Tag Archives: plus size

Fat and Back

TV Review

television

 

I recently watched a fascinating documentary called “Fat and Back”. It charted a year in Paul “PJ” James’ life as he aimed to gain 50% of his body weight in six months and then lose it in six months.  PJ is a very successful fitness trainer but he had never been overweight and so couldn’t comprehend the difficulties that overweight people faced not only in losing weight but in everyday life.

The first thing that shocked me was PJ giving up exercise completely while he gained weight.  That sent shivers down my spine, and I haven’t dedicated my life to fitness as PJ had.  I do wonder how much that affected him, because as he gained weight, he certainly showed signs of depression and at one point a doctor urged him to stop because of his mental health.  PJ showed how easy it was to become addicted to junk food as he struggled to eat clean. He also had an inkling of how nervous overweight people can be as they go to the gym for the first time.

I have to admit I wasn’t as interested in seeing PJ take on a client, as I didn’t see what value it added to the programme.  But overall it was a good watch.  And it did make a personal trainer (and hopefully his colleagues and friends) realise the problems that overweight people face when trying to lose weight.

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

One Big Fat Run October

fitness, Running,

onebigfatrunoct2

Yes it’s that time again. Time for #Onebigfatrun.  If you missed August and September’s events and are not sure what this is all about check out The Fat Girl’s Guide to Running information page.

But here are some quick pointers:

  • Sign up on facebook
  • Encourage others to sign up
  • Choose your 5k route
  • Walk, jog or run your 5k on 27.10.13
  • Take a finishers picture
  • Upload a picture onto social media with your finishing time
  • Tell everyone you completed #onebigfatrun
  • Good luck and enjoy!

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

Guilty TV pleasures.

healthy eating, Motivation, ,

television

No I don’t mean Glee or repeats of The Golden Girls, but at the moment my guilty TV pleasures are the weight loss shows.  I find when I am “in the zone/on track/in control/in the groove” or whatever you want to call it I enjoy these programmes.  However when I am not-I don’t really want to know them!

The three (I can hear my husband’s THREE from here!) shows I am currently watching are Downsize Me, Fat (or Obese): A Year to Save my Life and Fat Families.  All have their merits as well as their weaknesses but the aim is pretty much the same: take an overweight person (or people in Fat Families case), show them what they are doing to their body, encourage them to change by improving their diet and increasing the amount they exercise and showcase the results.

And the results are generally quite good.  Especially for A Year to Save My Life, as they had, well, a year.  They are given a personal trainer for several hours a day and in FF and AYTSML several pieces of exercise kit.  They have access to dietician and diet sheets. As well as to the inspirational trainers that assists them.

One of the best things they do is really show what being overweight does to your body.  And Downsize Me goes further and invites a “Crash Test Dummy” or an ordinary, usually fairly fit person to live on the diet that the overweight person has existed on.  Some of the changes to their body are remarkable (although I do watch all these shows with a hefty dose of scepticism at times.)

What I would really like to see is if a year or two down the line have they maintained their weight loss?  Have they lost more or have they gone back to their unhealthy ways?  And there are the odd returning programme in FF and DM.  The results are mixed, no-one shown went back to being as large as they were, but some had put weight back on.  And some had done extraordinarily well.

So despite my cynicism and the flaws in the programmes, I do find some interesting points.  It’s a reminder of what being overweight is doing to your body and how shedding even a few pounds and getting more active can help.  I find it fascinating to see the causes of overeating tackled, and some people can pinpoint a reason.  I also love seeing how the coaches emphasise the mental side of things as that is an area I am finally realising its importance.  And most of all I just love watching other people’s successes (in the main) and take heart from them.

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon

A rant about the lack of plus size clothing

fitness, ,

rant face

 

I warn you, I am going to rant.  So if you are of a nervous disposition, you may want to look away now.

Picture this: we are all being encouraged to eat healthy.  You know that it’s the right thing to do.  You get yourself motivated-it’s a big step.  You’ve decided to eat healthily but when you come to look in the shops there is no healthy food.  At all.  There is a wide selection of food that is not healthy, there is food that will just about do, but it’s not the fresh smelling, fat busting healthy food that you have promised yourself.  Actually you are now a little dejected.  Maybe this healthy eating lark isn’t for you.  It’ll be much easier to stick to the unhealthy stuff.  After all it’s like the manufacturers don’t want you to be healthy.

Crazy, eh?

Shall we substitute in exercise gear for plus-sizes for healthy food, and it now becomes painfully true?  We are being encouraged to exercise and for people carrying a bit of padding it can be quite a scary proposition.  And the fact that there is very little technical clothing that fits plus sizers is so depressing.  We have as much right as slim exercisers to be kitted out in clothing that will be do a specific job.

Please would manufacturers realise that there are some people of ample proportions that like to exercise.  It is soul destroying to see all the wonderful clothes (often discounted) offered in small sizes and nothing in larger sizes. We would like to feel like ‘proper runners and exercisers’ with technical gear rather than finding anything that fits.  Not very encouraging really, and that to me is what hurts the most.  The fact that us plus sizers have put our head above the parapet, are trying our best, but sportswear manufacturers don’t appear to appreciate that. Imagine if one did…think of the custom.

Rant over.  Normal scheduling is now resumed!

All the best,

Woodyrunning spoon