Tag Archives: the fat chick

Come dance with us in the Bay Area!

Hello my dears! It’s September of 2013, and do you know what that means? It means it’s time for some Hot Flash Mobs! This is the second annual installment of Hot Flash Mob Movement, a worldwide, synchronized dance flash mob movement held to honor perimenopausal and menopausal women everywhere. We’ll be kicking things off in San Francisco on September 18 in honor of Menopause Awareness Month. Last year we held several hot flash mobs in the Bay Area, and Arkansas, and New York City and Huntington Beach, CA.

This movement was the brainchild of me: (certified fitness professional, Jeanette DePatie AKA The Fat Chick) and menopause expert dear friend Dr. Eve Agee.

Frustrated by the negative and fear-mongering approach to menopause in our society we asked this question:

“What if instead of fearing menopause, we threw a great big party to celebrate it?”

That’s why we dreamed up the notion of The Hot Flash Mob Movement, a series of spontaneous, hot, group dance experiences allowing women from around the world to get together, have a big laugh and shake their collective groove things. Our first 2013 hot flash mob is scheduled for September 18 in downtown San Francisco. Interested? Check out our meet up! Remember, dance makes EVERYTHING better!

Love,

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

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Stuff That Weighs More Than Me: Ship Loaded with Containers

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This weekend some awesome friends of ours asked us to go out sailing with them. And while we were having a wonderful time, I didn’t forget about YOU my dear readers. As we passed a large ship carrying many, many containers, I was heard to say, “Quick get out your camera; I am SURE that thing weighs more than me!”

It’s difficult to make out exactly how many containers are on that ship. But I’m sure there are at least 100. Container ships can apparently carry up to 16,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). And it’s difficult to say how heavy each container is exactly, but if we do a little “back of the envelope figuring we come up with the following stats:

20′ Container weight empty: 5,290 lb (2,400 kg)

20′ Container maximum weight full: 67,200 lb (30,480 kg)

Considering an average weight of 50,000 lb per container and a minimum of 100 containers on the ship, the container weight alone would be:

5,000,000 lbs.

Conclusion: Empty or full, that container ship weighs more than me. Oh and sailing totally rocks!

Love,

The Fat Chick

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Proof Please

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So very often these days we hear that the world has deemed to help the portly because they so desperately need help and the world is being nice–and stuff. Millions upon millions are invested in trying to prove that fat people are unhealthy, and if they would just eat a little less and move a little more, all their problems would be solved, everybody in the world would be healthy, and good, quality health insurance would cost everybody $1. The fact that despite the millions of dollars spent, nobody has been able to prove these or demonstrate any way to make this magical weight loss happen on all but a fleeting and temporary basis doesn’t seem to deter anybody from testing this hypothesis again and again.

And even when the proof is not available, or indeed the available evidence says that your “weight intervention” causes negative effects and makes people fatter current policy seems to involve simply ignoring those pesky little facts.

Take the current practice of weighing and measuring kids at school and then sending home “BMI report cards”. Despite showing again, and again and again that shame doesn’t make kids thinner or healthier, showing that shame causes kids to engage in more unhealthy behavior, that shame makes kids fatter, we still do this. Why? The National Eating Disorder Information Center issued the following statement regarding BMI testing in schools:

What the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) seems to be ignoring in its advocacy of weighing and measuring the height of schoolchildren is the risk it carries not just to increase body-based bullying from student’s teachers and peers, but the risk to children’s developing self-stigma and poor body image.

Body-based bullying continues to be the most common cause of bullying in youth. 29% of girls and 15% of boys are already teased about their weight at home. By grade seven, up to 30% of girls and 25% of boys are teased by other students. Poor body image has been found to stop youth from engaging in social, academic and physical opportunities. It limits willingness to express an opinion. In perpetuating focus on body shapes and sizes rather than on encouraging health providing attitudes and behaviours in children regardless of size, what are our schools (and public health) teaching?

However, it seems that plans to do BMI testing and BMI report cards in schools is continuing throughout North America.

This also reminds me of another recent situation I had recently reported. Blue Care of Michigan is still touting the positive results of their “enforced march” walking program for fatties despite the fact that there is no evidence at all that those who participated either lost weight, or had any positive health outcomes associated with the program. They apparently did nothing to track the original fitness level of the plus-sized participants and had no idea whether or not these folks were already active. They just told these people that unless they wanted to pay an additional $2,000/year they had to participate. They also forced those who participated to either be a member of Weight Watchers or wear a monitor which counted their steps during the day. Just like a prisoner, they were forced to wear a physical implement on their bodies that told their insurance overlords what they were doing throughout the day. Just because their BMI is over 30. They declared this project a success even though nearly 1/3 of the 12 percent of participants who bothered to respond to the survey said they hated the program and found it coercive. For more information, you may wish to read this article from my friend and colleague Jon Robison.

Throughout all this rhetoric about making fat people into “healthy thin people”. Throughout all this spending on proving that fat people can become thin people on more than a very temporary basis and that making fat people into thin people will make them healthy there is one thing continually missing and that thing is proof.

When the available evidence points to the opposite of the fat people can become thin people, or fat people can’t be healthy people or fat kids just have ignorant parents rhetoric, the powers that be either request more money to re-test the hypothesis or simply ignore the inconvenient facts.

You may have heard of iatrogenic effects in medicine. Dictionary.com defines them as: (of an illness or symptoms) induced in a patient as the result of a physician’s words or actions, esp as a consequence of taking a drug prescribed by the physician.

And good old Dictionary.com also defines iatrogenic as relates to social welfare: “(of a problem) induced by the means of treating a problem but ascribed to the continuing natural development of the problem being treated”.

Some experts have suggested that the “obesity crisis” is a textbook example of iatrogenic effects in both medicine and social welfare. But I wonder if the “obesity crisis” isn’t responsible for iatrogenic effects in the economy as well. If the response to the mounting pile of evidence that “diets don’t work” and “shame doesn’t work” and “fat people can be healthy” is always, “let’s pay for more tests” or “let’s do the weight loss junk but try harder this time” the obesity crisis will continue to be very, very expensive.

But I think the treatment for the economic effects of the hysteria surrounding the “obesity crisis” may be as simple as this. Demand proof. If your insurance company wants to put you on a walking program without doing an intake of any kind or presenting any data regarding the efficacy of the program, demand proof. If your kid’s school wants to measure their BMI along with everybody else’s and send home a BMI report card, demand proof that this makes kids happier or healthier. It’s not easy. It’s not fun. But the rights of fat people to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness demands that we, the fierce fat folks, demand proof.

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

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Right Now Show 017: Setting Exercise Expectations

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Hey everybody! Here’s episode 17 of the Right Now Show. This episode is drawn from a speech I gave at the Wellness Beyond Weight Seminar at the ASDAH conference. It was a wonderful opportunity to teach people about exercise and expectations:

And this is also an opportunity to remind you that I love my work as a public speaker! If you’d like me to come to your business, university, special event or town, please consider booking me or recommending me to speak. You can learn more about my speaking 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

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The Tattooed Muppet Lady

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I’ve been going back and watching old, OLD episodes of one of my favorite shows of all time, The Muppet Show. It’s hard to explain what I love most about this show. I loved the singing and the dancing. I loved the puppets. I loved that all of the characters were so flawed and imperfect and so “human” even though they were frogs and pigs and chickens and stuff. And I loved the fact that all these imperfect creatures managed to stay friends and muddle through every week and get a show done. Some of the most important props might get eaten. They may literally be glued to the scenery, but somehow they still managed to make it to the final curtain and take their bows.

Jim Henson is one of my very great heroes and has always been a major inspiration for me.

As I’ve watched those old episodes again, there is one number that really stands out in my mind. That number is “Lydia the Tattoed Lady”. This was featured in Season One, Episode Two of The Muppet Show, and included Kermit and Lydia. Apparently this was one of Jim Henson’s very favorite songs. Henson lovingly hand-drew the tattoos on Lydia the puppet’s body.

Did I mention that Lydia is a pig? Wearing cat’s eye glasses? With flaming red hair and a sparkly purple bikini?

No?

Well you’d better just watch the video then, hadn’t you?

Although I didn’t realize it when I was a kid, I now see Lydia the Tattooed Muppet Lady for what she really is. A gloriously confident, gorgeous, rad fatty, role model! She’s not wearing a lot of clothes on her apple-shaped body. But Lydia is hardly covered in shame or self-loathing. She just goes out there and ROCKS IT THE HECK OUT! Check out her moves at 1:12 and 1:27. She has got it going ON!

I’ve watched this video over and over and it makes me so, so happy. I’ve always said, go out and shake what you’ve got. And I am reminded of this little perfect moment from my early childhood where I got to see this principle in action.

No wonder Jim Henson has always been one of my favorite friends I never got a chance to meet. How about you? Are there specific television moments that have shaped your current rad-fatty approach to life? Well then SPILL! I’d like to hear all about it in the comments section!

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

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Body Hatred–We have an “App” for That!

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Arrrrrrrgh! A good friend recently shared this link with me. (Warning–following link leads to stupid picture and ridiculous article. Please check your sanity points level before you engage.) It’s an article about an upcoming Anti-obesity app that will show people how they will look in the future if “their diet and exercise habits don’t change”. Developed by the same folks who created an anti-smoking app that shows people what they will look like if they continued to smoke, the idea is that people become so horrified at their future, fatter selves that they will magically stick to restrictive diets and vigorous exercise programs and will stay svelte and beautiful for-EVAH.

Except maybe not.

It’s instructive that the story suggests that people using the app will be able to enter queries asking “what I will look like in four weeks, eight weeks, 12 weeks, 26 weeks or a year.” Because one year is about the point at which many weight loss attempts start to go south and regain becomes common. It’s interesting that the article does not suggest you will be able to ask what you will look like in five years. Perhaps that’s because by that point, you have a 90-95 percent chance of looking the same or even larger than when you started.

Also, it’s been widely reported that bodies metabolize food and exercise very differently. I’m wondering how this “app” will account for that. We all know there are some people who eat a lot of junk food and spend a lot of time watching TV but never gain weight. We also know some people eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and exercise quite a lot but don’t lose a lot of weight. So how will this app account for those differences? My guess–it won’t. It will be based on some ridiculously over-simplified, generic, set of statistics that are custom-built to have the biggest impact on your “avatar” that has little or possibly even NO basis in reality.

There are many things about this upcoming app that make me angry and a little crazy. But maybe one of the things that makes me most upset is the notion that this app, built by researchers at a freaking UNIVERSITY are working with the notion that shame will help make people thin. Just how many research studies do we need exactly to prove that shame doesn’t make people, especially young people thin? Seriously?! And does the app have a convenient “Thinspo” feature that allows people with eating disorders utilize these visualization features?

Come on colleges and universities! I mean, totally fabulous “Love Your Body Week” programs aside, you’ve got a way to go here. It’s not just Professor Terrible that’s the problem. It’s the fact that you approve and even allocate funding for projects like this stupid app. It’s the fact that fat people are less likely to be admitted to your universities than thin people. Maybe it’s time to stop focusing so much on people with big fat wallets and start focusing on being fair to people who are simply fat.

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

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Stuff That Weighs More than Me: World’s Largest Caravan

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It was actually THIS picture, sent to me by a friend, that got me on the whole “retreat” theme for this week in the first place. The Globe Caravan (pictured above) is owned by Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan (The Rainbow Sheikh). It is just one of the more outstanding examples in his car collection estimated to contain somewhere between 200 and 400 cars and trucks. Oh and just to clarify a few things, A)The Rainbow Sheikh loves cars and trucks and B)this member of the Abu Dhabi ruling Royal Family is rich. In fact he not only owns his own island (Futaisi Island) but reportedly had the word HAMAD carved so deeply into the soil that waterways could flow into the channels and the word could be read from space.

The Globe Caravan is usually on display at the Emirates National Auto Museum. And heeeere’s the stats:

Number of stories: 3

Number of bedrooms: 9

Number of bathrooms: 9

Scale: Reportedly exactly 1,000,000:1 the real Earth

Weight: I dunno. If we calculate based on the earth calculation:

Weight of Earth: (Approximately)6,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000 Kilograms

Divide that by 1,000,000, you get 6,000,000,000,000,000,000 which is like 6 Trillion tons, so maybe the scale model thing is slightly exaggerated.

CONCLUSION: As you can see from the picture above, the thing is pretty darn big. And even though I don’t know the exact weight, I’m fairly confident, it Weighs More Than Me.

Oh and by the way, if you’d like to contribute to another (slightly smaller) model of the world, consider donating to the World’s Largest Paper Mache Project by the Size Diversity Task Force.

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

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Professor Terrible Learns about Consequences

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I was oh so VERY happy today to read that the University of New Mexico has decided to Censure Professor Terrible, (AKA Professor Geoffrey Miller) about his now infamous tweet. For those of you who have been on a media fast or have been living under a rock, Geoffrey Miller Tweeted:

As I predicted, a media “sharknado” of epic proportions ensued. Geoffrey issued a few half-hearted apologies and then, when that didn’t work, he claimed the tweet was part of a “social experiment” in some “research” he was conducting.

Except, um, no. Both universities where Geoffrey teaches, UNM and New York University determined that this tweet does not meet the requirements for university “research” which among other things, would have required pre-approval by an institutional review board.

So, after several months of review, the University of New Mexico has decided to officially censure Professor Terrible and have demanded that Miller:

Not serve on any committee involving the admission of graduate students to the psychology department for the duration of his time as a faculty member at the university.
Work with the faculty co-advisers of the psychology department’s diversity organization to develop a plan for sensitivity training on obesity (for himself to undergo, said a university spokeswoman). The plan must be approved by a co-adviser or by the chair of the department.
Be assigned a faculty mentor for three years with whom he will meet on a regular basis to discuss potential problems.
Have his work monitored by the chair of the department.
Apologize to the department and his colleagues for his behavior.

All of which seems completely reasonable and on the right track to me. Now if you read the comments section (which you should probably never, ever do by the way) in the publications where this is being reported, you’ll see a lot of people jumping up and down and screaming that academics have gotten out of hand and that political correctness has taken over the country. You’ll also read a lot of comments screaming about First Amendment rights and censorship.

To which (after breathing in a paper bag to calm myself down) I offer this response. Even though censure sounds like censor, they are not the same thing. The University of New Mexico found that Miller’s tweet violated three different UNM Faculty Handbook policies. Presuming Miller read the handbook when he became a professor at UNM, he knew what he was and was not allowed to say in a public forum. He chose to ignore those rules. The fact that the University subsequently chose to discipline him for violating those rules is perfectly reasonable and appropriate. It is not censorship.

His behavior brought shame upon his employer, caused students to call into question whether they had been discriminated against based on appearance, and called into question whether the admissions process at this university was fair. I’m not sure whether or not this opened the University up to a lawsuit, but I’m fairly sure that legal dollars were spent assessing a potential threat.

And I’d like to point out, that Dr. Miller got a relatively light sentence. He didn’t lose his job. They didn’t dock his pay. They simply have to make sure that it’s clear that Miller’s prejudice can’t be connected with the University’s admissions process.

I would argue that the many, many graduate students who are denied access to higher education because of the way they look are paying a much higher cost than Professor Terrible. Recent research has offered further evidence of this discrimination and the lasting economic effects experienced by those who are subject to this discrimination. These students do not get “censured” they simply don’t get accepted to University–and I consider that a much more serious consequence than the slap on the wrist “poor Geoffrey” has to endure.

I suppose in a way, I need to thank “poor, downtrodden, Professor Terrible”. He brought this issue to light in a very public way, he caused a university to further examine their own bias around size and weight, and got a lot of people to open their minds to the effect that weight stigma has on higher education–well at least those people who are not writing in the comment section. Well except for you of course. I am confident that you can write stuff in the comment section below that is insightful and intelligent, because you are the best readers ever.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Like my posts? You’ll love my stuff!

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Retreat

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It’s August, and a lot of us are thinking about getting in those last summer vacations before school starts. Last week was awesome but had a hellaceous schedule that has left me feeling kinda flat. FYI, 20+ hour days after age 40=falling asleep standing up.

So I’m thankful that this weekend I’ll be attending a 2-day retreat up in Big Bear with the church choir. I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to integrate this with my recent “nudity challenge“. All I can say is, “stay tuned!”

It’s so very important to schedule down time and find little ways to recharge and get your mojo back. It’s so important to spend time with friends who understand you and love you as you are. And I’m really looking forward of two days of sleeping in a tent, eating breakfast outside at a picnic table and eating smores until I bust.

I think retreats are especially important for those of us who daily do battle with weight stigma and size discrimination. Whether you’re out on the front lines fighting very public battles in the media, or quietly and gently helping your 7-year-old son cope with teasing, the war on obesity can be extremely exhausting. That’s why I think it’s sooooo important to sound “RETREAT! RETREAT!” and retire from the battle for a few hours or a few days.

Your retreat can take many forms. It can be as simple as a long, hot bubble bath complete with music and a trashy novel. It can be as complex as traveling to a monastery and not speaking for several weeks. Or you can get together with a lot of other like-minded folks for a weekend of fun and frolic.

That’s why I want to take this opportunity to tell you about a very special retreat coming up with the Size Diversity Task Force. The retreat will be held at the 4 Queens Hotel in Las Vegas on October 11-13. This is not a conference, it’s a retreat. That means there are a few optional structured activities planned for Saturday, but there is also loads of unscheduled time for giggles, snacks and hanging with your friends. The earlybird price is only $35, but you have to register before 8/11 to get that price. We’ve even got some financial assistance available for those who truly need it, but you must apply before 8/11. Now I hope I’m not stressing you out talking about deadlines and money and stuff. But seriously, if you wait until 8/12 you’re gonna be sad you didn’t get registered for the super low price!

Whether or not you choose to do the Size Diversity Task Force Retreat, I hope you can take a little bit of time to step back from the front lines and share some fun and relaxation with your friends. Take care of you!

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!

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!