Tag Archives: Fun

A Sensible Approach to Healthy Kids

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)

I’m Back! (With a New Video)

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Maybe we all need to do a little more dancing…

Okay kids, I’m a little bit tardy (2 days) but I am back with a renewed desire to offer you juicy blogging goodness. And I’m back with a brand new video showing just a little bit of what I’ve been up to for the past few weeks.

On September 18, we held our second annual Hot Flash Mob in Justin Herman Plaza on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. The weather was GLORIOUS! Our initial turnout was small, but after some rapid recruiting among those enjoying the fabulous San Francisco sunshine we got a crowd together and did our dance…

This crowd was a great mix! There were men and women. There were older people, younger people and in-betweenies. There were thin people and fat people and people with amazing hair and even a cameo from one of San Francisco’s street population. We all had a wonderful time.

And all of this makes me more determined THAN EVER to get groups of people together and get them dancing. Because dancing is sort of like a magic catalyst. It crosses line of age, shape, gender, class, language, economic status and more. And even if you can’t do the moves just like I do, we can all find and share the beat together and boogie down.

It this time of serious strife and division, where I almost can’t bear to look at the news and hear the latest details about the complete breakdown of civility and communications, I think it is more important than ever to just dance.

Maybe that’s what we need to do. Just get all the politicians in the world together to dance:

Then again, maybe not…

Love,

Jeanette

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Come dance with us in the Bay Area!

Spontaneous Fire and Falling Stars

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Firelight on upturned faces as we watch the stars begin to fall.

Last week I mentioned that I was going on retreat. I went. It was wonderful. The church choir members and I and my husband congregated up in Big Bear. We brought the dog and our tent. We had a lot of fun together laughing and eating and exploring and eating and resting and well eating. Several members mentioned that we were probably most successful at the last 3 letters in retreat. I suggested that we used all the letters, just in a slightly unconventional way. We did eat. And then we did re-eat. And we capped it off with some tea. So we covered all the bases. We came back down the mountain on Saturday sun-kissed, happy and tired.

But I’m writing today to tell you about what happened on Sunday. After church, my husband and I were enjoying some lunch and talking about what we would do that day. He mentioned that the Perseid Meteor showers were scheduled to be at their peak that night. We said what a shame it was that we wouldn’t be able to see them very well in LA. I quickly pulled out my phone and googled “best places in So Cal to see Perseids”. #1 on the list was Joshua Tree National Park. At this point it was nearly 1:00 PM. But my husband and I looked at each other and both got a devious and adventurous look on our faces. “Let’s go,” said my hubby. “Woo Hoo! It’s an adventure!” I said.

Neither of us had ever been to Joshua Tree. I quickly found out that it was over 2.5 hours drive and the visitor’s center closed at 5. There was no ability to make a reservation at a campground at that point. Luckily we hadn’t really unpacked from Big Bear yet. We frantically threw things into bags, loaded up the cooler and some warm clothes and the dog and hopped in the car.

This is not typical for us. Usually I have maps printed and our site reservations confirmed all before we even think about leaving the house. I have an excel spreadsheet for all our camping gear for God’s sake. But this time we just went for it. And it was magical.

My husband and I are both complete space geeks. Always have been. We had decided to sleep in the car. The Element has seats that all fold together to make a bed. But the meteor shower was SO much more spectacular than I imagined it to be. The viewing conditions at the park were perfect! We ended up sleeping on top of a picnic table, bundled under a pile of blankets, holding hands and watching the stars fall from the sky.

It was nearly 3 AM and the park was so quiet. “There’s one!” He whispered. “Oooo that’s a good one!” I would reply. For a while we tried to keep count as to who had seen more. But as the morning wore on, there were 2 or 3 or even more meteors per minute. We simply lost count.

Geek love is a little different than what you see in the movies, kids.

You know, there are so many moments that we work so hard to put together. We scrimp and save and plan. But this impromptu little trip will probably live on as one of my very favorite memories. We didn’t have a fancy meal. A fast food nosh on the way and s’mores around the fire. But just being together and breathing together, and experiencing wonder together, was so very peaceful and joyful and exciting all at the same time.

Tired, rumpled and happy after staying up all night watching meteors.

What I’m trying to say here is that sometimes you just gotta throw caution to the wind (at least a little bit), throw some stuff in a bag, hop in the car and go. You never know what you’ll get. On the down side, stuff will be sort of a disaster, and you’ve got a funny story to tell your friends when you get home. On the up side, stuff is perfect, and you’ve got a beautiful story to tell yourself all the rest of your life.

Here’s hoping you find your magic getaway moment. Whether it’s trying a new restaurant or moving to another country, I hope your story is wonderful. And I can’t wait to hear it!

Love (and good night!) from:

The Fat Chick

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Stuff That Weighs More than Me: The Humble Manatee

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Frankly, I’m a little surprised that I haven’t done this blog post yet. After all, when the meany, meany, MacMeanersons start taunting the fat folks, this name is definitely in the top ten. Nevertheless, I’ve never done a post about the awesome and most wonderful manatee.

The manatee (also known as the sea cow) comprises three of the four living species in the order Sirenia. The fourth species is the dugong (which can be distinguished from the manatee by its longer snout and fluked tail.) This vegetarian mammal is born big, typically weighing over 60 pounds at birth! Manatees spend half their time sleeping in the water, typically surfacing for air once every 20 minutes or so. They have a number of other unique features including:

Teeth that are replaced continually throughout the life of the creature. Typically there are no more than six teeth its mouth at any given time.
A vascularized cornea
Eyelids that close in a circular manner
A simple stomach with a particularly large cecum (similar to that of a horse). The manatee’s intestines are very large for their size, typically measuring over 45 meters.

Of course one of the primary features of the manatee is its size. Here’s the stats:

Length: Averaging 9.2 to 9.8 ft. in length, the manatee can measure as much as 12 ft.

Mass: 880 to 1,200 pounds.

Conclusion, the massive and magnificent manatee weighs more than me.

The Right Now Show Episode 009: Finding Support!

Take Yourself for a Walk

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When the amazing and wonderful Velvet D’Amour asked me to come up with a workout for her new issue of Volup.2 she said that the theme was “simplicity”. It really didn’t take long for me to come up with the workout plan. I decided on walking–one of the safest, simplest and cheapest workouts in the world. Once again, I retained the photography talents of Kelly Varner–one of the very best photographers I know, and we went out to create a photo essay on the joys of walking. You can see the results HERE.

There are as many wonderful workouts in the world as there are people. But whenever I’m helping somebody who is stuck, who isn’t sure where to start, I suggest they put on their sneakers, grab the leash and the dog or the hand of their sweetheart and simply go for a walk. Naturally, I’m partial to walking outside, but if the weather is truly wretched, the mall will do. I can’t say I’m a big treadmill fan–the thing makes me feel like a giant gerbil. But some people really love working out with the treadmill. To which I say–to each his own.

There is something so local and gentle and simple about going for a walk around the neighborhood with your friend, hand in hand with your lover or even all by your self. Walking is gentle enough to allow for conversation or contemplation. Sometimes, when I walk by myself, I focus on the seasons and what is happening around me. Sometimes when I walk by myself, I imagine sending positive and kind thoughts to people who live in the houses that I am passing. And sometimes, I walk hand in hand with my husband without saying anything at all. We just enjoy being together.

And if I don’t feel like walking alone and my friends and my husband are busy, I can always count on my handsome dog Max. He loves to walk so much that he’s even figured out how to spell the word. I used to be able to talk to my husband about taking Max for a w-a-l-k. But now, even if I spell it, Max is completely insane with excitement, whining at the door where we keep his leash and ready–always ready to go.

So, I’d like to invite you to find just a little time for a little stroll this week. Don’t worry about counting steps, or calculating calories burned or miles accumulated. Just lace up your sneakers and step out for your little fix of joy. I promise it will be worth it.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Dance Like Nobody’s Watching–Even at the Airport

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Okay, first you gotta watch the video. Grab a cup of coffee and click the arrow. It will only take a minute.

Wow, how cool is that? We’ve all had the experience of standing in the bloody baggage claim area after a long flight, watching that little belt go around, straining hopelessly to catch a glimpse of our long lost underwear. But not this girl. Oh no. She just put on some tunes and rocked out!

When was the last time you did something like that? I think maybe it has been years and years for me. I used to regularly engage in PAI (Public Acts of I-don’t-care-what-you-think). When I was a kid, I was an endless source of humiliation for my poor sister. I wore crazy hats. I was kicked out of grocery stores. My cousin regularly reminds me of how we used to ride around town in her convertible with the top down and me singing opera at the top of my lungs.

What happened?

Is it just because I’m older? Have I grown wary and frightened? Or is it because I got bigger? Were I to dance around at the airport like that today, would people around mostly ignore me or smile gently like they do at the girl in the video? Or would they hurl insults at me and call me names like they did a few months back at the restaurant?

But I often wonder if this is one of the most insidious repercussions for those of us who have been bullied. How many insults can we endure before we shut down? How many of us have had our bright, bright lights muted under bushel baskets for years and years because we have been traumatized, battered, and bruised by very public opinions about our bodies? I continue to wonder about the squandering of those most precious resources. Resources we desperately need in our society like energy, inspiration, spontaneity, creativity, courage and joy. Can our world afford to throw these precious gifts away in order to sell more diet pills and gain more research funding for take home bulimia kits? I don’t think it can.

So my friends, let’s see if we can’t find a way to get our collective mojo back. I think exploring our inner child is a good start. And so is collecting for radically awesome events like A Fatty Affair. And joining fantastic groups like The Size Diversity Task Force can’t hurt either. After being part of the SDTF, inspired me to shoot this video on a busy weekday at my local thrift store. I’m committed to doing whatever it takes. Because hiding our light under a bushel basket doesn’t just diminish us personally, it deprives the world of our fantastic, glorious, gorgeous light, which is a crime against humanity. So let’s see if we can’t find even more ways to pull those bushel baskets off and dance like nobody’s watching.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Joyful Movement Taught by 14 Month-Old Ivo

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Click on the photo to see a beautiful video…

A friend recently sent me a link to this fabulous video on facebook. Apparently some dancers were looking for some inspiration for their new dance piece. And as they were dancing, 14-month old Ivo wandered in and started doing his thing. The dancers decided to let him lead and the result is the above linked facebook video which is rapidly going viral.

And why is that? He’s not a world celebrated choreographer. He never danced at the Bolshoi or studied with Fosse or Graham. So what is it about this little guy that has made him a facebook phenom at such a tender age?

I admit that I smiled and even giggled a little as I watched this video. Ivo is terribly cute! But I think what attracted me most is the idea that Ivo’s performance perfectly embodies joyful movement. Ivo is not calculating how many fat grams he’s burning or working on his “core”. Ivo is not wondering about calories or carb loading or fast twitch muscle fibers. Nope. Ivo is just dancing because he hears some music and because it feels good and because it’s fun. The fact that all the bigger people joined in is just an extra bonus feature as far as Ivo is concerned. Ivo is dancing because Ivo wants to dance.

I think children have so much to teach us about what joyful movement is and what if feels like. I was inspired by a talk given by the ever-fabulous Deb Burgard at last Saturday’s A Fatty Affair in San Jose (which totally rocked by the way). In her talk, Deb talked about how as an adult, she wants to bring recess back. She asks us to remember how great it felt to hear the bell ring and run outside and jump on the swings or the merry-go-round or teeter-totter. She reminds us of the release that came from just moving our bodies because it felt good, because it was a reprieve from studies and books and because it was fun!

Outside of borrowing a 14-month old kid to teach our fitness classes, I wonder how we can find our way back to this feeling again. Can we just hop on a swing and pump our legs as we taste the sky? Can we feel the whoosh of air going by as we spin on the merry-go-round? Can we respond to an elegant Cello solo by flopping on the floor and kicking our legs in the air?

Look, I’m a fitness professional. Obviously I believe there is a time and a place for integrating exercise science into our workouts. Science can help lead us to exercise and help shape our exercise plans so we can exercise safely and effectively. But I don’t think it’s the science that keeps us exercising. I think it’s the sky tasting, whoop and swoop and kicking that does it. So that’s the challenge I’d like to offer you right now. I’d like to invite you to let Ivo, and your old playground self to inform your next workout. Then, if you like, you could drop me an email or post in the comments to let us know how it went.

Love,

The Fat Chick

The Right Now! Show: On the Size Diversity Task Force

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This week on episode 2 of “The Right Now Show with Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick) I’ll be talking about a fabulous activism project created by the Size Diversity Task Force (of which I am a proud member). The Size Diversity Task Force is asking folks to “liberate” diet books from thrift shops and rummage sales and donate the pages to the SDTF. The group will then take the pages and use them to create a world-record breaking paper-mache sculpture! You can learn more about it here:

Paper Mache in a Big, Big Way

Oh and if you’d like to win extra special bonus points and save the planet while you’re liberating diet books, check out this video created by Julianne Wotasik and Ragen Chastain:

I had so much fun working on this trailer. And I liberated over 1,500 pages for the cause just in one day! It was easy! Thanks so much for your interest in the show. Remember, I’m collecting ideas for future shows so drop me an email at jeanette at thefatchick dot com to let me know what you’d like me to talk about.

And to make sure you don’t miss a single episode of The Right Now! Show, don’t forget to subscribe to this channel.

Thanks!
Jeanette DePatie
AKA The Fat Chick
http://www.thefatchick.com

P.S. Tonight I’ll also be doing a Teleseminar with Anne Cuthbert. You can sign up for free right HERE! I’ll be speaking at 5:00 PM (PST) and I can’t wait to take your questions about how to set up fitness resolutions that won’t leave you sad, sick, injured or dead!