Tag Archives: Fat Acceptance

Reducing A World Title to a Hairdo

I’d like to talk today about another way that obsession with thinness reduces us. I wasn’t always a person who spoke out on behalf of HAES(R) and Size Acceptance. For many years, I hated my body. I was miserable because of my body. And I put my life on hold waiting to be pretty enough and thin enough to be ready to begin my life.

This went on for years.

There were years and years where I wasn’t living to my full potential, because I didn’t think it was possible for a woman of size. Day after day, I didn’t dare to try challenging things or exciting things because I thought they were impossible to achieve unless I was thin. Month after month, I let opportunities pass me by–waiting to be acceptable.

And all during this time I was spending thousands upon thousands of dollars and thousands upon thousands of hours focused on losing weight and recovering from the inevitable (at least for me) weight gain.

I love my life now, but I honestly wonder where I might of been had I not lost nearly two decades obsessed with losing weight. And I am one of the incredibly lucky ones. I have a genuinely wonderful supportive family. I have an amazing spouse. I have a survival instinct that has always fought against this desire to make me smaller–to make me less than.

But I wonder about the millions of us that are right now not achieving, not winning not being in a world where Gabby Douglas can win the most prestigious gymnastics award in the entire world, and face a huge argument about her hairstyle. I mean really? Gabby beat out countless thousands of gymnasts around the country, achieving an unbelievable level of perfection in a merciless sport where skill is measured in thousandths of a point, and you want to talk about her hair? What is going on here?

Is Gabby threatening the idea of what a gymnast should look like? Is she redefining a visual standard of success? You’d better believe it! And you’d better believe that a whole lot of people are threatened by it. And you shouldn’t be surprised when that threat manifests itself in terms of people finding any excuse to put her down.

You have to wonder, is obsession with thinness a tool used by those who must compete with us? Those who see our talent and our power and are afraid? Those who will do anything to put us down and make themselves seem better, sexier and more powerful? Those who will cut down the herd of competitors by any means necessary?

My dear chicklettes. You can choose, right now, to throw off your shackles. You can choose to love yourself and accept yourself. You can refuse to gain ascendancy on the backs of other women. You can choose to empower and strengthen your fellow women and succeed together. You can live your absolute best life, right now. Right this very second. I’ll be in the stands, waving a flag, jumping up and down and cheering.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Thursday Theater: Nike Ad Featuring Fit Fatty Runs During 2012 Olympics

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I have to admit that I was pretty excited to see this Nike ad pop up during the Olympics. When the jogger trotted into view I held my breath waiting for them to say something nasty. After watching all those perfect bodies in spandex, this kid was a breath of fresh air. And I have to say, that for the most part I think Nike got it right.

To me, this kid embodies the awesome spirit of the joy of fitness that I try to share on The Fat Chick website. He embodies the nearly 1,000 Fathletes featured in the Fit Fatties Forum which I host with the amazing Ragen Chastain. He’s out there doing it. He’s not limping along. His pace is steady. His breathing is even. There’s nothing tongue-in-cheek or sarcastic about it. He’s just going out for an every-day training run. And kicking butt.

The voiceover reads: “Greatness, it’s just something we made up. Somehow we’ve come to believe that greatness is a gift, reserved for a chosen few, for prodigies, for superstars. And the rest of us can only stand by watching. You can forget that. Greatness is not some rare DNA strand. It’s not some precious thing. Greatness is no more unique to us than breathing. We’re all capable of it. All of us.” Cue the logo text that reads: “Find Your Greatness”.

Now, I imagine, given the assumptions of our culture and the placement of the ad within the Olympics with its flood of conventionally beautiful and chiseled bodies that some viewers will add their own subscript stating “this kid needs to lose weight to be great.” But luckily nothing in the V.O. or text that says anything about finding greatness “within”. It’s talking about finding your greatness and is part of a group of ads featuring other unconventional athletes like this one, and this one and this one. Frankly, I wish the voiceover from this ad could be on the ad with the fat kid, but still. For the most part, I found myself giddy with excitement when I saw this one.

And yes, Nike could make a lot more fitness clothes in much bigger sizes. I wish they did. Although they do have a few pieces of plus-sized wear that are 1-3x (generously sized) that I have purchased and I absolutely adore. But there’s not a whole lot to choose from.

So, perfect? No, far from it. But I think, with this ad campaign, Nike displayed a potential for greatness.

So my little chicklettes, I’d love to hear from you. Let me know what YOU think.

Love,

The Fat Chick

OM: Using Meditation to Help Manage Stress

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For better health, find a few minutes per day to just breathe…

The idea of meditation may seem a little “woo woo” to my Midwestern upbringing, but there is more and more evidence that it actually does lower blood pressure, improve attention span and help manage stress. There’s even new evidence that indicates that meditation actually changes physical aspects of the brain over time as well. But our lives are crazy busy, and sometimes it seems impossible to add even one more thing to it. So how do we add meditation to our lives without stressing out about adding meditation to our lives?

Many experts suggest that you begin by adding just ten minutes per day. Meditation is an incredibly rich practice which can be deepened and enriched over years of practice. But you can get your start by simply focusing on your breathing. I sometimes use a really terrific iPod app called “Breathe Together”. It’s a very simple app that simply provides a breathing noise. You just synchronize your breathing to the app with the added benefit of knowing that you are synchronizing your breathing with others who are meditating throughout the world. At certain hours of the day, a specific focus for your meditation like “peace” or “joy” are suggested. One word of caution, it can sound a little odd to innocent bystanders. The first time my husband came across me using the app, he was convinced that either A) I was dying or B) Darth Vader had taken over his wife’s body.

Meditation is simply a time of quiet directed focus and can encompass many things including introspective prayer, repetitive prayer (like saying a rosary) or even a guided relaxation. In fact, I’m currently creating a special body love-inspired guided relaxation track. It will be available free for members of The Fat Chick Clique, so if you’re looking to get your OM on, hop right over to my website and join already.

In any case, my little chicklettes, I want to invite you to find just a little time, maybe just a minutes per day to take a deep breaths and relax your mind. It’s a little bit like bicep curls for your brain. You’ll feel better and be better able to manage stress better. Both of which are powerful tools for better health.

Love,
The Fat Chick

Thursday Theater: Knee Stress

The Stress of Stigma and Body Dissatisfaction

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Loving your body can really help reduce stress in your life!

Over the past few weeks we’ve been talking about satisfaction and stress. Today I’m going to stand at the intersection of these two ideas and talk about how feeling bad about your body is bad for your health. There’s no question that many of us are dissatisfied with our bodies. The cult of media and celebrity focuses our minds on a body ideal that is not even achieved by the most beautiful of the “beautiful people”. The vast majority of images in magazines are digitally altered to even more impossible beauty standards. And it’s a not so carefully guarded “insider secret” that a number of film and television stars demand that the image be “vertically stretched” to make themselves appear even taller and thinner on TV and the silver screen. It’s no wonder that so many of us have negative thoughts about our bodies. We’re not talking about a few minor thoughts now and again. A recent survey suggests that young women have an average of 13 seriously negative thoughts about their bodies per day–nearly one for every waking hour. And a surprising number of us have a lot more negative thoughts than that with 35, 50 or even 100 brutal thoughts about our bodies every day.

Unfortunately, all this body hatred is very bad for our health. Aside from the well known ties to depression, anxiety, and even suicide, body dissatisfaction leads to increased stress and ultimately to poorer physical health. Research at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver links women with poor body image with increases in the stress hormone cortisol. And increases in cortisol can lead to higher blood pressure, sleep disturbances, digestive problems and can negatively impact virtually all body processes.

So one important element in dealing with stress in our lives, is learning to love our bodies as they are, rather than constantly comparing them with impossible ideals. One way to do this is to put yourself on a media diet, and minimize exposure to fashion magazines and prime-time television. Another is (not surprisingly) to get regular exercise, as women who exercise tend to feel better about their bodies. And finally, don’t hesitate to seek advice from amazing healers like Golda Poretsky who help you make peace with your size and shape.

So whenever you’re stressed my little chicklettes, consider the notion that body dissatisfaction might be a central cause. And resolve to love the skin you’re in.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Thursday Theater: Exercise for People of Size

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Steppin’ out can include stepping into an exercise program. In this week’s video I talk about how to maintain physical and emotional safety while exercising in a big body.

So my dear feathered friends, find some exercise birds to flock with and shake your collective groove things!

Love,
The Fat Chick

How You Should REALLY Use Your Digtial Scale

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In honor of our secret agent week, I couldn’t resist this happy little photo. So many of us allow the scale to be our evil nemesis. We step into its bathroom secret lair and allow the number listed on it to determine whether we’re having a good day or a bad day. We step up to it frightened, contrite and naked (unadorned even with jewelry) and allow it to determine whether we’re a good person or not. Ninja kitteh says, “unless you’re using it as a secret agent paw print scanning device, just put it away already. I don’t let any silly piece of hardware make me cry.”

Good advice kitteh. Good advice.

Stuff that Weighs More than Me: Giant Hovercraft

R.A.W.R.–Random Acts of Weightloss-industry Rebellion

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In light of this week’s James Bond/Secret Agent theme, I’ve been thinking about some specific revolutionary maneuvers of my own. Recently the “Screaming MeMeMe!” has helped to clarify what we’re up against. There’s a whole lot of hate out there my little chicklettes. But both you and I have the power to be a force for good. And there are so many ways that we can act up and cause trouble for those who sow hate.

Now not everybody is ready to be as public in their rebellion as those who participated in Marilyn Wann’s I Stand campaign, or those delightfully awesome folks who are gaining supervillian status over on Red No. 3 as Agents of Obesity. Or even those who participated in the Kiss-In to protest Marie Claire’s nasty article.

But that’s okay, because there are plenty of covert operations you can participate in as well. One of my favorites is NAAFA LA’s bookmark campaign where they print out body positive bookmarks and slip them into diet books in libraries and bookstores. And of course NAAFA LA’s Big Fat Flea Market is also an act of positive rebellion in quietly asserting that people of all sizes deserve to look fabulous at reasonable prices. And I love the post-it note campaign at Operation Beautiful, where folks are encouraged to post body-positive notes on public restroom and dressing room mirrors.

There are so many ways to be quietly positive in a world that shuns us and shames us. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of saying something nice to someone trying on a pretty dress at a department store, sometimes it’s about leaving a NAAFA brochure at a weight loss clinic, often it’s about just being you as hard as you can. So my little chickies, lets think this week about how you can perpetuate so R.A.W.R. And enjoy the secret thrill of making the world just a little better and a little safer for every BODY.

Love,

The Fat Chick