Tag Archives: exercise

Exercise Discovery–Finding Your Fun

Naturally a lot of people ask me what I do. And very often when I tell them, they say, “Oh I hate to exercise.” And if they seem happy with the idea that they hate exercise, I leave it at that. People are allowed to love exercise or hate exercise or do exercise despite the fact they hate it or start a small hat shop. It’s not my job to tell them what to do. But sometimes people ask me how they can stop hating exercise, and that’s what this blog post is about.

Because as the graphic says above, exercise is like sex, if you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right. And if you flipped that slide over, you would come to the second part of that statement which is, “sometimes you’ve got to kiss a few exercise toads before you find your exercise prince or princess.”

Cuteness aside, I think a lot of people try one kind of exercise one or two times and decide that they hate exercise altogether. And I’d like to gently suggest that maybe you need to try “dating” a few other kinds of exercise in a few other places with a few different people before you decide to give up on exercise forever. That’s not to say that some people don’t simply hate all forms of exercise. I’m sure that’s true for some people, and that’s totally okay. But if you haven’t tried any form of exercise since elementary school dodge ball tournaments or Jane Fonda leg warmer exercise videos, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try something new.

We started out this week with a day dedicated to discovery (at least in the United States). And whether you choose to call it Columbus Day or Bartolome Day or just that extra day off in October, we can choose to let that day encourage us to be adventurers. Let’s choose to be exercise explorers together.

One way to begin is to evaluate your last dreadful exercise experience. What did you hate about it? Was it the sweating? Was it being outside? Was it in a class where you felt you couldn’t keep up? Was it somewhere that made you feel embarrassed or inadequate? Did the exercise hurt? Were you too hot or too cold? Did you get injured? See if you can pinpoint the specific thing or things you hated most about your experience.

Once we’ve got that figured out, we can work to expand our exercise minds. ANY kind of movement can be considered exercise of one sort or another. Even if it seems too “easy”. Even if it doesn’t seem like exercise at all. It could be gardening or playing racquetball. It could be walking around the mall or roller skating or having magnificent tantric sex with movie stars.

Next, we can work to evaluate a the items on our expanded exercise list based on a few criteria:

1. Does it help us avoid the stuff we hated about exercise last time? If we hated walking outside was it the walking part we hated or the outside part we hated or both? If it was the outside part, will walking on a treadmill or walking inside at the mall be better? If we hated walking will cycling or roller skating outside be better? You get the idea.

2. Is this form of exercise something I have a reasonable chance of actually getting to try? I imagine that wild, frantic, fabulous sex with James Bond would be high on my list of exercises I’d like to try. There are just a few problems with that: A) I’m married, B) I don’t know where to find James Bond, and C) James Bond doesn’t exist. I don’t want to pee in your pool here, but if you live in Iowa, maybe surfing is not the sport for you. If you want to go to California on your next trip and try it out, by all means please do. But in the meantime, maybe you’d like to try something a little closer to home.

3. Does it seem like fun? Surfing and secret movie star sex aside, there is probably some sort of activity that will sound at least a little bit fun to you. Maybe it’s salsa dancing or hula dancing lessons. Maybe it’s Japanese drumming. Maybe it’s running around with a DV camera and recording stuff or swimming or scuba diving or canoeing. There are so many activities out there that can increase your strength, flexibility or stamina. Get some magazines! Surf the net! Roll some different kinds of exercise around in your mouth until something tastes delicious and you are eager to try it.

4. Accept that you will have to kiss some more exercise toads. In our search for Mr. or Ms. right, I think most of us understand that we won’t necessarily find our perfect match on the first date. Or the twentieth date. Or even the one hundredth date. But you know what? There’s a lot of fish in that exercise sea. And sometimes, ya just gotta pick yourself up, dust that spandex off and try again.

5. Evaluate, rate and keep trying. Each exercise “date” deserves a little post mortem. Ask yourself, what did I love about this? What did I hate? What parts were just okay? Is there a way to make this exercise more fun or am I just dressing up a toad here? Is it possible for the Fat Chick to even get one more silly mixed metaphor into a single blog post? After you’ve done your evaluation, you can decide if you’d like to try another date with that exercise, if you’re done dating that exercise or if you never want to see another exercise remotely like that EVER AGAIN. It’s up to you.

By the way, I’d like to add one more tip. Given the fact that we’re “dating” exercise forms here, can I humbly suggest that you don’t offer to marry that exercise before you’ve even gone out on your first date? Please, PLEASE, PLEASE don’t sign up for $8,000 worth of courses or sign up for an 18-year non-refundable gym contract before you know if you even like a form of exercise or a place to do it? I myself have subscribed to the, “If I pay $3,000 for it, I know I’ll do it, because I don’t want to waste the money” school of thought. And I’ve spent many years hanging my lingerie on the treadmill while I learned the folly of that thinking, hopefully for good.

So my dear readers, I hope you feel encouraged to go out there and try something new. And once you find your exercise bliss, I’d love to encourage you to take photos and share them with Ragen and I on the Fit Fatties Forum. And don’t forget to have fun!

Love,

Jeanette (AKA The Fat Chick)

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)

Why BMI stands for “Blatantly Meaningless Information”

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Yup, higher shoe size means higher BMI. Maybe we should re-institute foot binding for better health?

The LA Times has published another awesome article, this time taking aim at BMI. The article headline states “For nearly 1 in 5 Americans, BMI may tell the wrong story”. Although one of the main studies actually places the misdiagnosis statistic closer to 2 in 5 Americans, I have to give the LA Times credit for posting this story which goes on to detail something that many of us in the HAES (R) universe already know: BMI is not a good predictor of individual health. In short:

Having a high BMI does not mean you have poor metabolic health. Having a low BMI does not mean you have good metabolic health.

So why is this important? Well for a lot of reasons. First off, if your doctor is using BMI to determine whether or not you should get further screenings or tests, he or she is using an extremely unreliable metric to make this determination. This means as a fat person you may be exposed to a lot of tests you really don’t need. This means as a thin person, your doctor may miss some stuff that is really important or even life-threatening. I often wonder if a significant proportion of the medical costs associated with fat people are because we have so many more tests done. Or even if higher percentages of certain diagnoses among fat people are in part because we look so much harder for these diagnoses among fat people.

Another reason that BMI bias is such a big problem is that the workplace wellness gurus are using it to coerce or even force us into interventions that may be entirely inappropriate for us. For example, I’ve been talking a lot about this Michigan “walking program” for fatties. BMI was used as the sole determinant as to who had to participate. Those with higher BMIs were told they either had to wear a pedometer that reported their steps to the “home office” or they had to go to Weight Watchers. There was no initial fitness assessment done. There was no assessment of eating behaviors. The program simply assumes that people with higher BMIs don’t engage in fitness and eat very poorly. It’s entirely possible that people in the program had to reduce other, more strenuous and more enjoyable exercise programs in order to comply with the stupid walking rules. It’s entirely possible that people in the program with well-balanced healthy eating habits were encouraged towards more disordered eating habits after their new stint with Weight Watchers. It’s almost certain that people with low BMIs who are also sedentary and eat nothing but junk food were patted on the head and told to “keep up the good work”.

But we’ll never know because they never tested this stuff.

You know what? When company money and government money and my money gets spent on stupid health programs that are just as likely to make people less healthy than before, and nobody bothers to test the hypotheses because “fatties” I get pretty annoyed. In fact I’m crossing right over the line towards enraged.

It’s not like this research is all new. It’s not like the problems inherent in the BMI as a measurement of individual health haven’t been known for decades. But as long as entire industries are set on putting their fingers in their ears and chanting, “La, la, la, I can’t HEAR you!” I’m just gonna have to keep on saying the same things over and over and over. As long as people walk around with misdiagnosed brain injuries because doctors simply think they need to lose weight, as long as thin people miss out on important medical screenings because they are assumed well, and as long as some insurance programs think it’s okay to strap a piece of hardware to my a@@ to track whether I’m moving enough just because of my dress size, I’m gonna keep on talking.

You hear that universe? I’ll keep shaking my chubby fist and you and shouting that your BS. Measuring. Instrument. is not a valid way to understand anything about who I am.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

Buy my book: The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that is Fun and Feasible for Folks of All Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities)–available in softcover and e-book versions

Buy my DVD: The Fat Chick Works Out! (A Safe, Easy and Fun Workout for Klutzes, Wimps and Absolute Beginners!)

Buy a book or a DVD for a friend and save $5! Just enter FRIENDBLFT in the discount code box!

Check out my Training Programs–both in person and via Skype (Starting at just $25!)

Book me to speak at your special event!

ADA Says Not All Fat is Bad

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The ADA suggests that not all fat is “bad”.

Well it certainly has been a week of ups and downs. On the one hand, we had the very disturbing news that the American Medical Association has gone against the recommendations of their own advisory committee and have declared obesity a disease. I can’t see this as good news for anyone outside of obesity task forces and large pharma companies. And I can’t help seeing this as anything as a black-or-white, gross, oversimplification of the issues of body diversity, and the role of fat in the body.

In the meantime, the research demonstrating the complexities of the issues surrounding fat, body diversity and obesity continues to roll out. This very interesting article recently released by the American Diabetes Association highlights the results of some new studies conducted in both mice and humans about the role that fat plays in the body. As always, I recommend caution when reviewing studies on mice as they don’t always directly correspond with results among humans. However, both studies seem to suggest that fat behaves differently in the bodies of creatures that are exercising as opposed to those who are sedentary. The study suggests that exercise changed the subcutaneous fat into higher concentrations of “brown fat” which has a different metabolic profile than “white fat”. The study indicated that the brown fat provided better glucose tolerance and glucose sensitivities.

The research seems to indicate that exercise can “train” fat to behave in a way that is more beneficial to the body, even without weight loss.

The upshot is that these studies lend further strength to the notion that exercise helps improve health even when weight remains the same. The article states:

These studies suggest that even if you’re not losing weight, exercise is still training your fat to be more metabolically active; even if you don’t see the results on the scale, you are still improving your overall metabolism and therefore your health.

Does that mean you are under some sort of moral obligation to exercise? Do you owe this to the world? Absolutely not! Your health is your business, and there are no moral requirements that you be healthy or do healthy things. But if our goal, as a society, is to be healthy, maybe we should stop slapping a label on a significant portion of the human population that reads “sick” or “wrong” or “diseased”. Maybe we should focus on making healthy behavior more accessible, more comfortable and safer for every BODY. Yes. Let’s do that.

Love,

The Fat Chick

P.S. I’ll be speaking on the topic of exercise for every BODY this Friday in Chicago at the Wellness Beyond Weight event at the Doubletree by Hilton O’Hare in Chicago. Drop by if you get the chance! You can buy the tickets here!

Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

Buy my book: The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that is Fun and Feasible for Folks of All Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities)–available in softcover and e-book versions

Buy my DVD: The Fat Chick Works Out! (A Safe, Easy and Fun Workout for Klutzes, Wimps and Absolute Beginners!)

Buy a book or a DVD for a friend and save $5! Just enter FRIENDBLFT in the discount code box!

Check out my Training Programs–both in person and via Skype (Starting at just $25!)

Book me to speak at your special event!

The Fat Chick on Hallmark’s Home and Family

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Hi Everybody!

At long last, I’ve gotten a copy of my appearance on Hallmark’s “Home and Family” Show. It’s pretty light-hearted, but I got the chance to say some important things. I hope you like it.

I think it’s fair to say that I was terrified about this appearance. I actually was in several other segments of the show as a guest. The producers grilled me at length before booking me. In fact, I remember that the call came in during a camping trip that I shared with my husband. Thankfully he’s super understanding so I was able to take this call even while we were on vacation. This is something that is generally a taboo for us.

But I learned one interesting thing from this show. And that is I think the interviewers were as nervous as I was about covering this topic. This is a “nice” show with “nice” hosts. This was no Jerry Springer. And I could tell they were struggling with how to cover this topic and meet the requirements of their producers without looking mean or stupid. When I was able to handle the questions without crying or freaking out or being accusatory, they were visibly relieved. And for me, that’s something important to remember. When you’re talking to somebody who is aggressive and mean, it’s important to be able to deal with that. But it’s also important to be able to help somebody along who has absolutely no idea about how to talk about this important topic.

Anyways. I’m on the road and frantically getting ready for the ASDAH conference. I hope to see some of you there!

Love,

The Fat Chick

Your Big Fat ASSumptions: The Right Now Show Episode 014

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Today’s episode of the Right Now Show shares two things that you may safely assume when looking at a fat person. We also discuss five Big Fat ASSumptions that we routinely make about people of size and whether or not those assumptions have any validity. Enjoy watching, and don’t forget to share with all your friends:

Here’s some additional information and resources you may want to consult after watching the show:

Want to join a whole lot of other people enjoying exercise in an environment which is free of fat shaming at weight loss talk? Check out the Fit Fatties Forum!

Want to stay up to date on the very latest info about fat and health? Join the Fat Chick Clique. It’s free!

Here’s a link to a lot of the most recent research about Fat and Health on my website.

Here’s some more information about fat and shame on my blog:

Here’s a comprehensive review about fat and health which reviews over 100 other major studies about fitness, fatness and health:

Here’s some information offered by the Association for Size Diversity And Health about Health At Every Size (R):

P.S. Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

Buy my book: The Fat Chick Works Out! (Fitness that is Fun and Feasible for Folks of All Ages, Shapes Sizes and Abilities)–available in softcover and e-book versions

Buy my DVD: The Fat Chick Works Out! (A Safe, Easy and Fun Workout for Klutzes, Wimps and Absolute Beginners!)

Buy a book or a DVD for a friend and save $5! Just enter FRIENDBLFT in the discount code box!

Check out my Training Programs–both in person and via Skype (Starting at just $25!)

Book me to speak at your special event!

Fun with Dick and Jane (and Why Tim doesn’t Exercise)

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See Tim develop an eating disorder…

Oh my God. Where do I even start with this monstrosity? I was going along, minding my own business, eating my breakfast and checking out this wonderful post on Adios Barbie when I ran into this picture linked to by Allison Epstein. And I nearly choked on my Cheerios.(R) Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Look! It’s Fat Shaming with Dick and Jane:

See Dick and Jane and Pat. She Dick and Jane and Pat fat shaming Tim. See Tim. See Tim embody negative fat stereotypes. See Dick and Jane and Pat revel in their thin privilege. See Tim go on a diet. See Tim get slimmer. See Tim get fatter. See Tim get even fatter. See Mom and Dad panic. Panic parents panic! See Tim get a gastric sleeve. See Tim learn about dumping syndrome. See Mom and Dad buy Tim dark colored pants. Dump Tim dump! Oh No! Now Tim smells funny. Isn’t he funny? See Dick and Jane and Pat laugh. See Tim want to die. Die Tim, die…

The thing that really scares me, I mean full-out, ooga-booga, petrifies me, is that there are three organizations that have signed on to this ad. That means at least three, purportedly professional people (and probably more) not only signed off on, but actually paid somebody to create this crap. But that’s okay (they reason) because kids need to get out and play more, right? And research shows, the way to get kids to go outside and play is to shame them, right? Right?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no and how about, no!

Despite the ongoing research that indicates that fat shame does not lead to permanent weight loss, and that fat stigma leads to even less healthy behaviors among kids like disordered eating, binge drinking, and more smoking, various white-coat-wearing idiots feel the need to create ads like this one. Why? Are they trying to create the medical equivalent of this exercise video “accidentally” catching a pooping man on camera? (Is it an accident, or an all-new, low-bar in publicity stunts? Either way, it’s a hits bonanza!) Do they not care that they are harming families and especially children with their stupid ads as long as they fuel parental panic and get lots of clicky poos for their hit counts? Or have they really just not bothered to check any of the literature that shows that fat stigma harms people? Hmmm, evil or simply, criminally irresponsible? Hard to imagine that either are qualities I look for in a medical professional.

What is so sad, is that this ad is likely to make Tim less interested in exercise. And this ambivalence towards exercise may last a lifetime.

But for those of you out there who are still twisting a hankie in your sweaty fingers or running around in circles yelling, “But what do we do?” I have this advice. If you want Tim to exercise:

1. Create emotionally safe places for Tim to play–free from bullying or shaming.

2. Create physically safe places for Tim to play–safe from assault and other crimes.

3. Help Tim reconnect with and feel pride in the body he has right now.

4. Provide safe, well-planned and excellently-executed physical education classes, and

5. Surround Tim with role models for physical fitness that embody all shapes and sizes and abilities–like the amazing Ragen Chastain in this recent video interview from Huffington Post Live.

Seriously people. If you want kids to exercise, give them physically and emotionally safe places to do it, give them proper instruction, provide them with great role models and teach them that exercise is something that we do because we love our bodies.

Then Dick and Jane and Pat and Tim and Sally and everybody can live happily ever after. That is all.

Love,

The Fat Chick

P.S. Want help getting started with exercise? My book and DVD are designed to help beginners to safely and joyfully integrate physical activities into their lives. Enter the code DickAndJane in the discount code box to save $5 off the cover price!

The Right Now Show 008: Fit Fatties Cross the Finish Line!

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In this episode, we watch the Fit Fatties as they enjoy the final leg of their virtual journey–swimming, cycling, walking, running and dancing across the USA. Watch as they issue a new challenge to Fit Fatties Around the World! The Fit Fatties are members of the Fit Fatties Forum created by Jeanette DePatie (www.thefatchick.com) and Ragen Chastain (www.danceswithfat.com).

Learn more and join the new challenge at http://www.fitfatties.com. And if you’re enjoying the show, don’t forget to subscribe!

Love,
Jeanette DePatie
AKA The Fat Chick

Fit Fatties Across America–California, Baby!

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Well hello out there. I’m so very proud to announce we have reached my home state, California in the Fit Fatties Across America project founded by myself and the amazing Ragen Chastain! We’ve walked, shimmied, swum, cycled and boogied across this great country of ours for a total of over 2,500 miles! And it’s only just March. It’s just so darn exciting to see what we can do together.

I’m especially excited about the way that we are busting stereotypes with this cool project. Many people hold the prejudice that if fat people never exercise. They think we just sit on the sofa all day eating bon bons. (What the heck IS a bon bon anyway?) But our mighty group of plus-sized exercisers have racked up over 2,500 miles in just over eight weeks. It’s a testament to the power of the Health At Every Size approach to wellness, and it’s super fun!

Aside from the Fit Fatties Across America project, the Fit Fatties Forum is a great way to be inspired by exercisers of ALL sizes. Our forum currently boasts over 1,500 members as well as over 350 fabulous photos of fat people dancing, swimming, cycling, shimmying, lifting very heavy things, aiming arrows, and flashing some flaming hula hoops! The pictures are amazing. What a fabulous, myth busting, stigma shattering resource for men and women of all sizes!

Now, my loyal readers, I’d like to enlist your help. Some of us local California peeps are planning to meet at the beach to do the final leg of the Fit Fatties Across America project together on Saturday, March 19. But that means that as a group, we need to clock just over 200 miles in the next two weeks. Will you help us get there? If you’re not already a member of the Fit Fatties Forum, would you consider joining? It’s totally FREE! And if you’re already a member of the Fit Fatties Forum, would you consider entering your exercise totals for the next two weeks so we can reach our goal? And if you are a member of the Fit Fatties who lives in the LA area, would you consider joining us on March 19 to finish the last few miles of this great project together live, and in person? Let’s dip our toes in the big blue ocean together! Let’s show ’em just what a few fatties can do!

Love,

The Fat Chick

Dealing with Diabetes: Episode 004 of the Right Now Show with Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

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Are you coping with diabetes? Is your doctor shaming you because of your weight? Do you wish you had some body-positive advice for coping with this disease? I’m pleased to share with you episode 004 of The Right Now Show. In this episode, I answer a viewer’s question about dealing with Type 2 diabetes. Tune in for helpful hints for taking a Health At Every Size (R) approach to coping with this challenging disease. I offer tips for integrating exercise (even when coping with chronic pain), managing stress, and how to keep loving the skin you’re in through it all.

There are more tips available about coping with diabetes in a special article I wrote for the Association for Size Diversity And Health available here.

And there’s a really fun music video I did with Ragen Chastain all about managing family boundaries during the holidays available HERE.

You can learn a lot more about The Fat Chick on my website.

And you can buy Jeanette’s progressive workout DVD (with that 10 minute beginning workout) on the shopping page or at Amazon.com HERE.

Thanks so much for watching and don’t forget to subscribe!

Love,
The Fat Chick

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