Fat Chick Works Out
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I can understand why it can come across as patronising, and why obese people might not want to see themselves as needing "special treatment". I imagine the truth is that most DON'T need special treatment. But for some others, and myself, I felt that my size was an issue. I found "normal" exercise classes really hard at my heaviest. However, at the same weight, I didn't have any problems with lifting weights, or yoga, for instance. I would love to have been able to talk to somebody about what types of exercise worked best, given my size and fitness level. And there are some minor issues, such as not being able to fit into workout clothes! Also "obese" spans quite a range: when I was just in the obese range, no, I didn't feel I needed special treatment, but at my biggest weight it was a different story.
The thing is, that's not special advice for fat people.... it's the same advice as for anyone who's unfit to get back into shape. I have no issues at all with exercise types and routines marketed at beginners and people with limited mobility - I think they're fantastic. Why make "fat" or "not fat" a part of it at all? Water aerobics is a good choice for people who are obese to the point that it limits mobility, but I've never seen water aerobics as being marketed as a special exercise for fat people... it's marketed as a more gentle form of cardio that's for anyone who happens to like it and is especially suitable for beginners and people with limited mobility, joint issues and so on.......... A beginner is a beginner, and not all beginners are fat and not all fat people are beginners, and so fat people really don't need to be singled out and assumed to be some extra special category of incapable and unwilling.
I don't have anything against the idea of working out for health only and not fat loss... I mean that's really what exercise is for anyway, because exercise doesn't cause fat loss.... a calorie deficit does. Exercise is for health and fitness and really what other people's goals are is none of my business. What I think is very important is that people know the science behind fat loss and have the tools to do it, as in learning how to eat at a sensible deficit to lose the weight. A large number of people who think they can't lose weight don't actually have the right information and tools, and I wouldn't want anyone to believe that they're going to remain fat no matter what they do.
I do object to the idea that obesity itself has no impact on health - because that's simply not true. Yes people can be both fat and fit (and that's better than being skinny-fat and sedentary) but the excess fat itself will be impacting health in some ways, and that can't be denied, even if someone chooses to stay fat. People have the right to make that choice, but kidding themselves it's not going to affect their health in any way is wrong.0 -
I can understand why it can come across as patronising, and why obese people might not want to see themselves as needing "special treatment". I imagine the truth is that most DON'T need special treatment. But for some others, and myself, I felt that my size was an issue. I found "normal" exercise classes really hard at my heaviest. However, at the same weight, I didn't have any problems with lifting weights, or yoga, for instance. I would love to have been able to talk to somebody about what types of exercise worked best, given my size and fitness level. And there are some minor issues, such as not being able to fit into workout clothes! Also "obese" spans quite a range: when I was just in the obese range, no, I didn't feel I needed special treatment, but at my biggest weight it was a different story.
The thing is, that's not special advice for fat people.... it's the same advice as for anyone who's unfit to get back into shape. I have no issues at all with exercise types and routines marketed at beginners and people with limited mobility - I think they're fantastic. Why make "fat" or "not fat" a part of it at all? Water aerobics is a good choice for people who are obese to the point that it limits mobility, but I've never seen water aerobics as being marketed as a special exercise for fat people... it's marketed as a more gentle form of cardio that's for anyone who happens to like it and is especially suitable for beginners and people with limited mobility, joint issues and so on.......... A beginner is a beginner, and not all beginners are fat and not all fat people are beginners, and so fat people really don't need to be singled out and assumed to be some extra special category of incapable and unwilling.
So you're mad at the woman for putting "fat" in the name of her workout? I mean come on, here we are already talking about it way more than all the dozens or hundreds of low intensity workouts that already exist (walking is the only more talked about one that comes to mind). Sounds like sheer genius to me. Even the workout clip from the video posted above seemed to show mostly thin people in the class, if I recall correctly
That's an interesting observation about not a lot of gym classes specifically advertised as easy. I know the one Zumba lady was a bit less intense than the other. If she was available when I first started up again, I may not have gone straight to the main Zumba gal's class maybe. That class had me huffing and puffing and out of there in ten minutes. But I stuck with it and eventually 20 minutes, 40 minutes, then the whole class. For a while I would actually leave for about five minutes then come back in to finish. Her intensity actually led me to chat with my doctor - turns out I had exercise/exertion induced asthma, for which I still take a puff or two of my inhaler before exercise each time0 -
Well, as I said, most obese probably are not affected too much by their weight, and it's not a specific problem. But for some it is, and we do need "special advice for fat people"
. I was lugging around 57% body fat and I think it did affect my body in particular ways. In some ways, you're not really at a disadvantage - after all, I was used to carrying that extra weight up and down stairs every day. On the other hand, that's a lot of extra weight to be bouncing on your joints doing certain exercises. That's not to say that fat people are incapably or unwilling AT ALL, but that some (not all) might find their fat body reacts differently to their slim body (regardless of how fit).
(This is kind of an extreme example, but I went back to ballet as a fat person and really, really wanted to work back to being en pointe. But after researching it, I found that the extra weight puts too much of a strain on you, and that it probably wasn't a good idea in terms of health and injury risk, purely because of my weight. Yes, there are obese dancers who can and do dance en pointe. It's not that obese people are incapable, but that, in my case, I decided that my weight affected the risk of that particular exercise).
I agree with most of what you're saying, Neandermagnon, so this isn't really directed at you, but it puzzles me that there is such an objection to fat people exercising just for health and fitness, and being visible about it. It's as if we have to do some sort of penance and claim it's for weight loss, or it's not acceptable. This is just one book and one exercise class aimed at fat people without promoting weight loss, and there's outrage!0 -
3:49 :noway:0
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I actually kinda like seeing girls my size instructing fitness classes or videos. It helps me feel a bit less intimidated since I'm still a bit new to working out, and for stuff like yoga, it gives me a better idea of how a larger body like mine is supposed to handle some of the poses. I realize not everyone's like that, and I'm equally happy with a skinny instructor, but I do like seeing more variety out there.
Before starting here, I actually was loosely involved in the online HAES thing. I wasn't active in it or anything, but I hung out in a couple related groups, and I'm still glad for it. They helped me get comfortable with my size for the first time since putting on the weight, and at least for me, that's making a huge difference now in my willingness to get to the gym and overall actually care about what I'm doing with my body. I've always been a big snacker, and I realized one day that the bigger I got, the more I hated myself, which only led to more snacking. Finally accepting myself got me to start wanting to exercise and eat healthier, and somehow that turned into a desire to lose weight which has been going well so far. I'm also strongly in favor of their desire to cut down on size prejudice, especially with things like excessive assumptions about health/habits (one slightly extreme example was the woman who tried to take a motorized cart from an obese customer with various mobility problems because 'she obviously didn't need it'), or cases of hurtful discrimination.
That said, I never did get over how negative they were about the very idea of wanting to lose weight, since obviously that means you don't love yourself enough or something. A lot of it, of course, seemed to be supported by all the stories the members told of eating healthy and being involved with dance or sports without ever losing a pound. To them, this pretty clearly meant that they were at the weight that was healthy for them, and are big on the idea that each person has a weight that's healthy for them. Honestly though, if someone's happy with the size they're at, and are otherwise in good health, I figure it's their choice if they want to live that way. I've decided I'm done with it myself, but some people are happy staying whatever size and I figure it's their life to do with as they please.
Anyway, since joining here, I've been coming to realize that quite a few of those stories I mentioned were just more cases of people really not understanding how weight loss is even supposed to work. Calorie deficits and maintenance levels and such are obvious to me now, but before joining, I was pretty clueless about all that, and I'm realizing the same is true for a lot of those women (and a few men) as well which is a bit sad to me. Still, I do like some of what they stand for, and at least for me, it sure is a lot easier to start taking care of yourself when you don't wake up every day hating your entire body. Back to the DVD though, it sounds like she's absolutely in favor of working up a sweat, and trying for weight loss or not, if it's getting more people to get up and moving, then it seems to be doing at least something right.0 -
coming in for some funny GIFs...none?0
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So what are you saying about your own existence or anyone else here for that matter?And what she said about how society should change its ways instead of the individuals is just effing ludicrous!!! Give me a break! Sure, society should be empathetic to overweight people and society should encourage everyone to be healthy instead of pushing fad diets and pills, but there is a reason this world isn't "made for fat people"....fat people are a product of an unhealthy society and really shouldn't exist in the first place (I'm talking more about morbid obesity, not carrying a few extra lbs, ya know?)
I don't think she meant that fat people should never have been born... she meant that if we lived in a society where people had to be active and didn't have access to food in near enough unlimited quantities, all the fat people would be thin people. They'd be the same people, they just wouldn't have an obesity problem.
Right up until the point that she gives herself a pass because hey at least she's not as fat as the ones she's criticizing
Sorry, apparently my comment was not worded properly, I apologize for it ruffling any feathers - believe me, I'm not normally a, umm, feather ruffler, lol. What I meant was, as a couple people have graciously suggested on my behalf, that if humans ate and moved as we are meant to, I don't think extreme obesity would exist.
For the record, I am morbidly obese myself....I'm certainly not a MFP member for the "weight gain" section of the forum.
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I can understand why it can come across as patronising, and why obese people might not want to see themselves as needing "special treatment". I imagine the truth is that most DON'T need special treatment. But for some others, and myself, I felt that my size was an issue. I found "normal" exercise classes really hard at my heaviest. However, at the same weight, I didn't have any problems with lifting weights, or yoga, for instance. I would love to have been able to talk to somebody about what types of exercise worked best, given my size and fitness level. And there are some minor issues, such as not being able to fit into workout clothes! Also "obese" spans quite a range: when I was just in the obese range, no, I didn't feel I needed special treatment, but at my biggest weight it was a different story.
The thing is, that's not special advice for fat people.... it's the same advice as for anyone who's unfit to get back into shape. I have no issues at all with exercise types and routines marketed at beginners and people with limited mobility - I think they're fantastic. Why make "fat" or "not fat" a part of it at all? Water aerobics is a good choice for people who are obese to the point that it limits mobility, but I've never seen water aerobics as being marketed as a special exercise for fat people... it's marketed as a more gentle form of cardio that's for anyone who happens to like it and is especially suitable for beginners and people with limited mobility, joint issues and so on.......... A beginner is a beginner, and not all beginners are fat and not all fat people are beginners, and so fat people really don't need to be singled out and assumed to be some extra special category of incapable and unwilling.
So you're mad at the woman for putting "fat" in the name of her workout?
mad is WAAAAAAAAAAY too strong a word... let's just say that when I was obese, I would have rolled my eyes at it and not bought it.
I don't like coddling people and I hate being coddled. Coddling holds people back, makes them believe that they're less capable than other people.
FTR I don't like workouts aimed specifically at women either, if they're marketing the same workouts as they do for men but the marketing is directed at women (like NROLFW) that's not so bad but this whole "special workout for women" smacks of "women are fragile and can't do what men do"......... it's kind of the same thing with this, i.e. "fat people are fragile and can't do with thin people do" - it's not true. Fat people are capable people who may or may not be unfit at the present time, and are not fragile. Some of the most impressive people on this site are those who've gone from extremely fat and unfit to a healthy bf% and athletic. Not overnight (that's impossible) but through persistence, tenacity and determination.I mean come on, here we are already talking about it way more than all the dozens or hundreds of low intensity workouts that already exist (walking is the only more talked about one that comes to mind). Sounds like sheer genius to me. Even the workout clip from the video posted above seemed to show mostly thin people in the class, if I recall correctly
beginners workouts are already very well established and well known and pretty much anyone can go into a gym or sports centre of exercise video show anywhere and ask whether a particular workout is suitable for beginners, people who are unfit who need to get in shape etc... it's not talked about on threads so much precisely because it is so well established. But if someone posts a thread saying that they're unfit and can't do much in terms of exercise, they'll get plenty of people giving advice like start slow and build up, and suggesting all kinds of more gentle exercise or workouts that are good for beginners.
Also, it's like planet fitness... it's marketing. I am totally within my rights to dislike products based on the way they're marketed. I find this whole "fat chick works out" thing patronising and would have done just as much (maybe more so) when obese and that would put me off from ever buying it. Maybe the people who are marketing care about that, maybe they don't. But it's a fact.0 -
What always blows my mind about these stories is if you're going to be doing all that cardio (like presumably a fitness instructor would), how hard can it be to achieve a caloric deficit? A lot of cardio at her weight is going to give her a very high TDEE - to maintain her weight, she must really love to eat rich food, but I can't help but thinking it would be pretty easy for her to lose the weight if she put in a modicum of effort towards doing so. And moreover, if you're going to be a public figure and try to encourage other people to get healthy, shouldn't diet and nutrition be a part of it and not just working out? I'd actually agree with the notion that weight loss and exercise should be largely decoupled from one another (because diet is much more important), but at the same time it's pretty silly to call yourself a fitness professional and at the same time have no control over your eating.
And as an aside, I do find it sort of humorous/sad/typical that so often it's the stories about massively overweight people working out that make the news, even when these massively overweight people aren't the ones losing weight. We had a local girl with a video about an obese girl dancing that went viral and in her story she blamed her 200+ lb weight gain on PCOS. While it's good she's doing some cardio even at her size, I can't help but thinking this wouldn't be a news story at all if her doctor had suggested a lower carb diet and a caloric deficit, say, 180 pounds ago. Then she'd just be a healthy girl dancing and not newsworthy at all.0 -
No sweating, don't call it a workout. While you can walk to get a little exercise and burn some extra calories, no one refers to walking as a workout.
I consider walking at Fat-Burning intensity the beginning of my workout at the gym followed by leg machines, arm machines and ab machines. Not a workout for me unless all are involved and I am sweating. And yes I a fat lady and I do work out!0 -
I heard one valid point here-the author of these workouts/books says she has done a marathon and yet hasn't lost weight.
I'm not sure success can be tied to just the number on the scale. I am more physically active and more fit than I was in high school, but I'm almost ten pounds heavier than I was in high school.
The number is a number-a higher number may put you at higher risk for various diseases...but accepting yourself and loving your body regardless of our "wobbly bits" as Bridget Jones put it...that is important.0 -
I dislike these threads
After coming back to it and seeing the OP's one reply and rereading his original post it comes across as a poor attempt at flame baiting.0 -
I heard one valid point here-the author of these workouts/books says she has done a marathon and yet hasn't lost weight.
I'm not sure success can be tied to just the number on the scale. I am more physically active and more fit than I was in high school, but I'm almost ten pounds heavier than I was in high school.
The number is a number-a higher number may put you at higher risk for various diseases...but accepting yourself and loving your body regardless of our "wobbly bits" as Bridget Jones put it...that is important.
Are you 350+ pounds? Pretty sure you're not. You may be in better physical shape and overall health being 10 pounds heavier due to increased muscle and perhaps some water retention as a result of your physical activity, but it's a bit different if you're 350 pounds and running marathons. You aren't comparing apples and oranges - you're still at a healthy weight even weighing more than you did in high school, but at 350+ pounds a woman isn't even in the same ballpark as a healthy weight. All the marathons in the world won't change the fact that her weight is extremely unhealthy, and if "accepting yourself" means being complacent with her morbid obesity, I'd wholeheartedly disagree.0 -
I can understand why it can come across as patronising, and why obese people might not want to see themselves as needing "special treatment". I imagine the truth is that most DON'T need special treatment. But for some others, and myself, I felt that my size was an issue. I found "normal" exercise classes really hard at my heaviest. However, at the same weight, I didn't have any problems with lifting weights, or yoga, for instance. I would love to have been able to talk to somebody about what types of exercise worked best, given my size and fitness level. And there are some minor issues, such as not being able to fit into workout clothes! Also "obese" spans quite a range: when I was just in the obese range, no, I didn't feel I needed special treatment, but at my biggest weight it was a different story.
The thing is, that's not special advice for fat people.... it's the same advice as for anyone who's unfit to get back into shape. I have no issues at all with exercise types and routines marketed at beginners and people with limited mobility - I think they're fantastic. Why make "fat" or "not fat" a part of it at all? Water aerobics is a good choice for people who are obese to the point that it limits mobility, but I've never seen water aerobics as being marketed as a special exercise for fat people... it's marketed as a more gentle form of cardio that's for anyone who happens to like it and is especially suitable for beginners and people with limited mobility, joint issues and so on.......... A beginner is a beginner, and not all beginners are fat and not all fat people are beginners, and so fat people really don't need to be singled out and assumed to be some extra special category of incapable and unwilling.
So you're mad at the woman for putting "fat" in the name of her workout?
mad is WAAAAAAAAAAY too strong a word... let's just say that when I was obese, I would have rolled my eyes at it and not bought it.
I don't like coddling people and I hate being coddled. Coddling holds people back, makes them believe that they're less capable than other people.
FTR I don't like workouts aimed specifically at women either, if they're marketing the same workouts as they do for men but the marketing is directed at women (like NROLFW) that's not so bad but this whole "special workout for women" smacks of "women are fragile and can't do what men do"......... it's kind of the same thing with this, i.e. "fat people are fragile and can't do with thin people do" - it's not true. Fat people are capable people who may or may not be unfit at the present time, and are not fragile. Some of the most impressive people on this site are those who've gone from extremely fat and unfit to a healthy bf% and athletic. Not overnight (that's impossible) but through persistence, tenacity and determination.I mean come on, here we are already talking about it way more than all the dozens or hundreds of low intensity workouts that already exist (walking is the only more talked about one that comes to mind). Sounds like sheer genius to me. Even the workout clip from the video posted above seemed to show mostly thin people in the class, if I recall correctly
beginners workouts are already very well established and well known and pretty much anyone can go into a gym or sports centre of exercise video show anywhere and ask whether a particular workout is suitable for beginners, people who are unfit who need to get in shape etc... it's not talked about on threads so much precisely because it is so well established. But if someone posts a thread saying that they're unfit and can't do much in terms of exercise, they'll get plenty of people giving advice like start slow and build up, and suggesting all kinds of more gentle exercise or workouts that are good for beginners.
Also, it's like planet fitness... it's marketing. I am totally within my rights to dislike products based on the way they're marketed. I find this whole "fat chick works out" thing patronising and would have done just as much (maybe more so) when obese and that would put me off from ever buying it. Maybe the people who are marketing care about that, maybe they don't. But it's a fact.
To one of your previous comments, how many skinny people do you see regularly attending water aerobics? Mind as well cut the bull**** and call it what it is. And the point of mentioning lower intensity exercises and gyms is to say that very few places actually seem to actively market this, even though it could be a nice non-intimidating way to get people off the couch. That question seems to be answered here where a lot of people think a low intensity exercise is idiotic and a waste of time0 -
What always blows my mind about these stories is if you're going to be doing all that cardio (like presumably a fitness instructor would), how hard can it be to achieve a caloric deficit? A lot of cardio at her weight is going to give her a very high TDEE - to maintain her weight, she must really love to eat rich food, but I can't help but thinking it would be pretty easy for her to lose the weight if she put in a modicum of effort towards doing so.
Not necessarily. According to a TDEE calculator, my TDEE at my morbidly obese weight (including exercise), was around 1800 calories. Bump that up the exercise to 5 times a week and it would be around 2000. It's pretty easy to eat that much if you're exercising and cooking healthy meals. I wouldn't call it a "very high" TDEE, or say you need rich food to achieve it.0 -
What always blows my mind about these stories is if you're going to be doing all that cardio (like presumably a fitness instructor would), how hard can it be to achieve a caloric deficit? A lot of cardio at her weight is going to give her a very high TDEE - to maintain her weight, she must really love to eat rich food, but I can't help but thinking it would be pretty easy for her to lose the weight if she put in a modicum of effort towards doing so.
Not necessarily. According to a TDEE calculator, my TDEE at my morbidly obese weight (including exercise), was around 1800 calories. Bump that up the exercise to 5 times a week and it would be around 2000. It's pretty easy to eat that much if you're exercising and cooking healthy meals. I wouldn't call it a "very high" TDEE, or say you need rich food to achieve it.
I'm horrible at estimating weight, but for the sake of argument assume the lady in the OP's video is 300 pounds and 50 years old. Exercising 5 times a week (and if she's a fitness instructor, that doesn't seem unreasonable), her TDEE comes out to around 3000 calories per day. That's a good amount of food - I know male bodybuilders who gain weight at 2600-2700 calories/day. If she simply cut down to 2000 calories/day (which isn't really that hard), she'd drop weight very quickly - and that's what blows my mind about these stories. Good on her for staying active, but you're telling me she can't get by with only 2000 calories/day? And the sad part is that if she cut her calories, lost the weight and became a healthy fitness instructor, the story probably wouldn't make the news.0 -
Woah this really seems to be a bone of contention. Here's the deal with fat acceptance. Sometimes people just like to eat more than others. Shocking I know but there it is. And does this make them second class citizens? No it bloody well doesn't. They are entitled to make this choice. And honestly as long as it is within reasonable limits and the person keeps themselves otherwise healthy a moderately high body fat percentage does not in fact impact health very much. And by moderately high I am talking about the 20-25% bracket for men maybe a little higher.
The honest fact of the matter is that people are obsessed with how much we weigh because we are all paranoid that no one will want to have sex with us if we are fat. People who want to be healthy become healthy anyone on unhealthy or unsustainable diets really just wants to get laid. And it's sad really cos unless they look like a beached whale it's usually not the main culprit.0 -
What always blows my mind about these stories is if you're going to be doing all that cardio (like presumably a fitness instructor would), how hard can it be to achieve a caloric deficit? A lot of cardio at her weight is going to give her a very high TDEE - to maintain her weight, she must really love to eat rich food, but I can't help but thinking it would be pretty easy for her to lose the weight if she put in a modicum of effort towards doing so.
Not necessarily. According to a TDEE calculator, my TDEE at my morbidly obese weight (including exercise), was around 1800 calories. Bump that up the exercise to 5 times a week and it would be around 2000. It's pretty easy to eat that much if you're exercising and cooking healthy meals. I wouldn't call it a "very high" TDEE, or say you need rich food to achieve it.
I'm horrible at estimating weight, but for the sake of argument assume the lady in the OP's video is 300 pounds and 50 years old. Exercising 5 times a week (and if she's a fitness instructor, that doesn't seem unreasonable), her TDEE comes out to around 3000 calories per day. That's a good amount of food - I know male bodybuilders who gain weight at 2600-2700 calories/day. If she simply cut down to 2000 calories/day (which isn't really that hard), she'd drop weight very quickly - and that's what blows my mind about these stories. Good on her for staying active, but you're telling me she can't get by with only 2000 calories/day? And the sad part is that if she cut her calories, lost the weight and became a healthy fitness instructor, the story probably wouldn't make the news.
You make it seem like a moderate deficit is anywhere close to being the only method being popularized out there. It's completely drowned out by all the nonsense, not to mention demonized by some of those pushing clean eating methods. They would turn their noses up at your moderate deficit much the same way as you would at this person supposedly mistreating her body. There's just too much noise. I personally don't think the word is really out yet0 -
Walking side to side and waving your arms around leisurely is surely the key to fitness. Don't forget to shout.0
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Not everyone who works out and eats within normal ranges loses weight at a huge clip. I am given 1200 per day, work out doing cardio 5 times a week and the weight is slowly coming off. It isn't coming off quickly even though I am moving and eating very clean. There could be many reasons she might hang on to it. I know for me personally, I starved myself for years thinking that was the way to go, so, now I have to re-train my body and it's going to take a while. I will never like myself at this weight, I hold back on doing so many things because of my weight. I applaud anyone who can get up and move to make themselves a healthier version of who they are 0
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