Okay, so I’ve been slacking for a couple of weeks.  I did a few runs, but have mostly done nothing.  Tomorrow though I am restarting the HH 10K program.  Refocused & back to good!  But even with the slacking I have noticed lately in other activities I’ve been getting up to, I am stronger & more flexible.  I’m quite impressed with myself.

My plan for the week is:

 Monday
light weights
Fusion

Tuesday
2mi run
tennis

Wednesday
strength training
30min cross training

Thursday
2mi run

Friday
light weights
40min crosstraining

Saturday
3mi run

I may push Saturday’s run back to Sunday depending on our plans for the day.

On the romance front, our relationship has become official.  It is moving along faster than I had anticipated, but I like it.  I’m 37 & he’s 40, so I guess we’ve both been there, done that, & know what we want.

My birthday is next week, & he’s already talking about doing something, so I have decided to tell him tonight about being bipolar & on disability.  I’m nervous.  It certainly won’t be an easy conversation, but if we are going to pursue an honest relationship, he needs to know the truth.  He deserves the option to continue or not, & the sooner he knows the truth the better.  I have talked about my anxiety & having been depressed for a really long time.  Also, I said something yesterday & he asked me if I was OCD, so I came told him about my OCD tendencies & explained the difference between that & actual OCD. (The diff?  I have things I have to do or I become very uncomfortable, mentally & physically.  However, I do not believe there any consequences to not doing those things beyond just be being bothered.)

I saw my regular doctor Friday & she was very happy to hear I am seeing someone.  It’s nice to know me dating is that exciting even to my healthcare professionals.  I sent a pic of us together to a friend I had mentioned I was dating too, but hadn’t told how serious things had gotten.  His first reaction was to ask who it was, & when I told him it was my new boyfriend he responded, “Your what? Did you order him from overseas?”

And ooh, I got a rose Friday night just for being special. <3

Here’s the stats:

Engine: 6.2 Liter V8

Wheelbase: 122.8 inches

Height: 79 inches

Width: 83.1 inches

Length: 203.5 inches

Curb Weight: 6614 pounds

Conclusion: The H2 weighs more than a ton more than me.

Stuffed French toast with caramelized apples, dried cranberries, and goat cheese. Nom!

Fat Acceptance
-Get ready for NOLOSE 2013, which sounds amazing! I would love to make it to NOLOSE someday.
-Toronto fatties of color, check out the It Gets Fatter Project’s Fat Talk.
-Participate in a cultural shift by submitting your health care story to ASDAH’s Resolved: Addressing Weight Bias in Health Care video project.
-There’s no need for this obesity epidemic hysteria.
-How not to be a dick to your fat friends.
-Thigh gaps, calories, and ignorance about how bodies actually work.
-On not being impressed with thin people trying to be the voice of FA.
-HAES matters: a health at every size model for our children.
-Mindful eating: what it is, what it isn’t, and why kids don’t need it.
-Talented fat people are not actually shocking.
-Laura Beck gets to the heart of so much fat hatred.
-Both Glorify and Fierce, Freethinking Fatties are inviting fatties from marginalized backgrounds to write for them.
-How I learned to love my fat arms.

Fa(t)shion
-Tutu DuMonde’s clothing is gorgeous–too bad it’s for children! I’d totally wear it if it came in my size–unlike Jeska, I have no qualms about going to the bank dressed like a 1920′s circus performer.
-Continuum’s Constrvct collection is such a cool idea–you can design your own fashion, and then the clothing is custom-made to your measurements. It’s not particularly affordable, but I’m still glad it exists.
-Check out Rachele’s How To Be a Fat Bitch e-course #3, which is about fatshion.
-A review of a Sealed With A Kiss dress, and a really cool Etsy shop that makes custom clothing.
-Not for girls: are women ditching pink?
-Dressing for yourself and dressing to put others at ease.
-ABAN: Empowering girls in Ghana, one fabric at a time.
-Stop telling girls their hemlines are too short.
-A fabulous punk Marie Antoinette-themed photoshoot.
-Total eye candy: a floral affair.

Everything Else
-How not to write a travel piece like Nicholas Kristof.
-Why you shouldn’t participate in voluntourism.
-The war on sex workers.
-The triple-pane windows theory: a shockingly simple blueprint for cities to save the planet without wrecking the economy.
-A tiny village in Vietnam where women choose to be single mothers.
-The curious case of Reeva Steenkamp’s boyfriend.

21 DIY Gym Equipment Projects to Make at Home | Greatist

Fitness aficionados across the country are figuring out how to make their own gym equipment, saving money and boosting self-sufficiency in the process. Here, we’ve rounded up 21 DIY fitness projects designed to give you the tools to strength train, do some cardio, and stretch it all out in the comfort of your own home. Though some of these projects might be a little intimidating (concrete and power tools, anyone?), many of them are accessible to even the novice do-it-yourselfer.

Yes, I have been a little MIA, but in my defense I have been busy becoming a girlfriend. OMG It’s so freaky!  I’ve also been slacking at the gym.  By “slacking” I mean I haven’t been in a couple of weeks.  oops >_<  But I’m going back next week.  Pinky swear!  My being active is one of the things he likes about me.  He is going to help me fix-up my neglected freecycle bike so we can go for rides on the trails around his place.  I think it will be a lot of fun, & am equally freaked-out & excited about the whole situation. <3

But I suppose I should address the article I’m sharing.  I found this at Greatist & thought it had some really easy, creative, & budget-friendly ideas.

My faves are the treadmill laptop shelf & the yoga/pilates mat (though I have an idea for spiffing it up).  They have a listing for a DIY foam roller, but mine is better, imho  I also have some crochet yoga socks I have been meaning to work up.  Such a slacker…

In Episode 005 of the Right Now Show, we explore the cycle of dieting, deprivation and desperation that I have dubbed “The Big Fat Cookie Cycle”.  Learn a few reasons why dieting typically fails and why the Health At Every Size(R) approach seems to be so much more successful.

Here are some important references offering more information on Health At Every Size:

The Fat Chick Works Out! Book and DVD

The Association for Size Diversity and Health

Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight

Big Fat Stats

And finally, if you’re enjoying the show, don’t forget to subscribe at: http://www.youtube.com/jeanettedepatie.

Thanks so much!

Love,
Jeanette
AKA The Fat Chick
http://www.thefatchick.com

I also found out in December from my latest round of blood work that it appears my doctor and I have finally gotten my levothyroxine dosage right. 100 mcg seems to be the sweet spot for me. I still experience a few hypothyroid-y symptoms (I still can’t drive past Krispy Kreme without gaining five pounds, and I’m freezing cold more often than I’m warm) but overall my energy and my moods are better. (It’s hard to describe the experience of being hypo since everyone tends to experience it differently, and I seem to have gone through three distinct phases: untreated, overmedicated — too much levo is as bad as not enough — and “just right.”)

And I have officially (mostly) stopped giving a crap about my weight. If my clothes still fit, that’s good enough for me. Instead, I’m paying attention to other things, such as:

1. The wonderfully brisk pace at which I can walk.

2. The increased endurance and physical strength that I have developed — I can do 40 pushups now, including those scary, Exorcist-inspired Lotte Berk Method reverse push-ups. If not for the bionic ankle which I have to baby somewhat with low(er) impact exercises, I’m pretty sure I could really get into running, too. (Asthma? Pshhh.)

3. The amazing way food tastes when I know I have total permission to eat and enjoy it (and actually take the time to enjoy consuming it.) Also the way I don’t crave so-called “junk” food as much now that it’s not “forbidden.”

4. The fact that I’m much more energetic than I used to be, and also sleeping more restfully.

People will probably still look at me and pass judgment based on my appearance. Fat-shaming is the last socially-acceptable form of discrimination, after all. But the fuck I give went that way, kids.

Bitches, I can do 40 push-ups!

Q: If we don’t encourage weight loss and being at a “healthy” weight, then how are we going to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic and ensure that this generation of children is not the first to have a lifespan shorter than that of their parents’ generation?

A: Deb Burgard
For people who care about the health of children, the only question that matters is, “what supports the health of children?” Notice that “How do we make children thin?” is not the same question at all, and has been leading us astray. We can do a great deal to create environments that support the health of children, no matter what their weight, and that should be our focus. Instead, the resources for nutritious food, safe neighborhoods, good medical care, and frequent play are distributed unequally, leaving many children and parents without basic supports for health. When zip codes are far more predictive of health and longevity than body weight, we should stop obsessing about weight and switch our focus to the forces that impact the health of less privileged people, whether they are fat or thin.

A: Dana Schuster
I do not believe that fear-based health models do anything positive to encourage lifelong behaviors that might improve individual health, and the data on stress, stigma, and wellness supports this viewpoint. Neither the notion of a “childhood obesity epidemic” nor the threat of a “shorter lifespan” for the current generation, is based on actual scientific data, nor do these elements in any way address the issues that might actually change health outcomes for people. If we really want to help our children and teens to nurture themselves in a manner that supports wellness, we will teach them to love, honor and listen to their bodies, and we will provide them with information, access, and resources to secure positive social support, safe schools and communities, quality foods, and fun exercise.

A: Fall Ferguson
I reject the premise of the question. “Childhood obesity” didn’t even exist as a medical or public health term until 2007, when it was invented to further a fear-based, weight-based approach to health. It is inappropriate to talk about a current “epidemic” to describe the increases in children’s weight over time, given that the upward trend has leveled off in recent years. The idea that this entire generation is the first that will not outlive their parents appears everywhere in the literature and the press, but is not grounded in reliable evidence to that effect. It represents propaganda, not science.

I am all in favor of figuring out what promotes children’s health and allocating resources accordingly, but focusing on weight promotes fear, stigma, bullying, weight cycling, eating disorders, and body shame. It does not promote health.

Q: What can one say to a bunch of kids when they respond to the question “Why is it important to eat healthy” with the answer “So you don’t get fat”?

A: Dana Schuster
I have encountered this situation in my work with colleagues in the school setting, and see it as a true opportunity for education and breaking down bias. This exchange has opened up HAES® discussions about how “healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes” and allows us to talk about how you cannot know what or how people are eating based on whether they are thin, fat, or in between. Talking about the broader issue of discrimination based on appearance is also helpful here, as most youth are advocates for civil rights and have seen the results of bullying first-hand.

A: Deb Burgard
I would not use the language of “eating healthy” to begin with, but I would also challenge the kids to think of people they know of different sizes and how they have seen all sizes of people doing any given kind of eating (a big meal! a meal that is all desserts! a salad!). I would have them ponder whether a taller person has to eat more to get tall than a shorter person. I would have them think about all the different purposes our bodies have for fuel, like heat, motion, healing, and how you don’t see the way someone eats by looking at the size of their body. The most important thing is to redirect kids to listen to their own bodies and make decisions supported by their bodies’ wisdom.

Q: What motivates self-care if not trying to reach a number on a scale?

A: Deb Burgard
Um, anything else at all? Really, this question baffles me, because it is like saying, “What would motivate me to fall in love except the fear of having no date for the prom?”

A: Dana Schuster
I would posit that trying to reach a number on the scale is actually the direct opposite of something that motivates self-care; it motivates body obsession, anxiety, irritability, and ultimately “failure” for the vast majority of people. None of these things describe what self-care looks like. When I tossed the scale and started listening to my own body cues about hunger, satiety, need for movement, desire for rest, and all the myriad of other wellness-promoting messages it was trying to send to me, my overall health and sense of wellbeing dramatically improved.

A: Linda Bacon
I remember old times when I told myself, “I just need to lose X# of pounds and then I’ll be happy, everything else will be good.” That was code for “I’m not enough as I am and I want better,” whether it was more fulfilling work, more love, or to feel more respect in the world. The idea of losing weight seemed much more manageable than going for my real concerns directly. And I lost weight. But that lack of fulfillment remained. I did get more attention, but it felt hollow, like people were only seeing my shell, not my core. When I changed the internal message to “I’m fabulous, just the way I am,” I was much more motivated to take care of myself. After all, we all take better care of things we like. My body is my vehicle for fabulousness. So I celebrate it, and nourish it well. Self-love motivates much more effectively than self-hate.

A: Fall Ferguson
I really appreciate all the answers above. We lose a tremendous opportunity to engage with children about true self-care when we put so many resources into focusing on weight as a metric for health. I wish every child could learn that taking care of ourselves means attending to all of our needs, not least our needs for community, meaning, and sustainability. We also need to find ways to combat the ubiquitous cultural messages valuing narcissism, consumerism, and superficial appearance, the earlier in life the better.

I am acquainted with some pretty amazing young people; they are vital, loving, generous, tolerant, and engaged. That sounds like the picture of health to me, and it has nothing to do with their weight, appearance, ability, or health condition.

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Editors’ Note: We’d like to remind our readers that ASDAH’s Call for Proposals for its 2013 Educational Conference is currently open through March 1, 2013.  The conference, entitled Staying the Health At Every Size® Course: Navigating the Weight Debate in the Evolving Healthcare Environment, will be held in Chicago, Illinois (US) on June 28-30, 2013.

As the conference planners write:

This conference comes at a moment where it is important to not only learn how to steer our way around new barriers, but also to foster our community. This is the time to anticipate potential obstacles to our chosen course, to challenge our thoughts and attitudes for continued growth as a movement, and to be open to compromise when necessary. We hope to hear from many different members of the community about their work, no matter how inconsequential your progress may feel in the face of the daunting resistance. We hope you will consider this opportunity to contribute to our community of professionals and advocates as we navigate this changing climate.

Details and guidelines for submission may be found on ASDAH’s website.

(tw: weight loss talk follows)

I think the Health at Every Size (or HAES) philosophy is about the best thing since sliced bread. Engaging in fun and rewarding activity, eating food that makes me feel good instead of dieting, and removing weight loss as motivation has revolutionized how I feel in my body and about myself, and I recommend it highly to anyone who asks. The thing is, people who ask are often disappointed by what I tell them– they want to know my "secret", since I’ve lost a visible amount of weight over the last couple years (not enough to qualify as not-fat, but enough to notice and make me buy new pants).

Sometimes when people tell their "How I Found HAES" stories, they say things like "I stopped dieting and started healthy habits and lost ___ pounds!" Linda Bacon even discusses it in her seminal book on HAES, that some people who start practicing HAES may see a small and possibly temporary weight loss. Results Not Typical, of course, but it does happen– though since HAES is weight-neutral it’s neither good nor bad, it’s just bodies doing their thing.

In my case, it messed with my head. Giving up on weight loss resulting in weight loss? Finally getting some of that sparkly thing I chased most of my life, after and because I decided I didn’t want it anymore? Bizarro-world-level cognitive dissonance there. And everyone’s telling me "good for you!" and I want to shout "NO NO I didn’t want this I wasn’t trying I don’t believe in it!" It’s hard to evangelize for HAES when people are asking you "How did you do it?" and you have to tell them it was sort of an accident. Eating what I like and lots of exercise? Not at all a trendy diet.

Plus, I’ve spent my whole life marinating in diet culture so no matter how I tried the weight loss couldn’t be neutral. I worked hard to accept my body at all its sizes, but there were people being nicer and needing new clothes with smaller numbers on them (not to mention being able to sometimes shop in the straight-sized section– so many choices!) and lots of positive societal feedback, including what was lodged in my own brain. As this was happening, I was also aware of how my privilege was changing relative to other fat people, which isn’t always a good feeling when you’re tuned in to that sort of thing and you’ve become used to being a part of a community and now you have to check yourself.

The whole experience was intensely discombobulating. My weight’s settled down now, so I get fewer questions, but there’s still some weird feelings that crop up. I do weigh myself, and there’s always a voice (a tiny, sadly hopeful voice) in the back of my head saying "I wonder if I’m randomly going to lose weight again?" And I still don’t have a handle on what size pants I wear.

Now, I could see including tall people under the definition of plus-sized (since in a way, they need plus-sized clothes (only plus in length, rather than in width) but no one in the fat acceptance movement seems to realize that no, not all thin women can find clothes that fit.

In addition, I have known girls so skinny that, even being of an average height, they couldn’t fit into most adult women’s clothes for sale. And buying clothes off the children’s rack was not an option, because the clothes were too short.

So really, it would be nice if the fat acceptance movement would be accurate and stop listing the clothes thing as an example of “thin privilege” when it’s really an example of “have a body shape that is both common AND accepted as attractive by society”.

Lean with large breasts is also a supposedly ideal type, so it’s entirely possible to look ‘thin’ ( because lots of fat on the breasts somewhat gets a free pass for being an attractive feature) and not be able to fit into any dresses in an 18 or under, because most dresses aren’t designed for someone with a very great difference in bust and waist measurements.

In summation, my point is: being able to buy standard size’s is not a universal feature of being “thin”. So please take things like this:

1. You can expect to pay reasonable prices for your clothing.
2. You can expect to find your clothing size sold locally.
3. You can expect to find clothing in the latest styles and colors instead of colorless, shapeless and outdated styles meant to hide your body.

Off of the “thin privilege” list, for accuracy’s sake if for nothing else. It just goes to show that while non-fat people may not know what it’s like to clothes shop a as fat person, fat people don’t know very well what it’s like to clothes shop as a thin person. It’s pretty ignorant to imagine finding clothes is all sunshine and rainbows for anyone who isn’t fat.

Recently I saw a new advertisement for the YMCA that included the message that “exercise may just be the best way to prevent obesity.” Now don’t get me wrong, as a Health and Fitness Instructor, and a personal consumer of regular physical activity, I am all for both exercise and the YMCA (mostly), which generally tends to be one of the more body-diverse workout environments available. However, this commercial, along with the recent New England Journal of Medicine article by David Allison, et al, on “Myths, Presumptions, and Facts about Obesity,” got me thinking about all of those things that people promote as ways to “prevent obesity”—particularly when working with children and their families.

I firmly believe that the experience of one person should not be viewed as evidence of what is true for everyone, and yet an individual experience can well be instructive when challenging the validity of healthcare providers’ and/or policy makers’ claims about preventing a person from becoming fat. So I decided to do a quick review of some of the most commonly made statements I hear from the healthcare providers and education colleagues with whom I work, when they are promoting strategies to address the “childhood obesity epidemic.”

So, here it is: Dana Schuster, case study.

I. Minimize weight gain when pregnant.
My mother was very weight conscious when pregnant with me, and while I do not know if she actually attempted to diet, I do know that she did not gain more than the recommended poundage. When I was born, I weighed in at about six and a half pounds, which was within the lower end of the healthy-baby weight range at the time.

II. Breastfeed for at least six months.
Even in the mid 1950s, when this feeding practice was not supported to the same degree as now, I know my mom did her best in this endeavor when I was an infant. Within my first year of life, I filled out so that I most resembled a miniature Michelin Man—all those lovely, cushy rolls! Yes, at the time, this was seen as a sign of “thriving.”

III. Serve home-cooked family meals that include fresh fruits and vegetables.
I was very fortunate to grow up in a family that could afford both a stay-at-home mom and fresh produce. My mother was a good cook and a nurse by profession, who believed in lots of green veggies, non-fat milk, and nutritious food choices. She was not a supporter of candy, chips, or snacks in general, and was mostly focused on the importance of health, as opposed to physical appearance, in her feeding practices.

IV. Don’t drink sodas, as they are a major cause of obesity.
I can’t remember a time when there were sodas either in our refrigerator, or purchased to consume when we were out and about. Well, perhaps there was the occasional bottle of 7 Up or ginger ale added to a holiday punch, but other than that, I never drank sodas, nor do I like soda now. I did go through a TAB phase when I was a dieting teenager. (Maybe if we just made everyone drink this particular carbonated beverage as representative of soda, they’d give up soda drinking all on their own from taste—disgust.)

V. Do regular physical activity/exercise.
Let’s see, I rode my bike all over the hills in my safe neighborhood (a sign of privilege, to be sure) and played active hide-and-seek with my siblings and dog in the field behind our house. From age nine to fourteen, I was a competitive swimmer with several hours of practice daily. I did gymnastics in middle school and LOVED PE class. In high school, I played water polo and continued to love PE class.

Hmmm. Growing up, I was the beneficiary of five of the top “obesity prevention” strategies currently being touted to children and their families. Time for the big reveal: I am a FAT adult.

This accounting of my personal history is not about trying to find the “reasons” I am the size I am, but to point out that putting the spotlight on a goal of preventing obesity will leave everyone short-changed and set up for potential “failure.” The good news for me is that most of the time growing up I didn’t have a clue that I was doing all these things so I wouldn’t get fat—I thought I was fueling my body, being strong, playing hard, and having fun.  Imagine that.

In my work with school wellness efforts, I am all for encouraging and creating opportunities for children and teens to enjoy fun daily “recess,” drink water as a primary beverage, and eat foods that support their minds and bodies. But the focus must always be on weight-neutral skill development that facilitates our young people to learn to listen to and trust their wonderful bodies, and feel entitled to choose positive self-care behaviors throughout their lives.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Love,
The Fat Chick

I have always loved the movie ‘The Matrix’.  I watched it again recently with my daughter Meaghan, and I can’t help but be struck by the parallels of the situation that Neo, Morpheus and their allies find themselves in the movie, with the circumstances of a growing number of people who are fighting passionately for a change in our culture.

If you have seen the movie, you will know that in ‘The Matrix’, the community is trapped in a world where there is no awareness that anything else outside their perceived world exists, even though there is a world outside.  This lack of awareness is through no fault of the community inside the Matrix.

Similarly, in the world we live in (across many countries), through no fault of their own, a large number of the general community are unaware that there is a world that exists outside an all-consuming focus on weight and weight loss dieting. They are trapped in a real-life, weight-focused Matrix.  Within this Matrix, communities have been sold the idea that the way to health and happiness is just a matter of finding the right diet, that it is simple and easy to achieve the weight of their dreams, and not only that, if weight is regained after a weight loss diet, then it is each individual’s fault, not the result of a diet that was doomed to fail from the outset.

Are there forces trying to keep us in a real-life, weight-focused Matrix?

Another parallel in ‘The Matrix’ is that, in the movie, there are fierce protectors of the Matrix. Their job is to make sure the minds of people in the Matrix are not awoken to the fact that there is something beyond the world within the Matrix.  These protectors of the Matrix are there to defend  it at all costs.

Similarly, in our world, we have protectors of our own weight-focused Matrix.  I think we have two main groups protecting and/or creating barriers for millions of people trapped within the weight-focused Matrix.  Firstly, those people who are aware that they are protecting the Matrix, namely, the ‘commercial weight loss industry’; and secondly, those who I believe, are unwittingly protecting the Matrix, for example, many health professionals and governments.

The commercial weight loss industry

I have no doubt that most of the business people involved in the commercial weight loss industry are aware of the ineffectiveness of the services and/or products they are selling.  They are aware that weight loss dieting is ineffective, that weight loss dieting leads to weight regain for the majority of those who participate in it (therefore ensuring repeat business), and that weight loss dieting confers considerable collateral damage at many different levels.

A number of years ago I was asked to sit on a government committee of invited stakeholders to discuss what the Government of Australia might be able to do to help with the so-called ‘obesity crisis’.  As it turned out, I was seated next to the CEOs of two major commercial weight loss companies.  As we were waiting for the resumption of the day after the morning tea break at which muffins, fruit, tea and coffee were provided, I couldn’t help but hear the discussion that was going on between the two CEOs.  One said to the other as he was munching on an apple,

“You know, I really felt like (eating) the muffin, but I thought (eating) the apple would look better.”

To me, that simple sentence summed up the commercial weight loss industry beautifully – all show and no substance.  But what should we really expect? The commercial weight loss industry is a business and it is self-serving. Their primary job is to make money for themselves and their shareholders.  And as protectors of the weight-focused Matrix, so far anyway, they have done a very skillful job of creating the perception that they are part of the health community when nothing could be further from the truth.  They have done an incredible job of camouflaging truth and evidence, and they have been brilliant at protecting their business, and by so doing, protecting the research evidence and the truth from the community, and thus protecting the weight-focused Matrix.

Health professionals and the Government

As for the two groups that unwittingly protect the weight-focused Matrix, let’s look at health professionals first.  As incredible as it is, at best there is very limited, and often no real training on the relationship between weight and health (at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels), in almost all, if not every, different health professional group (certainly in Australia).  This includes, but is not only confined to health professionals that many people consult with for advice specifically in this area of health such as doctors, dietitians, and psychologists.  Due to this lack of training, there is very little understanding of this complex health issue.  To fill the gap in training, it should be no surprise to any of us that the current weight-focused paradigm becomes the default position for many health professionals.  And thus many health professionals continue to unwittingly protect the weight loss dieting, weight-focused Matrix.

Many governments have also become unwitting protectors of the weight-focused Matrix.  Unfortunately their framework and understanding is often built from those who speak loudest (and from those who often have the most money to make a noise), and their effectiveness is most often limited to what is of benefit for them in short election cycles.  From misguided so-called ‘community service announcements’ to full-blown media campaigns that have used a shaming approach in an attempt to create change (for example in the USA, ‘Stop sugar-coating it Georgia’ and in Australia, Western Australia, ‘The Toxic Fat campaign’), governments have inadvertently and unwittingly continued to protect the weight-focused Matrix.

Can we really crack the weight-focused Matrix?

I think it is understandable to wonder if we could ever really crack the weight-focused Matrix. Could it really be possible for there to be no more weight loss commercial organisations selling their wares?  Could it really be possible for us not to be bombarded with advertisements for meal replacements, quick-fix exercise equipment and quick-fix weight loss programs?  Could it be possible for the present common cultural paradigm of weight being a matter of ‘energy in energy out’ ever change?

I believe it must, it can, and it will.  In not too long, I am confident that people will be looking back at this period of time in amazement.  And they will be wondering how communities could have bought into the whole weight-focused paradigm for so long.

I believe in years to come, people will be reflecting back on this time and saying things like:

How could we have thought that weight loss dieting could help people be healthy?
How could health professionals become so obsessed with a person’s weight that they lost sight of looking after the person?
How could the weight loss industry become so ubiquitous for a number of decades when the evidence was clear that its methods didn’t help and were harmful for so many?

And looking back at history, it is amazing how relatively quickly things can change. Let me share with you two examples to highlight how things that are accepted as truth at one time, can, in the future, be seen for what they really are.

The first example is from the early 1960s, when a brand of sedative medications, promoted particularly for pregnant women, was being marketed by the relevant pharmaceutical company as being particularly safe.  The medication was called Distaval and the generic name: Thalidomide.

The second example I want to highlight was discussed in a tremendous book entitled ‘The Heroic Client’ by Duncan, Miller and Sparks.  The story is about the 67–year-old former President of the United States, George Washington.  The story goes that on one particular day, Washington was out riding his horse and started to feel unwell with a sore throat. On returning home from his horse riding, his condition gradually worsened.  The next day, three doctors were called in to assess the situation.  The physicians prescribed and delivered the best treatment of the day.  After a period of time, with no change in his condition, the three doctors agreed that more of the same treatment was required.  Unfortunately Washington deteriorated further and despite two additional treatments, he died.  What was this treatment that was regarded as the best accepted panacea for the time?  Bloodletting.

I think these two examples highlight beautifully how things at a certain time in history can appear to be the right thing to do.  However, with time and greater understanding, they would be the last thing used to help or treat a certain condition.

Punching holes in the Matrix

The good news is that already there is a growing awareness of how harmful our current prevailing perspective is about this issue, and how life is possible outside the weight-focused Matrix.  We are just starting to gain some traction on many levels.  And as momentum builds towards the inevitable shift away from a weight and weight loss dieting focus, we can all contribute to punching holes in the weight-focused Matrix in our own way, right now.

With every person with whom we share a comment, a thought, or a story that has a focus on wellbeing rather than weight loss, we punch another hole in the Matrix.  With every positive media article, blog and tweet, we punch another hole in the Matrix. For every health professional who supports each and every patient or client they see with a focus on wellbeing rather than on weight loss, we punch another hole in the Matrix.

With every Health At Every Size® and like-minded talk that is given to the general public, we punch multiple holes in the Matrix. With every Health At Every Size and like-minded training program delivered to health professionals, we punch multiple holes in the Matrix.

And with every government and workplace that starts to understand the short and long term benefits of taking a person-centred, wellbeing, Health At Every Size approach to health and healthcare delivery, we create more and more opportunities to punch holes in the Matrix.

Mon, 1/28
rested
~

Tues, 1/29
Stretch & Strength:
Fusion: 35mins
Light weights: ~10min
Running:
2mi
Average Pace:  15:56 (3.77mph)
Tennis: 1hr
~

Last Tuesday when I did my 2mi run on the treadmill, for the first time I didn’t let my speed slip below 3.7mph.  This week I was determined to repeat.  During a zombie burst, I got it up to 4.3mph, which is a record for me (previous was 4.2mph).  I was pretty excited about that.  My time averaged out to be about 15:45, which is awesome for me.  I’ve been averaging around 16:30, so that’s a decent improvement.  Though if I’d had to go farther than 2mi, not sure I would have made it >_<  I felt very strong after my run.

My tennis game was improved this week.  I hit a lot more returns & even managed to not give all my serves away during the matches, but I didn’t win any this week.  I did score a few times however, which I’m proud of.  I’m really having a lot of fun.  It’s just me & one other student & he’s nice, so it’s a lot easier on me than having several other people in the class.

Wed, 1/30
Cross training & strength:
Recumbent bike, intervals = 21mins
Step class, 20mins
Light weights, 10mins

~

I used some heavier weights today.  My arms weren’t entirely happy about the changes.

Thurs, 1/31
rested

~

Fri, 2/1
2.5mi
Average Pace: 15:44, 3.81mph

~

Getting faster little by little.  My legs are feeling awesome after my runs!  Mostly used 3.7mph & ran intervals up to 4.3mph.

Sat, 2/2
Cross training & strength:
Recumbent bike, intervals = 22:50
Light weights, 10mins
Stomp, 20min (intro video)

~

Went up on the weight on my shoulder exercises.  My shoulders are my weakest part, so that was pretty exciting.  I’ve also gone up on the higher resistance on my bike intervals.

Sun, 1/20
meh

~

Tried to run twice, but today just went to hell in a hand basket.  I have a 3.5mi run to catch up tomorrow.

If, like me, you were privileged enough to go to A Fatty Affair last weekend, I imagine you are still basking in the afterglow of what can only be called a massively cool rad fatty event.  If you didn’t get to go, I’m sorry.  But you can still view the clip above to get an idea of just how much awesome and win was experienced by all.

There was singing and dancing.  There was talk about sex.  There was home-baked yummy desserts.  There were hula hoops.  There were butt bounces.  There was laughing and playing and more fabulous clothes for swapping than you can even imagine.

Kudos go out to Sarah Redman and her entire planning committee for creating such an uplifting, warm and positive event.  I can’t wait for next year!  Thankfully, Sarah has informed  us that they plan on doing even more events in the coming year.  If you want to stay on top of all the stuff this great group is cooking up, check out their web site.

This weekend reminded me once again, just how powerful community can be.  I think at one time or another all of us feel like we are all alone in our journey towards self acceptance.  But there’s no reason to go it alone.  In addition to the Fatty Affair folks, there’s the Size Diversity Task Force (who has already collected over 15,000 pages towards the Paper Mache in a Big, Big Way project), ASDAH, The Fat Chick Clique and The Fit Fatties Forum (who have reached the Rockies in their jaunt across the USA).  Don’t worry if one particular group is too far away or doesn’t fit your style.  There are amazing size acceptance groups everywhere!  So don’t try to do it all by yourself.  Share or be square!

Love,

The Fat Chick

A well-known bioethicist named Daniel Callahan recently advocated for the intentional infliction of weight stigma.  He has written an article in The Hastings Center Report suggesting that we engage in three strategies for combating the “obesity epidemic”:

1. “Strong and most likely somewhat coercive public health measures”
2. Prevention aimed at children, who should be “cajoled into good eating and exercise habits or forced into them if necessary”
3. Stigmatizing fat just enough to convince people to lose weight – what he calls “stigmatization lite”

There’s much to say here.   Fortunately, some of it has already been said.  A blurb on msnNOW suggested that these recommendations
for “a pinch of intolerance, a dash of ostracization and maybe a dollop of body dysmorphia to top things off” were “unlikely to gain much traction.” I hope they’re right.

In an article on the Today Show website, Deb Burgard commented with her usual insight:

“For him to argue that we need more stigma, I don’t know what world he’s living in … He must not have any contact with actual free-range fat people.”

The Today Show article also reports that “Callahan’s theory has drawn criticism, not only from obesity specialists, but also from other bioethicists.”  Phew.  A feisty blog post in the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics Bulletin, written by one of those other bioethicists, characterized Dr. Callahan’s article as ”thinsplaining”—a variant of “mansplaining” in which a thin person explains to fat people what fat people don’t understand about being fat.

Evidence-Based, Shmevidence-Based

There are serious issues with the evidence for Dr. Callahan’s various positions.  He ignores the essential difference between correlation and causation and asserts that obesity causes diabetes, heart disease, and kidney failure. He repeats the tired platitudes about the exponential growth of obesity rates (despite strong evidence that, in the U.S. at least, the collective increase in BMI levels over time among both adults and children has essentially plateaued).  He writes an entire paragraph on the causes of obesity with no citation whatsoever.  And so on.

Well, I am no professional bioethicist, but as a trained health educator and an instructor in a health education program, I know that I need to offer up credible evidence for my assertions about health.

Even for those (and unfortunately there are many) who choose to ignore the lack of evidence for engaging in a “war on obesity,” my hope is that the ethics of his positions would give them pause.  I thought I’d take a moment to offer up a first take on the ethical ramifications of each Dr. Callahan’s suggestions.

Public Health Initiatives

The arguments for and against any kind of public health initiative require some nuance and deliberation. I think there are serious questions about the effectiveness of these proposed measures to promote health, but I will leave those for another time.  For now, however, I will address myself to the ethics of engaging in even “somewhat coercive” public health policies.

Many elements of Dr. Callahan’s “supply-side” public health measures will be abhorrent to anyone who truly espouses the ethos of public health and health promotion.  The founding document of the modern health promotion movement, known as the Ottawa Charter (1986), identifies community, caring, and equity as core values for any health policy initiative.  Given these guiding principles of my profession, supply-side coercion tends to not sit well with me.

Prevention of Childhood Obesity

My first reaction to Dr Callahan’s second suggestion is simply, when are we going to leave the poor children alone? Eating disorders, body image disturbance, and weight-based bullying are on the rise.  We know that weight cycling causes harm over time.  What about the ethics of “do no harm”?  Is it ethical to promote one kind of “health” at the expense of another, especially when the HAES® model offers a clear, ethical, health-based alternative to the harmful weight-based approach? I am through with mincing words about this: weight-based health approaches, especially with children, are unethical.

Then there is the question of his methods. Research tends to show that attempts at “cajoling” and “forcing” people into health behaviors are ineffective, and indeed often have the opposite of the intended effect.  (Jon Robison wrote eloquently about this in this blog last June.)  Can it be ethical to use methods that fail and may even increase unhealthy behaviors?  Dr. Callahan may be the ethics expert, but for many of us, our sense of professional ethics permits neither the “cajoling” nor the “forcing” of others. For example, the Code of Ethics of the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) requires that “Health Educators empower individuals to adopt healthy lifestyles through informed choice rather than by coercion or intimidation” (IV:4).

Last, But Not Least, Fat-Shaming

Perhaps I am naïve, but I would have thought that intentionally shaming someone, even in the name of “health,” would be universally seen as, well, just plain wrong.  And it’s not just me; again, the SOPHE code of ethics states: “[Health educators] respect the rights, dignity, confidentiality, and worth of all people by adapting strategies and methods to the needs of diverse populations and communities” (IV). Of course, I turn to the ethics code of my field, but my guess is that most health professionals reading this could quote a similar passage from their own code of ethics.

Moreover, if the stigmatization that’s been leveled at fat people to date hasn’t done the trick, what makes Dr. Callahan think more of the same will be the key?

And then there’s the evidence.  It’s well established that weight stigma and weight bias are harmful to the health and socioeconomic well-being of fat people (for example, see these studies from Rebecca Puhl and others from the Yale Rudd Center in 2007, 2008; 2009; 2010; 2010; also see Abigail Saguy’s op-ed piece in the Washington Post on “size profiling”).  Studies reported in Stress and Health and in BMC Public Health suggest that the excessive stress associated with experiencing bias and stigma may be an important cause of the associations observed between higher BMIs and certain disease states.

A 2013 study reported in the Journal of Eating Disorders documented that weight bias and stigma cause both physiological and psychological harm.  Their summary conclusion is worth reporting in full:

Internalized weight bias was associated with greater impairment in both the physical and mental domains of health-related quality of life. Internalized weight bias also contributed significantly to the variance in physical and mental health impairment over and above the contributions of BMI, age, and medical comorbidity. Consistent with the association between prejudice and physical health in other minority groups, these findings suggest a link between the effects of internalized weight-based discrimination and physical health. Research is needed on strategies to prevent weight bias and its internalization on both a societal and individual level

Dr. Callahan’s call for strategies to promote stigma is at odds with the actual health experts’ call for strategies for preventing stigma.  But then perhaps Dr Callahan’s purpose isn’t really to promote population health.  His proposal is so at odds with any code of ethics, and so at odds with the available health information, could it be he just doesn’t like fat people?  I am usually loath to assume bias in another person, but given the prevalence of weight bias in the general culture and the nature of these proposals, I think it’s a fair question.

Who is Daniel Callahan?

I was curious to know who would or could advocate for intentionally stigmatizing another human being, much less two thirds of the U.S. population.  I don’t want to engage in ad hominem attacks, but I had to wonder what in his background might have led him here?

So I took a look at Dr. Callahan’s bio and CV and what I found there was chilling. Not because Dr. Callahan is an extremist—but because he’s not.  His various accomplishments in his field are too many to name.  In 1996, he was awarded the “Freedom and Scientific Responsibility Award” of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Bioethics and the Humanities in 2001.  The words “obesity” or “weight” do not appear on his CV.  Nor does he seem to have served on any boards or other groups that would give him a financial incentive to take this position on “obesity.”

No, unfortunately, his bona fides in health ethics and scientific responsibility appear (at least until now) to be above reproach. Heaven help us all.

(source)

I realized last night after posting my weekly update, I did not in fact already have a post queued up for today.  What I did have was a bookmark file of articles I’ve been meaning to blog about.  Ta dah!

Train Your Brain

I’m slow.  If you’ve read any of my running updates you know this.  I like to meander & daydream while I run.  I think about all sorts of things, totally random.  I have found when I focus on my running I am faster, but I don’t care much about being fast & prefer my ruminations.

When I’m on the treadmill, which is all the time these days, I don’t have much time for my thoughts since I’m watching the readouts.  It’s boring, so I like to play with my speed & do intervals.  I also use the Zombies, Run! app.  The treadmill is a lot less fun, but I do like being able to set my speed.

According to Gigi Douban at Runner’s World:

Knowing how you think on the run can improve your workouts—and your mood.

and

 ”Running gives you the freedom to access those inner processes that the busy outer world often robs you of,” says James P. Brennan, Ph.D., an adjunct professor of human behavior at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The article discusses the four most common types of thinking on the run: organizing, problem solving, wandering, & pondering.  She also gives some tips on dealing with negative thoughts weighing you down during your runs.

This week I don’t have much of an update.  I got the first two days done, for me that is stretch/strength & the 2mi run, & I played an hour of tennis in class on Tuesday.  I did pretty good & actually managed to win a game.  Huzzah!  I skipped class & the gym to stay in bed Wednesday.  It must have been a warm-up, because I had a melt down Friday night like I haven’t had in a while & have spent the weekend in bed recovering in solitude (while watching the final episodes of Fringe btw. whaaaaa!).

I started a post about it, & it’s still in progress.  So much is coming up around this & I’m not sure how much of it I’m comfortable posting.  Someone told me a few weeks ago I need to write my stories down, so I’ve been meaning to write more about my life here, but some of those things are very personal & painful.  Some things are just now bubbling to the service since I decided to start dating again.

There is already a post scheduled for tomorrow, so what I’m working on now might become Wednesday’s post.

Hope you all had a lovely week!

All images are from The Nearsighted Owl & clicking them takes you to the source post.

You have to love yourself just the way you are right now.  Regardless of whether you want to lose weight, gain weight, get a boob job, get a tattoo, however you might want to change your body, know that what you have right now is still a good body & deserves to be loved & cared for.  To quote Ragen Chastain, “No one ever hated themselves healthy.”  This goes for those of us with mental illness & other disabilities, too.  Being outside the norm does not mean you are any less deserving of love & respect, from yourself & others.

http://sizediversitytaskforce.wordpress.com/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!

Finished week 1 of the Hal Higdon 10K novice program.  Hurray!  I did all the workouts, plus stretches, dynamic stretches, & core work in my strength training class on Wednesday.  I took Thursday off, so did my “long run” Sunday.

I did all my runs on the treadmill this week, & didn’t collect good stats on them.  I’ve been figuring it up in my head from the treadmill’s info but not writing them down.  I’ve been running about a 16:30 pace though, doing intervals.  I’ve been starting at 3.7mph & running up to 4.2 & down to 3.4.

Mon, 1/14
Stretch & Strength:
Fusion 20mins
Kinetics 20mins (plus the 20min intro video)
Recumbent bike intervals:  21min
~

Tues, 1/15
2mi
Average Pace:  ~16:30
~

We also had our consult with the trainer today, so she took us through a strength routine.  I want to do some serious lifting, but she gave us a lady-weight routine instead.  I am so sick of being told I don’t need to bulk up, I need to lose weight.  Fuck what you think I need to do!  I’m telling you what I WANT TO DO!  Listen to me, okay?

Wed, 1/16
Cross training & strength:
Recumbent bike, intervals = 21mins
Light weights, 10mins

Strength training class:
Step cardio & body weight exercises, 1hr

~

I learned a lot of variations on the push-up today.  (I’ve already forgotten most of them.)

Fri, 1/18
2.5mi
Average Pace: ~16:30

~

Sat, 1/19
Cross training & strength:
Recumbent bike, intervals = 22:50
Light weights, 10mins
Stomp 20min (intro video)

~

Sun, 1/20
3mi
Average Pace: ~16:30

~

I stayed at a friend’s house too late & had a pina coloda, so I didn’t get to the gym until midnight.  whoops  I thought about quitting bunches of times, but I kept going & felt really good at the end because of it.  I also dropped my phone on the treadmill & watched it fly into three pieces.  However, I didn’t miss a beat & finished my run.  The battery had landed on the belt & been swept under the treadmill, so getting it out was fun.  FYI, you can’t move a gym-size treadmill by yourself.  I found a carpet tile & used it to swat it out.  The battery had a gash across it, but everything is working fine.  Woo woo!

Just as the month of January brings the typical frenzy of diet ads that bombard us from the airwaves, magazine covers, and the Internet, there has also been a report making its rounds in the media that claims fewer women are dieting this year. According to research by NPD, a global information company that tracks Americans’ dieting habits, 23 percent of women said they were dieting today as compared to 34% in 1992.[1]

I’d like to think this is good news given the dismal failure rate of diets and the potential harm caused by dieting, including: weight cycling that often leads to higher than pre-diet weights[2], higher risk for health problems such as cardiovascular disease compared to non-dieting counterparts[3], higher risk of eating disorders, depression and shame.[4] However, I can’t find any criteria contained in their press release to define dieting; this is essential if we’re really going to get accurate information about trends. There may be a growing collective consciousness that diets don’t work, but that doesn’t mean people have stopped practicing behaviors that they believe will promote weight loss. For example, I frequently have the following conversation:

New acquaintance (NA): So, what kind of work do you do?
Me: I’m a therapist who specializes in eating and weight struggles.
NA: You must be really busy. There are so many people who need to lose weight.
Me: Well actually, I take a different approach. I help people to stop dieting and to feel stronger in the body that they have.
NA: Oh, I know. You shouldn’t diet. You just have to eat healthy and then you’ll lose weight.

Now let me be clear: I have nothing against choosing healthful foods! But for so many people, “eating healthy” or having a “healthy lifestyle,” is code for the pursuit of weight loss without using the “D” word. Diet companies are certainly aware of this shift and have changed their marketing. A visit to the Weight Watcher’s website states: “Weight watchers works because it’s not a diet. You’ll learn how to eat right and live healthy. You can choose between two convenient options and learn how to lose weight and keep it off.”[5]

Here is my definition of dieting: Any time food is manipulated for the purpose of weight loss, it is a diet.

It’s important to acknowledge how difficult it is to break the diet mentality given the fat-phobic culture we live in. Sometimes it operates at such a subtle level that people aren’t even aware it’s there. For example, one of my clients became adept at eating when she was physically hungry and eating foods that felt like a good match to her. But she kept finding herself eating well past fullness, and she ended up feeling physically uncomfortable. As we explored her situation, she realized that at some level, she was telling herself it would be better to stop before she felt full because she believed it would lead to weight loss. The minute she had that thought, she felt deprived, which then compelled her to eat more than she needed!  Once she became aware of her subconscious diet mentality—and reminded herself that she deserved to eat as she much as she needed to feel comfortable—she was able to listen more accurately to her cues for fullness.

As challenging as it can be, it’s worth the effort to move from a diet mentality to attuned eating (also known as intuitive eating), in which you honor you body’s internal cues for hunger at satiation as you decide when, what and how much to eat. Here are some of the wonderful shifts that take place as people truly let go of dieting behaviors:

No matter how much any of us embrace the Health At Every Size® approach, it’s hard not to feel the diet fervor in these first weeks of the New Year. When I was invited to write this guest blog, one of the questions posed to me was how I deal with the all of the diet and body rhetoric at this time of year. My simple answer is that I tune it out. I don’t watch much TV or read the women’s magazines, and I don’t read blogs or visit websites that promote dieting. Because I work in my own private practice, I’m not subject to the diet conversation that often happens in the workplace. I also try to put something out in the world each January that will be an antidote to the weight loss madness; this year I wrote a press release entitled, Body Confidence is the New Weight Loss Resolution.

I decided to ask the women in my Diet Survivors Group℠ how they cope with all of the diet ads and conversations during January. I expected them to reveal some of the vulnerability typical for ex-dieters during this season, but I was pleasantly surprised:

M: “I feel sorry for people who buy into those ads.”
L: “Those ads are stupid. Doesn’t everyone now by now that just about everyone will gain back the weight?”
R: “I’m not interested so I don’t pay attention.”
J: “I look at it like any advertisement – just a product they’re trying to sell.”

Then, just yesterday, a former client sent me an email after receiving our Diet Survivors Group winter newsletter:

“I hear your voice in my head regularly. I recently had a mini-binge and realized it was because everyone around me was going on a diet. I remembered one of our sessions where this happened last year. That conversation we had came back to me and I am now tuning out and avoiding all of these conversations. And I am so happy that I will never go on a diet again!”

It’s always a thrill to hear that someone has quit dieting. If this truly is a trend, I’m pleased to know that real change is occurring. At the same time, according to the NPD study, almost one in four women still diets today. Unfortunately, that’s still too many.

It may seem odd for someone whose claim to fame was losing over 100 pounds to be espousing these ideas, but I found my lifestyle journey did not end when I finished losing weight.  I didn’t want to fall into the trap I saw so many other successful weight-losers falling into, the trap of a miserable relationship with food and weight.  The book I am about to review spoke to me very deeply at a time where I have recently changed my own outlook on the whole journey by shifting it away from weight.  This passage, among many others, spoke to me directly:

“While lifestyle change is valuable, it is rarely maintained when driven by weight loss goals.  Tricks to minimize hunger may result in short term success but are ultimately challenged by long term weight regulation mechanisms.  And while certain habits may result in weight loss for some individuals, there are no guarantees.  Failed attempts at losing weight make people feel like failures and even those who succeed feel a never-ending pressure to retain that success that will always limit their ability to feel comfortable around food and in their bodies.  By putting an emphasis on weight, we also limit our ability to support thin people in adopting healthy behaviors.”

I see this so much when I venture onto weight maintenance boards.  So much self-dissatisfaction, fear, and anxiety surrounding the possibility of weight regain.  I didn’t want to be like that.  I want to live my life in a healthy manner, but also feel comfortable with myself and allow myself the flexibility to settle into my own comfort zone.  I’m not planning to spend my life at war with my body.

HAES doesn’t mean that everyone is healthy at the weight they are.  I wasn’t.  I was almost 300 pounds for some very simple lifestyle-choice related reasons.  My weight loss journey showed me where I erred.  Perhaps I could have approached this from a less weight-driven perspective if I had any inkling such a movement existed.  But I did not find out about HAES until long after I had lost 120 pounds.  I now believe that much of the reason I gained so much weight over my natural body size was because of my history of dieting.  I would like to help others skip this fate of yo-yo dieting your way up heavier and heavier.  I think this book can help people understand why maybe dieting isn’t the answer the way we are led to believe it is.

Me at my heaviest, thinnest, and happiest (currently).

I started out wanting to lose weight.  I lost weight.  I have since gained back a portion of the weight I lost.  I’ve been a lot heavier than I am now and I’ve been a little thinner.  I prefer myself as I am today, hips and all.  I don’t weigh myself anymore and don’t plan to any time soon.  I trust myself that my body will be the “right” size for me as long as I make the choices that are healthy for my life.  I may not be the right size for you or society or the BMI chart, but that’s okay, I only aim to satisfy myself.

I’m not sure whether I could consider myself part of the HAES movement or not.  I’ve ventured onto some forums and lurked around a little and I’m not sure people would be supportive of me as a person who feels my weight loss journey was valuable and who did have weight-related goals I met and have maintained for the most part.  I understand the reason such things are looked upon with derision by the fat-acceptance movement.  I’m not sure I belong there.  I’m just me, I guess.  I have a unique story and viewpoint.  And I have my own community, so it’s all good.

Whether you feel like you want to be a part of this movement or not, the book is great and will help you to look at things in a new light.  It will challenge your preconceived notions about weight and health.

(Click to view book on Amazon.com)

“The science of weight regulation directly contradicts cultural assumptions as well as those promoted by the ‘experts.’”

Weight and health are not as tied together as we are led to believe, according to Linda Bacon.  In Health at Every Size, she makes a compelling case that the “obesity crisis” is a manufactured fear that misplaces our concern for health problems by focusing it solely on body size.  She points to several studies and scientific findings that support this claim.

Next, she shows why dieting doesn’t work to reduce and maintain weight in the long run.  As we are all aware, the long term success rates for all diet plans are dismal.  This doesn’t mean there aren’t people who do successfully lose and maintain the lower weight, it just means they are very rare.  A history of dieting is one of the greatest predictors of obesity, ironically.  Yet we continue to place our hopes and dreams in the diet basket.  Here are some of the concerning effects of dieting:

        “Dieting:

• Slows the rate at which your body burns calories.
• Increases your body’s efficiency at wringing every possible calorie out of the food you do eat so you digest food faster and get hungrier quicker.
• Causes you to crave high-fat foods.
• Increases your appetite.
• Reduces your energy levels (so even if you could burn more calories through physical activities, you don’t want to.)
• Lowers your body temperature so you’re using less energy (and are always cold.)
• Reduces your ability to feel “hungry” and “full,” making it easier to confuse hunger with emotional needs.
• Reduces your total amount of muscle tissue (and you may know that a pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat.)
• Increases fat-storage enzymes and decreases fat-release enzymes.”

I think most of us who have dieted can relate to several of the items on this list.  I know I can.

Next, she talks about some of the outside forces that over-ride our natural hunger and fullness signals and may lead to the accumulation of excess weight:

“By creating a system that maintains a cheap and plentiful supply of corn and soybeans, among other products, government policy has inadvertently favored the production of foods that promote weight gain and damage health.”

“Food companies have a vested interest in getting us to ignore our body signals.  Thea more we eat the more product they sell, and the more money they can make.  If we stop eating when we are full, it is bad for business!”

“If you think I’m angry that the corporations and government agencies have co-opted the production and distribution of food at the expense and well-being, you’re right.  I value the sensation of hunger as a sign of the body’s wisdom, not as a commercial asset to be manipulated for market share.  I value food as nourishment, not as a unit of sales.  I value our bodies as gifts of life, not as product-consumption devices.”

I love that last bit.  I’m angry too!  Let’s all get angry and do something about this!

That is what I liked most about this book.  It reinforces the conclusions I came to myself through my own experience and points to some research and studies to back them up, always helpful when trying to make a point that goes against what most people believe about health and weight.

“Many people are concerned that if they accept their bodies they may become complacent and remain “stuck” forever with a body they’ve grown to loathe.  They believe that hating their body is an essential motivation for change so they resist letting go of that self-hatred.”

That is one of the most difficult barriers to body love, the fear that hate is the only impetus to change.  I, and many others, have found that the exact opposite is true.  Hate is a very poor motivator in the long run.  Love and respect are boundless.  Accepting your body doesn’t preclude living a healthy lifestyle; it enhances your chances to stick with it long term.

The concluding message of the book is pretty much exactly what I’ve been saying for years.  I think most people could find something of benefit to them in this book, and for some people it could be life changing.  This is the last health/eating/weight book I plan to read any time in the near future.   I do trust myself.  It’s the best feeling in the world.

“Free yourself from the limiting cultural biases around eating and weight and challenge them in others.  Let go of the rules, the judgments, the “expert” advice.  Trust that you know best how to take care of yourself.  Respect your hunger and appetite, and let them guide you to better health and fulfillment.  Expand that openness to others and celebrate the diversity that makes us human.”

Hi everybody! I’m so excited to present the very first episode of my new web show “Right Now! With Jeanette DePatie AKA The Fat Chick”.  Hope you like it. If you’ve got some specific topics you’d like me to cover in the show, I’d love to hear them. And if you are willing to be interviewed for the show (via my super handy skype cam) I’d love to have you on! Just comment below or send an email to jeanette@thefatchick.com.

I also feel it necessary to talk about a few of the other incredibly awesome things we’ve got going on! First of all, on the Fit Fatties Forum, we’re still going strong with our Fit Fatties Across America project. In less than 2 weeks we’ve gone from New York City to Topeka, Kansas! Can you believe it? Don’t forget to enter your minutes or miles HERE by noon on Fit Fatties Fridays. Then check back after 5PM to see just how far we all have gone.

Next, I wanted to let you know that I will be presenting a teleseminar next week Tuesday evening at 5PM PST (8 PM EST).  I’ll be talking about setting safe, reasonable and fun New Years resolutions for fitness.  Click HERE to register.  There are limited slots and we’ve got a whole lot of people already registered.  So go on over there and register right away!

Finally, I wanted to remind you that Paper Mâché in a Big, Big Way is still going strong. We’d love for you to “liberate” diet books from thrift stores and resale shops (so no more money goes to the diet industry) and send them to us so we can use them to make the world’s largest paper Mâché sculpture. Or if you’d prefer, you can donate money and we will liberate the books for you! I know. There’s just so much awesome here, it can hardly be contained!

So hop to it my little Chicklettes.  Let’s get going, right NOW!

Love,
The Fat Chick

Q: The HAES® approach suggests helping people find “individually appropriate, enjoyable, life-enhancing physical activity”.  What about a person who weighs 500 lbs and feels s/he is unable to leave their home?

A: Deb Burgard
A person who is 500 pounds is not necessarily unable to leave home, so let’s think about someone of any size who is unable to leave home due to mobility challenges. In the case of a thinner person, we are much more likely to problem-solve using whatever abilities and preferences that person has to work with, and it is no different for someone at a much higher weight. Does this person like the water? Do they like music? Companionship while they are moving?

Once we start thinking about what it would take to make movement accessible to someone, the problem solving begins, and it is usually about changing the environment and not the person. It would be amazing to create environments that are much more appealing, safe, and usable by people of much more diverse sizes and abilities.

A: Michael Loewy
No one is too big to move around as much as feels good. I found that motivational interviewing techniques that meet a person where they are now and assesses their motivation to change, with no judgment, worked great for me to figure out what exactly I wanted to do by way of increasing my body movement without feeling forced to do something that I would never sustain anyway.

A: Deb Lemire
A person who has become unable to leave their home because of their physical body size (not all folks that are 500 lbs are housebound) has many confounding factors that impact their health physically, emotionally and psychologically. Determining what the true barriers are for that person is the first step in helping them move their body in a way that is appropriate and enjoyable for them. Once those barriers are identified, solutions can be found to remove or work around them. Getting to know a person’s history, likes and dislikes, and experiences, will help identify what they might want to do, what they might be able to do. You start from there.

Q: How can one respond to those who challenge that the HAES® model is “healthist” and/or “ableist” in its promotion of exercise?

A: Dana Schuster
Before I became a Health & Fitness Instructor, I worked in the field of vocational rehabilitation with individuals with a wide range of physical challenges. What I found then, and what I believe now, is that enjoyable physical movement feeds the mind, spirit, and the body no matter what shape/size/ability an individual physical body may be in. Helping someone to find what activity works for him/her – however they are “abled”- is one goal of the HAES approach. The choice to explore movement options or not, or to engage in physical activity or not, should always be the decision of the individual, and no good/bad value judgment should ever be attached to that choice.

A: Deb Lemire
The HAES model leaves a lot of wiggle room in determining how one might want to contribute to their own wellness. It does not dictate any particular right or wrong way. That is the opposite of a healthist approach, which deems only certain behaviors and those that choose them to be healthy.  The HAES approach is generous when determining “appropriate, enjoyable, life-enhancing physical activity.” It does not limit exercise or physical movement based on a preconceived right way of moving. It presents all those on the bell curve from one end to the other, with the option to find what works for them based on their individual needs, desires and physical ability.

A: Deb Burgard
The HAES model can be vulnerable to reductive, structurally biased, and co-opting influences. It is ableist to assume that everyone can move in the same way, or should. It is healthist to grant moral superiority to people who are lucky or privileged enough to have more health at a given time.  Some presentations of the HAES model have been ableist and healthist, and that needs to be challenged. When the model is reduced to “eat intuitively, exercise, and your weight will be fine,” it should be challenged. When people present themselves as “exceptions to the fat stereotype” to gain credibility and privilege, they risk throwing people whose lives happen to resemble the stereotype under the bus. We must fight to keep the HAES model specific enough to avoid it being another way to pursue weight loss, and unspecific enough to accommodate the wide variety of abilities, lives, and bodies that we represent. It is up to the individual to determine what their priorities are for investing in the practices that add value to their daily experience; but it is the responsibility of a humane community to create environments and policies that provide a way to have a choice.

A: Michael Loewy
The HAES model does not promote exercising—it promotes feeling good and taking baby steps to making small improvements in our eating and movement such that we can feel better in our bodies. I am very much opposed to any practice that is not sustainable, whether it be diets or exercise programs. I do what feels good to my body (most of the time) and if it hurts or doesn’t feel good, I don’t do it. Occasionally I overdo it if I go to the Pride parade or if I take a walk with friends and go too long, but this is by my own choice.

A: Fall Ferguson
The HAES approach to movement and exercise is not about judging someone for not exercising; it’s about defending the right to move our bodies—all bodies—in ways that are pleasurable and life enhancing.

Unfortunately, our culture has become extremely healthist, in the sense that it values “personal responsibility” for health, and the moral worth we attach thereto, over diversity and wellbeing for all. In such a culture, it’s easy to misinterpret any mention of movement or exercise as a healthist mandate to conform our bodies to a specific physique or fitness level. However, I think this mischaracterizes the HAES model’s treatment of movement and exercise.

We should advocate for the removal of all barriers—whether environmental, socioeconomic, or cultural—to movement and exercise for all bodies. Beyond that, I encourage mindful movement, similar to mindful eating, in which we reconnect on the deepest level with our bodies’ needs. Sometimes we need to move, sometimes we need to rest, but no one else, ever, gets to tell us what, how, or when to move or rest.

(source)

 Not going to break this week down because I’ve done a lot that wasn’t tracked anywhere.

I started my strength training & tennis classes this week..  The ST class was folded in with other classes that didn’t have enough students left after the drop period to be their own class, so it will be more general that just lifting.  She is going give me a personalized lifting regimen though & said I could just lift if that’s all I wanted to do.  I’m down for mixing it up though.  Tennis was just a “hey, how ya doing” class this week, so nothing to report there.  I have already informed a friend that she is going to be my tennis partner & I will teach her how to be a shitty tennis player just like me!

Said friend & I also joined a gym this week.  I went a few days.  Since it’s January it’s been extra busy this week, but I did the bike, a fusion class, & some treadmill intervals.  That was fun.  We have our consult with the trainer Tuesday & we’ll see what comes of that.  I have already told her I will not weigh or have my body fat percentage taken, & I don’t need to know what my BMI is.  She looked at me like I had two heads.  I want to focus on what I can do & how I feel.  What I weigh is irrelevant.

I told the same thing to my ST teacher, but she handled it much more professionally.  I really appreciated that on the first day of class when we were discussing goals, etc, she didn’t assume mine was to lose weight & never brought losing weight up.

When I weigh, if I gain weight I feel shitty & hopeless & bingey.  If I lose weight my mind starts calculating how much more I could lose if only… so I end up not eating for days or eating very little.  Not only is that unhealthy in & of itself, but then I don’t get anything done because I have even less energy that usual, plus I’m even moodier.  It’s no fun.

So tomorrow I am starting the Hal Hidgon 10K novice training program.  I had to kajigger the days around to fit my schedule, but it looks like strength & cross-training MWF & runs TTS.  I have Wellness & ST on Wednesday, & Tennis on Tuesdays.  I’m also going to give the 100 push-ups challenge another shot & the 200 sit-ups.  Maybe I’m over doing it a bit, but the push-ups/sit-ups only take a few minutes & fit in with the strength training.  Anyhoo, we’ll see how it goes.  I have to set specific goals for the ST class, so maybe that combined with having a training program to focus on will help keep me motivated over the next few months.  Or you know, it’ll drive me over the edge & I’ll quit everything, either/or.  They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over & over again hoping for a different result.  I’ve never claimed to be sane.

Wish me luck!