in terms of their careers as sportswomen. The article chronicles the results of a major study commissioned by BT Sport. The study was commissioned after the 2012 Olympics partly in response to Olympic Gold Medalist Rebecca Adlington’s very public admissions about body insecurity after the games. The study included over 100 elite female British athletes.

To those of us who study body image questions, it’s probably not that surprising that 89 percent of the athletes polled felt that they could relate to insecurity about body image. 67 percent felt that the public and the media valued their personal physical appearance over their athletic prowess, and over 70 percent said that it affected their diet and training regimes. Let’s take a moment to ponder here. We are talking about professional athletes who make their living from the capabilities of their bodies who are making training decisions based at least in part on how they will look in their singlet. It makes you wonder if their performance might have been even better if they could allow their training and nutrition to be focused exclusively on what pushes their bodies to their best performance.

I have written before about the fact that I love the Olympics with a big old passion. I have also expressed before, my deep disappointment over how we could spend time skewering the very best Olympic gymnast for the quality of her hairdo, or why we need to make Olympic uniforms look like outfits for cheerleaders. (Another group of highly trained athletes that are hypersexualized to the point of ridiculousness.) And don’t even get me started on Olympics advertising that looks like softcore porn.

And we’re not just talking about Olympians here. Anyone from tennis stars to golfers are expected to look runway perfect these days. Maybe that’s why I’m so excited about our Fit Fatty Virtual Events this year. It allows you to complete all kinds of fabulous physical activities wearing what you want, wherever you want and on your terms. We have had several incredibly inspired entrants who have completed significant tasks wearing pajamas. We have had entrants complete events and perform community service simultaneously. We have met Santa Claus on a 5K and performed epic, family-style, living room dance parties with kids of all ages.

Because Ragen and I are crazy enough to believe that physical activities should be about moving your body and having fun.

Love, Jeanette (AKA The Fat Chick)

Searching for Reality among the Dummies

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So this week, American Apparel hit the news again with some brand new mannequins. Apparently they are causing quite a stir because THESE mannequins are sporting prominent nipples and a prodigious crop of pubic hair. Now some folks have applauded American Apparel for showing women that are more “realistic”. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree.

These mannequins are completely in line with everything else I’ve seen from American Apparel. It seems that their ads are not only focused on women as sex objects, but I’ve always felt that there was a gritty, DIY Internet porn, especially inelegant focus on women as sex objects.

In any case, I see very little here that makes these mannequins look more like real women. They are still all the same size and shape. They are still very tall and impossibly willowy. They still portray a body that would probably be unlikely to bear children or even menstruate. Nope. What I see here is a dirty little boy with a magic marker drawing pictures on his sister’s dollies just to get attention.

And it’s gotten plenty of attention. Which I am quite sure was the point. The sad thing is that there are others making a real effort to make mannequins look more like real people. There was THIS post I did a while back, about a shop in Sweden making more realistic mannequins. And then there’s this video. It portrays special mannequins being created from some very unlikely models. The video is beautiful. Please watch. I’ll wait.

I can’t say everything about that video is perfect either. But I can say that it seems a whole lot closer to the sort of work towards inclusiveness that we need in this space. I’d love to see a mannequin that shows how clothing looks on a short, modified hourglass with apple shaped tummy body rather than the plus-sized mannequins that are 7 ft. tall with perfectly flat stomachs.

And how does all of this relate to fitness? I think so many people go into exercise trying to look like those bodies in the Macy’s store windows. So many of us have spent years not working at FITNESS (being fit, being able to do certain things that we’d really like to do), but rather working at “FitThis” (being able to fit this pair of jeans, this image, be accepted by this crowd). And so what? Is there something wrong with having fitness aspirations for having a “better body”? The thing is that for most people, physical fitness does not create an overly dramatic shift in the way their body appears. Only a very small percentage of genetically gifted folks are even physically capable of sporting a visible “six pack” or “eight pack”. Exercise doesn’t change your body’s bony structure. It doesn’t make you taller. And for most of us, it doesn’t make you significantly thinner. The problem with aspirational “FitThis” is that it takes our attention away from what exercise is very likely to accomplish in our lives (better sleep, better health, better mood, better self esteem, better sex, better sleep…) and focuses our attention on an area where exercise is a lot less likely to succeed. It sets us up for unrealistic expectations. It sets us up to fail.

So I’d like to encourage you to put yourself into your elegant, pricey, fitness store, right at the front, behind the huge glassy windows. See yourself, happy, healthy and feeling fabulous as the epitome of what you are hoping to accomplish. Because you are amazing. You are inspiring. And you are the ones who keep me doing what I do.

Love, Jeanette (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. Want some more amazing real life inspiration? Check out what we’re doing with the Fit Fatties Virtual Event and Decathlon! We’ve already had our first decathlete! And there are some truly amazing pictures including our recent 5K finisher who walked the beach with her son and met Santa (an honorary Fit Fatty), a woman who lifted literally a TON of weight wearing jammy pants and lots more gorgeous happy people. Sign yourself on up!

Resolve to have More Creative Resolutions

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It’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.

By 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!

Even more research on Fitness and Fatness

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For the 1,000th time, fitness is more important than fatness when it comes to overall health outcomes. In the midst of the holiday hubub, I came across yet another study regarding weight vs. exercise as a determinant of health. This was actually a metastudy, which means the scientists gathered together a lot of other studies and used math and science to determine what most of those other studies said. And it’s no surprise, at least to me, that fitness is much more important than body size in determining how long and how well people live.

This metastudy analyzed the results of 10 other studies. And these studies in turn measured the results of tens of thousands of participants (the largest single study included 21,856 participant) and perhaps more importantly measured these people over a significant span of time (ranging from 7 to over 16 years). It’s important to note that the studies analyzed included both enough participants to be statistically significant and were conducted over a long enough period to see what was actually happening in the lives of the participants. Many of the studies cited regarding the effectiveness and efficacy of weight loss are conducted over a period of three years or less. Given the fact that long term studies indicate that weight loss participants tend to regain all the weight that was lost and often a little more in the 3-5 year range, it’s clear that the duration of the study is an important factor in determining actual results.

And what were the actual results in this case? I think they were pretty astounding. The metastudy indicated that unfit people, no matter what they weighed, had twice the risk of dying during the study than fit people. And the study showed that if you are fit and fat, your mortality risk is about the same as if you are fit and thin. That means that all those thin and unfit folks had about a 50 percent greater chance of mortality than the fat and fit folks during the course of the study.

Whoa.

So here we are heading into the holidays. This is a time when we have access to fabulous food and friends and fantastic food and family and well, FOOD. This is a time when many of us feel more and more panic regarding weight and body size, culminating in a full blown panic that hits full force right around January 1st. We live in a society where the commercials are full of food porn shots of holiday turkeys lovingly basted in butter and mountains of chocolate until December 25. Only to be replaced on December 26 with shots of impossibly tanned and ripped bodies exhorting us to make 2014 the year where we too get to look like a movie star.

Bah Humbug!

The bad news is, no matter how many mashed potatoes we eat or avoid, and no matter how many crunches and squats we do, we are probably NOT going to look like the perky fitness models gracing those commercials on January 1. The good news is, we don’t have to. You don’t have to look like that to be a successful exerciser, and you don’t have to look like that to achieve massive health benefits from engaging in regular exercise. And that regular exercise doesn’t have to include 2 hours per day at the gym or running marathons. We’re talking about a cumulative total of 150 minutes per week here. Eventually. If you aren’t there yet, don’t worry. You can get there! Just start wherever you currently are with your fitness level and increase gradually, up to 10 percent per week until you get there. Some studies show that even as little as 75 minutes per week of exercise can have a significant effect on health.

So, so what?

Why am I being such a Negative Nelly and bursting your exercise bubble? Why am I not suggesting that you’ll look like that hateful woman with the three kids and the super flat abs and very tiny shorts who is all over the internet and your television asking you what is your excuse? (Because, of course, she says, if you do some exercise surely you’ll look a lot like she does!) I’m telling you this because exercise is not only a wonderful way to improve health outcomes, but is also a wonderful tool to help you feel better, feel better about yourself, enjoy a better quality of life and have a darn good time. And far too often, I’ve seen people approach exercise thinking it will make them look like a supermodel, only to give up a short time later when they find that they are not accosted by modeling agencies or Hollywood directors eager to make them millionaires or at least take them out to very expensive restaurants to tell them how pretty they are.

God, I’m GORGEOUS!

Exercise is wonderful. I’ve seen exercise work magic in the lives of many, many people. But it rarely works the sort of magic seen in “before and after” photo shoots. The sad thing is, by looking exclusively for the “magic of exercise” as seen on TV, many people miss the magic that is right in front of them.

Here’s wishing you a calm, lovely, peaceful holiday. And a 2014 that is full of all the magic that a moderately active lifestyle can bring to you!

Love,

Jeanette

AKA The Fat Chick

P.S. There is a lot of great advice about how to go from zero to moderately active in YOUR life in my book–The Fat Chick Works Out! Now get both the book and DVD for only $25.

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

More Steps Towards Awesomeness: Thanksgiving Edition

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All that holiday activity makes me tired!

Well it seems I have the jump on the competition when it comes to holiday travel. I’m flying out to New York City tomorrow for some super secret fabulousness. I’ll tell you all about it as soon as I possibly can. But as I frantically stuff things into a suitcase, I thought I’d give you just a few MORE ideas about how to rack up more steps on your pedometer–HOLIDAY STYLE!

1. The Airport or Train Station: Is a great place to walk. After you’ve spend endless hours snaking through lines, stripping nearly naked for security and dragging a metric ton of luggage on and off the shuttle bus, you may have some anxiety to walk off. And given the delays so typical during this season, you will probably have a lot of time to kill. So why not spend some time getting extra exercise trotting around the terminal? You’ll have plenty of time to sit very still, nay crammed like a sardine when you get on the plane! One thing I’ve started to do to ease this process is to always wear exercise clothes while I’m traveling. If you want to walk down the jetway in 4-inch heels then I say get down with your bad self. But I travel in a nice pair of athletic pants, a sweat wicking top, a sports bra, an athletic jacket and tennis shoes. This way, I’m ready to bust a move whenever the urge strikes. And given all the other ways travel is uncomfortable, I figure I can at least get around wearing comfortable clothes.

2. The Grocery Store: Thanksgiving is the mother of all grocery shopping holidays. Unfortunately, everybody in the known universe seems to go there at the same time. Why not do yourself a favor and stock up on groceries this week? You might not have time to formalize your list, so grab a cart and go up and down all the aisles. (Just be careful not to pick up too many impulse items!) Grocery stores have gotten bigger and bigger. So carefully carting down all the aisles can really add up to quite a distance. Don’t forget to park further from the door for extra steps. And for heaven’s sake, be polite and walk the ten extra steps to return the cart to the rack. I’m talking to you. Yes, you! I can see you trying to cantilever that cart up to the light pole to save yourself 15 extra steps of walking. I can see your cart rolling loose across the parking lot and terrorizing little old ladies and shiny cars and their new paint jobs. Seriously. Return your cart! (Rant ends.)

3. At Home: Okay, let’s be honest. We are all frantically cleaning our houses right now, trying to convince our mother-in-law that their son did not marry a pathetic, housekeeping-challenged, slug. It’s pathetic. Around this time of year, I tend to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat murmuring things like, “Behind the fridge. What if she looks behind the fridge?!” I could tell you to just chill out. But this is an awesome time for getting in extra steps. Put on some cleaning music. (Acid Death Metal works well for this, and has the added bonus of being extremely annoying to any obnoxious neighbors.) Clip on a pedometer, grab a broom and get to it! One technique you can use to get in extra steps is to put things away precisely where they belong on the first trip. Typically, I pile all the stuff that needs to get put away at the bottom of the stairs or perhaps in a large cardboard box that I will ultimately drag into the garage and try to forget. But if you take each thing and put it away, not only will you have the satisfaction of someday being able to find that thing again, you will also get in some extra steps. Plus you get the privilege of standing at the door, looking at your domain, and reciting that line from Poltergeist, “This house is clean!”

So that’s three extra sneaky ways to get some extra exercise in and add to your step count this Thanksgiving. And maybe, just maybe, the walking will relieve enough stress to keep you from being homicidal by Black Friday.

Love,

The Fat Chick

P.S. Don’t forget to join my mailing list to get all the latest super secret announcements and of course to get FREE STUFF! Just opt in RIGHT HERE!

Athletics and Allergies–Ahh-ahh-CHOO! (Now, with cat pictures!)

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Ah, the fall. It’s a time of crisp air, falling leaves and lots and lots of stuff to make your nose get all stuffed up. I’ve noticed that my seasonal allergies are saying hello. And I’ve also noticed a number of my students coming to class with nasal voices and balled-up tissues. So I thought I’d talk a little bit about exercise and allergies.

Most of the time, it’s safe to exercise if you have allergies. In fact many people feel better after they exercise. However if you have severe asthma, exercise-induced asthma or exercise-induced anaphylaxis, you should definitely consult a doctor for special recommendations concerning exercise. And everybody should see a doctor before engaging on a new and rigorous exercise program. But for most people with allergies, exercise is simply annoying and not dangerous.

That said, there is some stuff you can do to make exercising with allergies less traumatic and more fun. Here’s some basic ideas:

1. Manage Your Meds: The timing of your medications can really make a difference in your exercise routine. First and foremost, make sure you take your meds as directed. If you take an antihistimine or nasal decongestant make sure you do so at least an hour before your workout so it has a chance to kick in. Be sure to know your medications. Some medications will have an effect on your Resting Heart Rate (RHR). Make sure you know if your medicines fall into this category and be aware of your heart rate as you work out. Finally, you need your medicines to help you at two times when it comes to working out. It needs to make your nose as open as possible while you exercise, and it needs to help you sleep at night. If you don’t sleep well, you won’t feel like working out the next day. Also as a side note, if you receive allergy injections, you should avoid exercise an hour or two after you receive them. Exercise can change the absorption rate of some injections and increase the risk of side effects.

2. Know Your Allergens: If you can, it’s really good to know what your allergies are. It makes a difference if you are allergic to pollen or mold or dust or animal dander or pollution. Once you know what to avoid, you can then go about avoiding it.

Bugs or Bees: Make SURE you have your Epi pen with you. It could save your life. And don’t forget your fully charged cell phone. You should also be extremely careful when exercising in the woods and may find it safer to stay on well marked and paved trails.

Pollen: If you are allergic to pollen you can probably still exercise outdoors. You may wish to avoid outdoor exercise at peak times of the day which include 5AM-10AM and dusk. You also may wish to use a dust mask or stay inside when pollen counts are highest. Also be especially careful on hot, dry days as this makes the pollen blow around more. Try to exercise away from areas with high concentrations of allergens like grassy areas or fields. On dry, windy days, you may want to wear wraparound sunglasses to help keep irritating allergens out of your eyes. When things get really bad, exercise inside.

Mold: Again, if you are allergic to mold you can still exercise outside. You may wish to avoid exercising on particularly humid days. Try also to exercise away from areas with high concentrations of allergens like lakes or ponds. When things get really bad, exercise inside.

Dust Mites: You may find it easier to exercise indoors. Whenever possible, avoid exercising on or near carpets.

Pollution: Pay attention to air quality days–on red flag days you may wish to just exercise inside. Be careful not to exercise too close to traffic, roadways, factories or airports. Keep an eye on smog levels.

3. Be nice to your nose: It’s important to be able to breathe out of your nose when you work out. Your nose warms and filters the air. Breathing through your mouth when you exercise can irritate your throat or your lungs. If medicine alone doesn’t do the trick, you might consider using a nasal saline spray (NOT A DECONGESTANT SPRAY which can be addictive and dangerous). Some people find relief from using a neti pot. And even making sure you blow your nose well before you step out can help. Oh, and don’t forget to keep a few tissues in your pockets for your time out on the road.

4. Stay hydrated: If you suffer from allergies, it is especially important to drink lots of fluids. Many allergy medicines have a dehydrating effect, and breathing through your mouth both irritates your throat and dehydrates you. Be sure to bring fluids along when you work out, and drink plenty of fluids before and after you exercise.

5. Clean up afterwards: If you’ve exercised somewhere that has a lot of allergens, it’s important to do everything you can to clean up after you’re done. Make sure to shower (and wash your hair) and change your clothes afterwards. I love enjoying an outdoor bonfire at night, but I’ve found that I’m pretty allergic to the smoke and ash. That means no matter how tired I feel afterwards, I change my clothes, shower and wash my hair before I go to bed. You may even find that rinsing your nose out with a saline nasal spray or a neti pot after your workout makes you feel a whole lot better.

Precautions aside, I find that the benefits of exercising with allergies far outweigh any discomfort from additional exposure to allergens. But like anything else, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So remember to take a few simple steps before you walk out the door!

And before you walk out the door of this blog post, it’s time to award our fifth and final free pedometer! Kerri Danner, you’ve won! Just send an email with your mailing address to me: jeanette at thefatchick dot com.

Thanks!

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

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Rockin’ the turkey trot!

Thanksgiving will be here soon (at least if you live in the United States) and we’re swinging right into the major holiday season. Between the holiday parties and the extra cooking and baking and gift shopping and family obligations, it can be especially difficult to keep fitness in your schedule. Last week, I explained why the end of daylight savings time might be just the best excuse to start exercising EVER. In theory, you’re getting an extra hour of sleep and thus, I reasoned, you could trick your body into getting up an hour earlier without too much pain.

So how did that work out for you? Did you do it? If not, don’t feel bad. I’m not judging you. But if you feel sad that you missed it, guess what: you get another chance! Today is Veteran’s Day and many people (at least in the U.S.) have the day off. It’s a perfect day to slide on those tennis shoes and get in a little exercise. And if you are really especially clever, you can exercise your body and exercise your compassion at the same time by honoring a vet. You could walk out and participate in a Veteran’s Day event in your area. You could volunteer at a local Veteran’s Hospital. You could take a walk and explore a nearby battleground. You could even walk out to or march in a local Veteran’s Day parade.

You could even use today an excuse to start training. I’m training for an event which has become an annual tradition for yours truly–the Turkey Trot. I usually participate in a 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day that raises money for my local YMCA. The course is short, fast and easy. There are plenty of aid stations, and a large percentage of the participants are walkers like me. I can take my time and have lots and lots of fun!

Participating in the Turkey Trot does mean that I have to amend the rules of 1-hour pants day. I now have to add about an hour of sweat pants to the mix. But I have found that this is one race that is scheduled on a day that I am not expected to speak or teach or have any professional obligations. PLUS, I get to go right home, take a shower and a looooong Thanksgiving day nap right after. Awesome!

And if a Turkey Trot isn’t right for you, how about a postprandial stroll to check out the early birds who manage to get holiday lights up by Thanksgiving Day? You could honor their industry while strolling by on your way to a post dinner hot chocolate, or antacid.

Or you could always go out with your cousins and play a little football. Although I should mention that activity is not without risk.

I don’t want to give you the impression that you have to exercise during the holidays or any other times. That’s up to you. You are the President and CEO of your own corpus! But I am suggesting that if you’ve been looking for another little incentive or boost to get your fitness efforts going, you can honor the holidays and give an extra special gift to your body as well in the form of exercise (or the form of chocolate, ‘cuz chocolate is awesome too…)

And speaking of gifts, I’m pleased to announce that the third winner of The Fat Chick’s Great Pedometer Giveaway is Megan Page Montgomery! Hey Megan, just drop me an email at jeanette at the fat chick dot com with your mailing address so I can ship your pedometer on out to you! Yet another great excuse for getting started with a fabulous, shiny, new fitness program.

Love,

Jeanette DePatie

AKA The Fat Chick

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

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

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