Fat Chick Works Out

I used to have her book. I bought it when I was fat, and it was VERY encouraging about exercising WHILE fat, instead of waiting for weight loss. I believe she is absolutely right that it's worth getting fit and active for its own sake rather than for weight loss. My only criticism was that I didn't feel she put enough emphasis on strength training, something which is beneficial and is not usually restricted by weight as much as some types of exercise.

Fat acceptance/HAES actually helped me lose weight, if anything, even though that sounds odd. I accepted my fat body, wanted to look after it, started exercising more and realised that exercise would be easier if I lost a bit of weight. And yes, it gave me time to look for a diet that I thought I could maintain. I'm no longer a "fat chick", so have given the book away, but I'd recommend the approach.

This...

It's not the 400 pound woman that needs to change it's the entire world that needs to provide bigger chairs for her.

This video strikes a nerve. I swear if I ever find out this crap is being promoted to my child, I will *kitten* pink twinkies. I have to wonder if these idiots have children. The lady on the left has to be crushing every organ she has and I'll be damned if I'm going to bow down to this nonsense and say it's okay. If society starts down this path, were going to end up with a country full of people that have an average life span of 40. As far as the person who said the morbidly obese shouldn't exist, I think I understand what they meant, in that, the world is not designed for 500lb people because it should not be the norm..... EVER. Bus seats, airplane seats, my freaking couch... were not made for people that size and if it becomes the norm, what does that mean for those of us that have enough of a brain to know that it is not and never will be healthy. At all, period. If a person needs two seats on an airplane, they should have to pay for it. Why the world should have to conform to what is blatant gluttony is beyond me. But hey... they can move so they must be healthy, right?

you just became my favourite person ever. Stolen.

Stolen again!

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?)

So what are you saying about your own existence or anyone else here for that matter?

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.

If you were completely physically unable to do anything more than those exercises, then it might be a reasonable start. However, being fat does not equal "completely physically unable". People wanting to get results without even breaking a sweat is why the diet industry makes billions and the world gets fatter by the day.

Love this!^^^

Sure, everyone should love themselves no matter what size they are. In fact if everyone loved themselves while fat it could just possibly help them to lose the weight. Self love equals self respect which equals healthy mind and body. I don't see how you can love yourself and continue to treat your body like crap.

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?)

Really shouldn't exist in the first place? Oh if it were only that simple. What you said started out well and ended pretty cruel. You are not so thin yourself

As a former obese person, I find the title "Fat Chick Works Out" and the whole concept extremely patronising. When I was obese I didn't consider myself as a special person who needed special treatment... I sure as anything didn't want to be treated like that. And even worse, treated like I was incapable of ever doing a difficult workout or breaking a sweat.... sorry but that's completely disempowering, patronising crap. What I needed was accurate information about nutrition and strength training to be able to get my body fat percentage in the healthy range. (and that's what I got, and put into action in my life, and that's why I'm an ex-obese person...)

I agree with that woman that it is a shame if someone runs a marathon and doesn't lose weight in the process and is unable to see their success at running because of their weight.................... BUT regardless of that, if someone's running marathons (or similarly successful in other areas of athletic endeavors) and still has an obese body fat percentage, then they need to make some changes in their nutrition (not even huge changes, just better portion control/calorie counting) to be able to get their body fat percentage down. As much as people can be fit and fat, because health is measured in a lot more than just body fat percentage, they'll still improve their health further by getting their body fat percentage into the healthy range.

I also think that a lot of people believe that they can't lose weight because they've never had the right tools to be able to do so, due to the sheer number of faddy diets and volume of misinformation out there... I can totally understand their frustration and why they believe this about themselves... but the answer to this is to provide people with accurate information and the tools and support to help them do it.......... this site is full of people who have succeeded at this who are freely sharing their knowledge.

And also, there is too much focus on fat people....... there are vast swathes of people out there who are thin, sedentary, unhealthy, with bad body composition (too little lean mass, too much fat) who are not being targetted at all with any of this campaigning............ EVERYONE should eat a balanced diet and EVERYONE should exercise (barring a very small number of medical exceptions), this message is not just for fat people who want to get thin. It's for everyone because humans are not supposed to be sedentary and humans need a particular balance of nutrients to be healthy.

Jog on, then.

If you were completely physically unable to do anything more than those exercises, then it might be a reasonable start. However, being fat does not equal "completely physically unable". People wanting to get results without even breaking a sweat is why the diet industry makes billions and the world gets fatter by the day.

Agree 100%.

Just because one is fat, does not mean they are unable to do physical exercise. It may mean they'll get tired quicker, but in due time, their endurance increases. When I was obese, I could certainly run on the treadmill. I couldn't run on it for 30 minutes like I can now, but I could.

However, I could see it being beneficial for people who have trouble with mobility (regardless of whether they're overweight or not, actually). My mom, for example, has joint issues and other pains related to both her age and her weight. If she were to start exercising, I might recommend she start with exercise moves that aren't too harsh on her joints.

I do find the concept a bit patronising, too, as another poster pointed out. I don't know. When I wasn't in shape, I didn't feel like I couldn't break a sweat due... more I didn't want to. Not quite the same.

As a former obese person, I find the title "Fat Chick Works Out" and the whole concept extremely patronising. When I was obese I didn't consider myself as a special person who needed special treatment... I sure as anything didn't want to be treated like that. And even worse, treated like I was incapable of ever doing a difficult workout or breaking a sweat.... sorry but that's completely disempowering, patronising crap. What I needed was accurate information about nutrition and strength training to be able to get my body fat percentage in the healthy range. (and that's what I got, and put into action in my life, and that's why I'm an ex-obese person...)

I agree with that woman that it is a shame if someone runs a marathon and doesn't lose weight in the process and is unable to see their success at running because of their weight.................... BUT regardless of that, if someone's running marathons (or similarly successful in other areas of athletic endeavors) and still has an obese body fat percentage, then they need to make some changes in their nutrition (not even huge changes, just better portion control/calorie counting) to be able to get their body fat percentage down. As much as people can be fit and fat, because health is measured in a lot more than just body fat percentage, they'll still improve their health further by getting their body fat percentage into the healthy range.

I also think that a lot of people believe that they can't lose weight because they've never had the right tools to be able to do so, due to the sheer number of faddy diets and volume of misinformation out there... I can totally understand their frustration and why they believe this about themselves... but the answer to this is to provide people with accurate information and the tools and support to help them do it.......... this site is full of people who have succeeded at this who are freely sharing their knowledge.

And also, there is too much focus on fat people....... there are vast swathes of people out there who are thin, sedentary, unhealthy, with bad body composition (too little lean mass, too much fat) who are not being targetted at all with any of this campaigning............ EVERYONE should eat a balanced diet and EVERYONE should exercise (barring a very small number of medical exceptions), this message is not just for fat people who want to get thin. It's for everyone because humans are not supposed to be sedentary and humans need a particular balance of nutrients to be healthy.

This was beautifully said, Neander.

I'm also with SunOfaBeach: I hate these threads.

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.

I didn't get from the book that people were being encouraged not to break a sweat - quite the opposite! The impression I got was that it was aimed at people who were nervous about exercising but wanted to do it. One thing I noticed at my gym was that there were no easy classes, except for over 60s. If you were younger and out of condition, there was no way to break yourself into exercise. I'm all for provision of classes which target people who are less fit than average and who want to be able to participate fully, rather than huffing and puffing at the back, feeling they're going to die, either of overexertion or embarrassment. And yes, that definitely includes people who are unfit and underweight too. But very big people are an obvious group, because it really is harder to move that bulk around. I know, I've been there .

How can encouraging obese people to exercise be at all a bad thing? I feel that some people are disapproving, simply because they're not exercising with the goal of weight loss. But exercise is beneficial for health on its own, they're right about that. And statistically, most obese people are not going to lose the weight and keep it off - so why not concentrate on getting fit right now?