Tag Archives: HAES

Trigger Warning: Why an At Home Stomach Pump Might Not be Such a Good Idea

Okay, what I’m going to talk about today amounts to potential corporate backed, government sanctioned bulimia. And it has a pretty major “ick” factor as well. So if either of these things are triggering to you, you might wish to go back to Thursday’s post with the dancing bird. I’m totally cool with that.

But there has been a flurry of articles and emails flying around about a firm that wants to tackle obesity by offering what amounts to an at-home stomach pump. I know. It sounds like an article from The Onion. It sounds like a really badly thought out skit on Saturday Night Live. I even checked Snopes.com But unfortunately, it appears that this is real.

Wired magazine recently published the article, “US firm wants to tackle obesity with at-home stomach pump.” In the story, they explain that a US company (ASPIRE BARIATRICS LLC) has filed for a US patent for “Apiration Therapy” which is intended to be “a non-invasive alternative to gastric bypass.” Basically what happens is the patient has outpatient endoscopic surgery in which a tube is installed in their stomach that pokes out a very small incision in the center of the abdomen. Once the incision heals, the tube is trimmed flush with the patient’s body and a “skin port” is installed.

The patient is then encouraged to regularly pump the contents directly out of their stomach. Let me explain exactly what this means. (And I’m offering an additional trigger warning right here. Thursday’s dancing bird was super cute…) Here’s a quote from the “study”

She “aspirated” after every meal: “the patient uncapped [her] tube, connected a 60 cc syringe and extracted food from her stomach twice. This resulted in a siphon effect, which permitted the subject to freely drain the stomach by allowing the open tube to empty into a bucket. The patient squeezed the tube to enhance propulsion and to break up large food.”

Okay. So you eat a meal. And then you connect a syringe to your “skin port” and create a “siphon effect” which “freely drains” your undigested stomach contents into a bucket. Apparently by doing this and drinking water between each aspiration, the dieter was able to evacuate between 2 and 3 liters of fluid after each meal.

Let’s just stop right there, shall we? Just HOW can anybody think that this is okay? How, exactly are you supposed to have anything approaching a normal life with this treatment? After each meal, you have to attach a syringe and engage in a multi-stage process, during which you drink several liters of water and dump your raw stomach contents into a bucket. How can THIS be a good idea?

The reason I am telling you this decidedly disturbing story is not simply to gross you out or titillate you with gory details. (Although I have no doubt that both of these play a part in why the story was originally published). No, I want to use this story to illustrate a few very important points.

1. Our society makes people desperate to lose weight. Fat people face constant messages that they are sick, lazy, gross, unworthy and useless. Many are harassed by strangers in pubic places, derided by doctors, passed over by potential employers and face daily abuse by strangers and loved ones alike. Fat people who have internalized these messages or are worn down by the constant abuse may become desperate. They are desperate enough to have irreversible surgery done to alter the functioning of healthy organs. They may even be desperate enough to siphon their stomach contents into a bucket. But is the real problem here the fat, or the desperation that our world inflicts on fat people?

2. This patent application was filed based on a single study of 24 patients who, best I can tell, have been followed for less than two years. Now it’s important to note that this invention has NOT been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. But given some of the folks involved in this project (including Segway creator Dean Kamen who co-invented the prototype) it is likely to move rapidly in that direction. Can we just note the situation here where we had a guy who invented a product that keeps people from having to walk anywhere also inventing a bariatric product? Anybody else see a contradiction here? And while many weight loss schemes and products seem to work well in the first year or two, they all seem to have considerably less success at the 3-5 year stage. What reason do we have to believe that this process would be any different?

3. The purpose for the product as stated in the patent application is “The present invention is less invasive than current surgical procedures for reducing weight and allows patients to live a normal and active lifestyle without experiencing adverse side effects.” Just exactly how normal is it to spend more than 20 minutes several times per day emptying food out of your gut into a bucket? It is interesting however that the patent application does not cite any potential health benefits of the product outside of the “normal and active lifestyle”. This may be because with their extremely limited sample size and study duration they weren’t able to record any. Or maybe they just feel the health benefits of weight loss are something that “everybody knows” about. Or maybe it’s because we’re finally realizing that the health problems associated with overweight and obesity may have been blown out of proportion.

4. How is this not medically induced bulimia? Whether you regurgitate your stomach contents or squeeze them out of a tube, it basically amounts to the same thing. Sure, you may have less damage to tooth enamel and esophagus from the tube method, but it seems likely that many of the problems of malnutrition as well as the damage of the binge/purge cycle would apply here. Maybe dealing with fat by creating a systemic, medicalized eatiing disorder is not the way to go here.

5. It’s about money. The prototypes were created, the medical trials were completed all at what had to be enormous expense, because there is a tremendously huge amount of money at stake here. Gastric bypass surgeries seem to be waning in this down economy as stories of corruption, and more and more information about long term side effects and reductions in efficacy come to light. Bariatric medicine is looking for the next “big” thing that will allow them to make a lot of money. You can bet this project will be fast-tracked.

Okay, this post has already reached epic length and I should probably wrap this up here. So here’s the bottom line. Do we want to live in a world that is so emotionally toxic to fat people that they will do anything to lose weight? Do we want to live in a world where the health benefits of intuitive eating and regular moderate exercise are pushed aside in a mad dash to create stunning “before” and “after” pictures and to line the pockets of bariatric medical establishments? Or do we want to choose something better for ourselves and for all of our brothers and sisters of all sizes?

I don’t know when or if this product will ever come before the FDA. I do know that in the mean time, I will continue to work towards a HAES (R) approach to wellness. I know that I will work for health and well being for people of all sizes that is based on sound science, dignity and self-respect.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Okay, let’s get back to WORK!

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I confess, the second day of the year is often a bit of a letdown for me. We’ve been preparing and preparing for the holidays. We’ve made (and distributed) over 120 dozen cookies. We’ve drunk our New Year’s Drinks and made our New Year’s pledges. The tree will stay up to the weekend but is as dry as a poor doggie’s bone. And I am faced with the harsh reality of having to get the heck back to work. I don’t get that warm, righteous, it’s a holiday but I’m working anyway satisfaction. Nope. I have that, I really don’t have an excuse so I gotta get back to it for heaven’s sake kinda deal. Meh.

On the other hand I do find this time of year very invigorating. I’m working with a whole bunch of absolutely amazing people on some ridiculously cool plans. This is the time of year to believe anything is possible. This is the time of year to make outrageous commitments and sign up for stuff just because it seems like it might be cool. So I’m sucking down my coffee and sucking it up just in time to tell you about some amazing things going on right now, and coming down the pike. Let’s DO this people!

New Fat Chick Clique Personalized Training Programs

On January 14, we’ll be launching our all-new training program built on The Fat Chick Works Out! book and DVD. The program (available at several different levels) will feature a live teleconference every week on Monday nights. You’ll receive personal encouragement emails, lots of opportunities to interact with your fellow exercisers and will have access to a variety of personal training options. Special discounts are offered (through January 14 only) for members of Fit Fatties and The Fat Chick Clique. Even deeper discounts are available for folks also participating in the new Fit Fatties Training Groups (see below).

Fit Fatties Across America

On the Fit Fatties Forum, we’re doing the Fit Fatties Across America project. All you have to do is join the forum (it’s free). Then if you wish to participate, simply fill in the form each time you exercise with the date and your time or distance. We’re going to compile everybody’s time and distance and figure out how long it will take the fit fatties to move across the country. We’re starting in New York City and making our (virtual) way to Los Angeles. Once there, a real, in the flesh, super cool party will be had!

New Training Groups

Also on the Fit Fatties Forum, we are creating 4 new premium training groups. For a modest fee, you’ll be able to join a special group of folks either involved in training for distance events, getting in 150 minutes of exercise per week, dedicated to moving just for the fun of it and yes, even a group participating with the Zombies, Run! application. The group will have private facebook message boards, participate in dedicated email groups and get special and personalized advice from forum founders Ragen Chastain and yours truly. Discounts are available to those who register before January 15, so sign up now!

Set a World Record!

After Ragen Chastain heard about the new program from Angela Meadows to destroy diet books as part of our New Year’s Revolution, she contacted a few of us at the Size Diversity Task Force with an idea. Let’s do this as a group and collect over 20,000 pages of diet books to destroy. Which gave me an idea, a big idea, a rascally, super large, crazy idea. Let’s use all those magazines to create a sculpture like Brenda Oelbaum does, but let’s make it the world’s LARGEST! Let’s go for a World Record here. This is all part of my tired of being timid, go big or go home plan for 2013. Wanna join us? You can participate from anyplace in the world. You can either send diet books, contribute money for us to “liberate” diet books ( from resale shops and garage sales where the book creators won’t be financially compensated for what is essentially paper mâché plaster) or even fly or drive in to join us on the big day! You can click here to stay updated on the details.

Super Secret New Project

I can’t reveal this super secret new project I’m working on quite yet, but I am a tease! So I’ll tell you to keep checking back here for a super cool totally new thing that I’ll be offering. Stay tuned!

So while one party has ended, another one is just beginning. Let’s get it started in here!

Whew, well there is a lot of cool and fun and exciting things for us to do together in the coming year! So grab a cup of coffee and let’s get clickin! Post-party ennui aside, I just can’t wait.

Love,

The Fat Chick

New Years Resolution Special Edition

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Hello everybody. Sorry the post is so late today, but I was working up the special treat you see in the video above. I’ve been thinking a lot about New Years resolutions lately and how to make them more body positive. That was the inspiration for the video.

I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that the video mostly has pictures of me. And while I’m okay with looking at pictures of myself, what I REALLY would like to do is create a video with some pictures of YOU. I think working together makes us so much stronger! So, I’d love it if you would send me some photos along with body-positive resolutions. Just send them to projects@thefatchick.com. You can use the video above as an example of the kinds of photos and resolutions I’m seeking. You can send anything–(just keep it PG and body positive, please!)

I’m so excited about the coming year and the amazing projects we can do together! For instance, on the Fit Fatties Forum we are launching Fit Fatties Across America. Starting tomorrow, forum members can enter their exercise duration or miles on a very simple form. We’ll add everybody’s time and distance together and calculate how long it will take all of the Fit Fatties to get across the USA. (NOTE: the program is open to folks all over the world. We simply picked the US as a beginning geographical marker. Once we get from New York to LA, we’ll have a big party and begin discussing “Fit Fatties Across the World” or “Fit Fatties Fly to the Moon!”) If you’re interested be sure to join the forum (it’s FREE) and hop right on in there!

Also launching on the Fit Fatties Forum on January 1 are, by member request, training and support groups. There are groups lead by fat certified fitness professionals for people of all sizes, abilities, and goals. There is a group for those with a goal of 150 minutes of activity a week, a group for those planning to participate in a fitness event this year, one for those who want to enjoy movement without tracking or structure, and then there’s Team Zombie. People can join as many groups as they would like. There is a small fee to be involved but it’s pretty cheap and it will be awesome. You can find out more info here. (If you aren’t a member you’ll be prompted to join at the link – it’s free and doesn’t commit you to anything.)

We are also launching an amazing new project with the Size Diversity Task Force here in Los Angeles. We’ll be “liberating” diet books and papers from our closets and garages as well as local resale shops, thrift stores and rummage sales. We will then be incorporating these diet books into an extra special super cool art project! Want to make sure you’re in the loop on this awesome project? Check out the site for the Size Diversity Task Force.

Well that’s about the limit of awesome I can fit into one blog post. Tune in soon for more updates. Oh, and Happy New Year!

Love,

The Fat Chick

Roll Models

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It’s hard to say whether kids today have an easier time or a harder time with the whole size acceptance thing. On the one hand, kids have access to a much more diverse community now. When many of us who are currently adults were children, our community was pretty small. We were influenced by television and magazines and movies of course. But most of our role models and experience came from a much smaller group comprised of our friends, the kids at school, our church or community group, the folks in the neighborhood and our families. Via social media, kids nowadays have access to a much wider group of people. There are social groups focused on size acceptance on the internet. And some of their heroes like Adele and Lady Gaga have spoken out directly about the notion that kids can love their bodies just as they are. Thus many kids are exposed at a much earlier age to the concept of size acceptance.

On the other hand, that social media is a double-edged sword. Kids are constantly communicating and critiquing one another. Mistakes can be immortalized via words, photos and videos and be part of an child’s online presence for life. If a group of kids should decide to pick on another kid, they can do so relentlessly, 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. They can find and follow their target even if they choose to move away. Sometimes this cyber bullying can have disastrous consequences.

And there’s also the question of kids being sexualized at a much younger age. Kids as young as 3 are paraded around in beauty contests. Companies sell padded bikini tops to preteens. Child actors and particularly singers are presented as sex objects well before the age of consent. Kids are under more pressure than ever to conform to an extremely thin, sexually desirable, designer clad, hot number at younger and younger ages. And yes, obesity and childhood type 2 diabetes have gone up in the past 20 years (although there is ample evidence that this is now leveling off or even decreasing). But we also have a situation where hospitalizations for eating disorders for kids under the age of 12 is up 119%. That’s kids UNDER 12 here folks.

So what are we to do? How can we help? Well one thing we can do is all go sign the petition created by Ragen Chastain and I to keep kids off the next season of The Biggest Loser. The last thing kids need is to see other kids like themselves battered, bullied and abused on national television just because of the size of their bodies. If you haven’t signed the petition, hop on over there and do it. I’ll wait…

But the other thing I think we grownups can do, especially when we are grownups of size is to be good roll models for our kids. Sure we can also be good role models. We can choose not to disparage other people for their size and we can speak out when we see it happening. But I’m also talking about rolls of flesh–our bumps, and love handles and folds of skin. We can wear those body “imperfections” with pride. We can wear tank tops. We can choose not to speak negatively about our bodies, especially in front of kids. By walking around, comfortable in our own skin, we send kids the message that bodies are wonderful and beautiful and diverse–and that there are lots and lots of other things we can choose to be neurotic about other than how we look in our skinny jeans. I’m not talking about lecturing to kids. We all know how well that goes. I’m talking about simply modeling a level of casual comfort over the whole body thing. Because so often while kids are busy not doing what we tell them, they are watching intently to see what we do.

So what about you? Are there ways that you can be a roll model for today’s youth? I’d love to hear what YOU think!

Love,

The Fat Chick

Obesity Panic: Now Available at Birth

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Counting baby’s fingers and toes and BMI

The Washington Post recently reported on a study that purports to predict which kids are most likely to become obese. This study claims that you can use a simple formula to predict which kids are more likely to get fat over the course of their lives. Apparently, worried parents can follow the formula (using a simple online tool) shortly after the baby’s birth to begin obsessing over the child’s potential chub before they have even brought their bundle of joy home from the hospital.

That’s just great, isn’t it?

The article goes on to suggest that doctors and parents will know shortly after birth, which kids can “benefit most” from interventions aimed at preventing them from becoming fat. The article admits that helping people lose weight once they are heavy “has yielded disappointing results”. So the article suggests, we might have better success in preventing kids from getting fat in the first place.

Hmmm. Based on what, I wonder? Is there any proof that these interventions work? Is there any evidence in the world to indicate that kids who receive these early interventions wind up thinner or more healthy than those who don’t? And what does it do to these kids to be singled out at such an early age?

Reading a little further in the article, I came across this little gem:

The authors note that such a formula if used in common practice could help physicians allocate health-care resources by steering those kids who most need help toward nutrition and psychological counseling. They further note, though, that their formula should not be used to stigmatize some families or to falsely reassure other families that their babies are not at risk of becoming overweight in the future.

Okay, so let me get this straight. The formula can help doctors figure out which kids to start badgering about not getting fat (starting at birth) but reassure us that those kids and families shouldn’t feel singled out (because we tell them not to). And God forbid you parents with kids at lower risk for obesity should relax your vigilance for even a minute. Your kid could wind up fat anyway. You just can’t be too careful.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

How long before we have Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers for babies? How long until health insurance becomes more expensive for families of “high-risk” kids? How long before parents are crunching potential BMI numbers before they even decide whether or not to have a kid?

I don’t know about you, but this sort of thing really, really scares the crud out of me. It’s not enough that we have five and six-year-old kids with eating disorders. Nope. Now we’re supposed to be obsessing over the gene size and the jeans size of children before they even start solid food.

Why don’t we just make healthy foods and a safe place to play available to all kids? How about we don’t start messing with kids innate and intuitive skills for playing and eating before they even begin to form their first words? How about we teach all kids about Health At Every Size and give them tools for healthy, happy, expansive, joyful lives instead of teaching them to fear and hate their own bodies before they are out of diapers?

Let’s, at least for a little while, let kids be kids.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Stuff That Weighs More Than Me: World’s Largest Santa Snow Sculpture

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Check out this magnificent snow sculpture, reported to be the largest ice/snow sculpture of Santa in the world. The sculpture was created in Harbin China (where the temperatures can dip down as low as -35 degrees Celsius or -31 degrees Farenheit) to celebrate the city’s world-renowned ice festival. The huge Santa is the star attraction of the festival, expected to draw over 800,000 visitors between mid-December and February.

There’s little question that this particular Santa is huge. Just how huge is he? Glad you asked! Here’s the stats:

Height: 80 ft.

Length: 525 ft.

Now the question of weight. The sculpture is estimated to contain over 13,000 cubic meters of snow. This works out to about 459,091 cubic feet.

The weight of a cubic foot of snow varies widely depending on the water content of the snow. According to the University of Arkansas paper, “Ice and Snow Accumulations on Roofs”

“The water content of snow may range from 3% for very dry snow to 33% for a wet, heavy snow to nearly 100% for ice.”

Our Santa ice sculpture is clearly closer to ice than dry snow, so let’s split the difference and say, conservatively, that the snow is 30% water. That takes us to 137,727 cubic feet of water. A cubic foot of water weighs 62.4 lbs.

Soooo. Final weight stats:

Volume: 459,091 cubic ft. of snow containing 137, 727 cubic ft. water.

Weight: 1 cubic foot of water 62.4 lbs.

Weight of World’s Largest Santa Sculpture (est.) 8,594,185 lbs. (nearly 4300 tons)

Conclusion: The World’s Largest Santa Snow Sculpture weighs more than me.

Thursday Theater: The Fat Chick Onstage at The Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas

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Check out this video of me performing on the Soundwaves Stage, poolside at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. It was the end of the day and the sun was going down but we still had a blast. And even though there were a lot of typical hard body athletes, everybody got their Bollywood Bounce on and we had so much fun!

BTW, it’s never too late to join in the fun. Just sidle on up to your computer and dance along!

Love,
The Fat Chick

Thursday Theater: With a Thankful Heart

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Good morning my dear Chicklettes! This Thanksgiving I am grateful for so many things! And, in addition to my wonderful heart, I am especially grateful for the amazing and wonderful gift of my whole mind and my entire body:

Feet that step and skip and dance,
Legs that have carried me towards my loved ones and all that I dream,
Knees that flex under the load I sometimes have to carry, and kneel in awe of the beauty of this world,
Thighs that make a lap for holding warm, squirmy, squiggly children and a resting place for the chin of my fabulous dog, Max,
Hips that sway and shimmy and shake to the beat of the beautiful old earth, and make a place to rest my hands when arms akimbo, I face the dangers and toils of this world,
A round, soft bottom that cushions me when I fall,
A warm, generous tummy that creates the energy I need to live and love and shakes merrily when I giggle and gufflaw at the delicious absurdity of life,
A broad back that allows me to bend down to help others and help shoulder their load,
An expansive chest that swells when I breathe the rich and wonderful air, that powers my speech and my song, that gives me a place to cradle that which is beloved,
A powerful neck that allows me to turn my head and see not only that which is right in front of my eyes, but all of the wonder that surrounds me,
Lips to kiss,
Tongue to taste,
Teeth to bite when the need arises,
Eyes that convey the beauty of the universe to my mind and allow others to see into my soul,
Ears that record the music of the earth from the soft shushing of the surf to the boom of a storm to the whisper of a lover sharing a secret,
And a heart and mind capable of recognizing the incomprehensible nature of the gift which I have received.

Here’s hoping that Thanksgiving is full of all that makes you happy and joyfully devoid of the stuff that tempts you to choose to relinquish your peace.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Thursday Theater: Pets Help Keep Us Fit

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While not all pets are as “talented” as the one pictured in this video, it is clear that pets (especially dogs) help us to keep fit. It is difficult to find a more willing, available and awesome exercise partner than my fabulous dog, Max. He’s definitely getting a little grey about the muzzle and long in the tooth. But all I have to do is say the word “walk” and he nearly loses his little doggy mind with excitement. In fact, we use the phrase, “start the countdown” in our household to indicate the microscopic amount of time between saying the word “walk” and Max going crazy. So it’s pretty typical for my husband and I to ask each other questions like, “Got the leash? Got your keys? Are we ready to start the countdown?” We’ve learned to do this because it’s pretty hard to put on a coat and seek earnestly for your keys when you have a critter pulling on the leash and generally causing absolute mayhem in his urgency to get OUTSIDE.

Maybe we could all learn something from Max. Wouldn’t it be great if we all felt that level of excitement over exercise? Even when we’re older and our hips don’t work so well, regardless of the weather and what else is on our schedule, wouldn’t it be great to feel that worked up about working out? All I can say is, I’m working on it.

Love,
The Fat Chick

Plan Ahead to Deal With Holiday Stress

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Thanksgiving is coming up next week, and the holiday onslaught will be here in just minutes. We’ve all heard of holiday stress. But few of us are aware of how dangerous holiday stress can really be. Studies have indicated that cardiac mortality increases by as much as a third between Thanksgiving and New Years Day–even in mild climates. And scientists have surmised that this increase may be due to holiday stress.

One of the things you can do to help minimize holiday stress is to plan in advance. Learn how to set spending limits. Manage expectations and understand that no holiday is perfect. Prioritize, divest and delegate tasks so you don’t feel completely overwhelmed. Plan ahead for how you will deal with critical or unkind family members and friends who feel a need to try to “fix” you. And maintain healthy habits during the holidays–especially exercise.

Lucky for you, the HAES Happy Holidays Workshop, arranged by the amazing Ragen Chastain, begins tonight. The program is “name your own price” so you can stay within your holiday budget. And a variety of awesome speakers like Ragen, Marilyn Wann, Golda Poretsky and I will be talking about managing family relationships, looking fabulous, and dealing with holiday stress. I’ll be speaking tonight at 4PM PST–7PM EST about maintaining an exercise program during the holidays and setting up a rational New Years Resolution exercise program that is safe and super fun!

Procrastination also increases holiday stress, so don’t wait another minute. Go sign up for the program and dial on in. And help make this the best holiday season EVAR!

Love,

The Fat Chick