Lara Frater's Blog, page 18

Fat Chicks Fight Back.

Fantasy author Dianne Sylvan has a great blog post called 10 Rules for Fat Girls. I particularly like the first: You are not obligated to be thin, healthy, or pretty.  The stereotype is that the good fattie is always on a diet, always trying to lose weight or is fat but in good health and exercises regularly. Good fatties get almost equal rights. Bad fatties don't eat right and never exercise, or they just happen to have poor health. They are treated like second class citizens. But if a thin person didn't eat right or exercise or happened to be in poor health, their weight isn't mentioned. Anyone of any shape and size should never been denied their rights based on stereotypical moral values of health.  

The other one I liked was #7: Stand up for yourself

A perfect example is model Nancy Upton when saw American Apparel's call for big models (i.e. models who are size 12-14, whoop-de-doo), she submitted her own photos of her with food done in the motif of AA's advertiments as revenge against American Apparel

The company was co-opting the mantra of plus-size empowerment and glazing it with its unmistakable brand of female objectification.

I have long since avoided American Apparel, because they didn't make clothes for me. Now they are  apparently offering (if you have a magnifing glass) token size 2x-3xl.  Even they are a 2x, I doubt they will fit.  I tend to find that plus sizes in stores that cater to thin people tend to run small. Sorry American Apparel you don't impress me with your who uses models who are not artsy but objectification of the female form  and your token plus line.

And last but not least, the fat chick that Southwest humilited is fighting back! The woman known as Athia was forced to buy a second seat on a southwest flight, even though she flew before without one and was willing to sit with her aunt and uncle. When Southwest found out they didn't have a seat for another passenger, they hastily refunded her money to get back that extra seat.

For her humalition she received a $150 "luv bucks" voucher to fly Southwest again.  Instead of giving in, she decided to create her own love bucks to send to Southwest. 

Southwest tried to pacify me with $150 airfare. They completely disregarded my concerns and dismissed my experience. That's not okay.

I've decided to send Southwest airlines my own version of their "LUV" bucks. I'm going to send them "LOVE" Bucks so they can buy some Dignity, Compassion, Integrity, and Decency. Fake money ftw!

If you'd like to join me in letting them know what you think, you can tweet your Love Bucks to @southwestair, post it on their FB page, send it to their email or to hq at:
Southwest Airlines
P.O. Box 36647-1CR
Dallas, Texas 75235 

Remember Fat Chicks, win or lose, always fight back!

The Worst Diet in the World Part 2

Back in May, I wrote a post about how I think weight loss surgery is the worst diet in the world. 

Allergan the creaters of  "lap-band"  has been losing money on the procedure. They had previously removed another stomach band the "Easyband".  Allergen blamed the government (How convenient!) However it might have something to do with killing people.

Two doctors and the ad company who created the ads for 1(800) Get-Thin are being sued for wrongful death.

Tamara Walter died Dec. 26, three days after she had a Lap-Band device surgically implanted at an outpatient clinic at 9001 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills, which has used several names including Beverly Hills Surgery Center, according to the lawsuit. Walter, 52, is one of four patients to die in the days after Lap-Band procedures at clinics that are connected to the advertising campaign, according to lawsuits and coroner reports.

The deaths were apparently caused by a bad anesiologist and poor care, which is why if you are thinking about getting the surgery or any cosmetic surgery, anesthesia is no joke.

To me, these weight loss clinics that promote Weight loss surgery as something easy and simple feed off people's desparation in this fat hating world. They see fat people as less than human, to experiment on and make money off. 

Early this year Allergan the markers of the lap-band has been trying to distance themselves from (800) Get-thin.

And so Allergan ceo David Pyott, who was making the rounds yesterday to chat about a recent earnings report, is now scrambling to disassociate the company from the not-so-subtle message on the billboards that "Diets fail! The Lap-Band works!" To wit, he tells the paper "that isn't the wording I would use. We put patients' welfare and safety at the top, so I wouldn't support it."

Meanwhile National Geographic has postively covered Health at Every Size.

Bacon (Linda Bacon) writes, "What no one needs, at any size, is to feel bad about how they look or what they weigh. People who live by Health at Every Size ideas tend to feel better about themselves, and that can lead to better health, too, with less stress and disordered eating."

Hmmm... on one hand, death and the other hand enjoying movement and normal eating.

I see the problem, there is no money to be made with the second choice.

Fat stigma vs. Being fat and yes, starving does kill you.

There has been some talk lately on fat stigma and whether that is the cause of "fat" health issues.  After all, too much stress can cause:

Mental health disorders, like depression and anxiety
Obesity
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Abnormal heart beats
Menstrual problems
Acne and other skin problems

What? Is that the O word on that list? So are you saying being stressed out about being fat can cause you to be fat?

So let's say you are fat and healthy. Everywhere you look there are messages saying OBESITY KILLS! You are often told you are worthless sometimes by friends, family even random strangers.  If you can actually find a job, the workplace is hostile.

Overweight individuals are often viewed as lazy, less competent, and sloppier in the workplace, classroom, doctor's office, and at home.


Meanwhile a study in the European Heart Journal discovered if you are systematically starved, you have a higher chance of heart disease.

Those living on rations of 400-800 calories a day had a 27% higher risk of heart disease in later life.



So you are a fat person, and every day you starve yourself to lose weight, eventually having to do very low calorie diets or stomach ambutation because nothing else has worked, and when you don't lose weight, you face ridiculed at work, you don't make enough money to live on. Your insurance decided to either cut you off or raise your rates.  Your doctor treats every ailment you have by pushing weight loss.  And you can't even buy nice clothes at reasonable prices. Everyday you are constantly stressed until your blood pressure shoots up and you have other warnings about heart disease. No one would think stress was the culpit. Instead in the end, it's always blamed on fat. 

Traveling comfortably and SouthWorst

Most of us at one time or another have had to fly. Sometimes that trip is easy, sometimes nightmarish. The chance of it being nightmarish is worse if you happen to be fat. Fat people are often stigmatised and/or marginialized by the airline industry (I think that they find it easier to nickle and dime the flying public off the backs of fatties).  Some are better than others but basically even though they claim to "serve the customer" you are actually not that important. (All that is wrong with the airline industry is a rant for another day another blog. But here is a good article about it.)

And a quick shameless plug. Let Travel Abundantly  help with your vacation plans.  They are a business especially geared for us fatties. And if you got 10 bucks join the Association for Airline Passenger Rights which works with NAAFA and is fully aware of the discrimination fat people face at the airlines.

So here are some tips (some of which are not in my book but I got at the NAAFA con's tips on traveling)

1. Shop around Right now, from word of mouth, I suggest Jetblue. It is my preferred airline and the seats aren't so bad. (A woman at the NAAFA con was proud to say she was able to get Jetblue's tray table down.) While they have their issues, they seem to have the nicer seats plus  you can get an upgrade for the seats with extra space (price depends on costs of the ticket). Also if you have a favorite airline, continue to use them.

2. Travel times and packing. When traveling try to go it off peak, late at night or early in the morning and travel on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday (Less business travelers.)  When packing use space saving bags so you can pack clothes more compactly. And wear natural clothes on the plane, less chance of burning in a fire as well. Airlines almost all charged after one checked bag (at a certain weight), so try to pack as light as possible.

3. Disability issues. Be sure to contact the airlines and let them know if you have some kind of disability.  If you have trouble walking, it's okay to get a wheelchair (make sure you get a big one), because airlines are notorious for changing gates. Be sure to get curbside check in. (Make sure you tip); Feel free to camp out at a terminal restaurant until it's time to board and pre-board because it will give you a chance to get settle in.

4. That pesky second seat. I'm sorry to say most airlines charge for the second seat if you can't fit into one. And there is currently no law in the US protecting fat people from this discrimination. So if you have to fly, and you think you are too big for a standard seat, here are some suggestions. If you can afford buy business or first class; seat next to a friend with you either on the window or the aisle, with them in the middle, so you are encourching on them.) Or if you are fatties traveling together, split the costs for the seat in the middle. Again try to travel off peak and let the flight attentent know you would like to be seated next to an empty seat. Supposedly Delta doesn't charge for the second seat and Jetblue will try to accomendate (Although their policy is the same as the other airlines.)

Now why I hate Southwest. If you remove Southwest's fat hatred, they seem to be reasonable. After all they are one of the few airlines that refunds the second seat if the flight isn't overbook and they will give you frequent flier miles for it.  While I believe in one person, one ticket, this policy isn't as bad as United or Northwest that won't give you a refund or frequent flier miles. 

However Southwest has no uniform policy. They randomly pick out fatties usually on returning or connecting flights. Director Kevin Smith was booted from a return flight for supposedly being to fat to fly in a single seat even though her was able to get his armrests down.  He was not the only one. Most recently Southwest decided to humiliate a young woman by first forcing her to buy a second seat even though she flew without a problem before and was willing to sit next to an aunt and uncle. They still forced her to buy the seat claiming safety reasons, but later refunded her the money and moved her uncle into that extra seat she bought because they couldn't find space for another passenger.  So much for her safety.

Voiceless no more and a famous fat person just says no.

A while ago, I was interviewed for a paper about the Fatosphere (Unforunately you have to buy it or get a copy through the local library, here is the abstract). The interviewers wanted to know how writing my blog affected my wellbeing. The paper was about weight-based stigma and the fatosphere's response to it.  

Researchers who have examined the social consequences of obesity have shown that obese individuals experience extensive stigma and discrimination, which in turn impacts negatively on their physical and mental health outcomes

At the recent NAAFA con I talked about dealing with negative comments on my blog. When it was suggested I stop writing it, I knew I couldn't. This blog had become not only my voice but my therapy. I encourage everyone to start a fat positive blog or if you aren't one for writing, a twitter account.  The fatosphere is one of the few places that you can have a mostly safe space to tell everyone you love your body and give yourself a voice against the tide of fat hatred. This study shows that being a fat acceptance blogger can help you cope better with fat stigma.

And speaking of loving your body, Chef Julie Goodwin has refused a deal with Jenny Craig, not only because she is a chef and all chefs should be horrified by the idea of processed food, but because she has no interest in weight loss and loves her curves.  (Although sadly after Goodwin turned it down, the deal was offered and accepted by comedian Rebel Wilson of Bridesmaids).

How loving my body saved my life.

I don't remember the exact day I started getting heart palpitations but it was early 2002.  In January (January 2 to be exact), I started what would be my last diet. When I say diet, I mean consuming fewer calories than my body needed. After failing repeatedly on Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, and Nutrisystem, in 1998 I gave low-carb a try. Low carb was my most successful diet. I almost never cheated and I lost 40lbs and kept it off for a year. I was pleased with my weight loss and hoped for more. I ignored the beginnings of GERD, that my cholesterol was at the high side of normal, the massive sugar crashes, dreams about eating bread, obsession carbs (the diet required eating two no-carb meals, and one meal with a carbs that had to be eaten in an hour),  and what I can only call fun filled nights of heart palpitations. 

However after losing weight I stopped at 40 pounds. I weighed about 190 lbs which was still considered obese. And nothing I would did would restart the weight loss. I was also bored by my limited food choices. (The doctors who wrote the diet, recommended eating a salad before the carb meal.) Eventually the cheating started going into high gear. And when I say cheating, it wasn't just eating more carbs, I began bingeing on unhealthy crap. 

But in my mind, I thought low carb was the answer. After all failing many times at other diets, I had been somewhat successful on this one.

So back to early 2002, after the low carb failure, I went to the no-carb diet, Atkins which I had been doing for a few weeks. Again I was pleased. I was losing weight again. 

Then I tried going to sleep. 

My heart felt like it was going to explode. I felt like it was pounding, skipping a beat, and struggling. I went to the emergency room. They couldn't find anything wrong. I went to a cardiologist who discovered I have a slightly prolapsed value, but after an echo, ekg, halter monitor, everything looked okay. He put me on a beta blocker.  My gastroenterologist diagnosed me with GERD and put me on nexium.  (Actually he told me Atkins was crazy but I should still lose weight.)

But I still couldn't sleep and my heart kept me up. I was terrified it was going to stop in the night which made it race even more.  I was doing Atkins induction where you eat 20 grams of carbs or less to get your body in ketosis. (I never got to full ketosis) so I moved out of the induction phase to next one where you could have some carbs. 

The heart palpitations went away, so did the weight loss. Then I realized it. This wasn't healthy. I was now on two medications. This crazy dieting had to stop, it wasn't helping me.  

So I stopped. However this time around I didn't binge as much. This time around I had something different. Body acceptance. 

I've toyed around with body acceptance since I was in college. It was always in the back of my mind. Picking up Marilyn Wann's book in 2001 helped even more. I realized dieting had possibly done irreversible damage to my body. I knew that going to sleep with a dread of not walking up and now being on two medications I didn't previously need that dieting and this obsessiveness with weight loss would kill me. I know that I had to (a) stop dieting and learn actual healthy habits and (b) learn to love and accept that I am fat.

I knew that giving up dieting did not mean I had to give up being healthy. I didn't celebrate the end of dieting with a huge cake. I had to relearn how to eat, because my eating had become so disordered that when I wasn't dieting, I was eating fast and too much. (As if my body didn't think it would ever get food again.) I started to learn to listen to my body. Eat the foods it liked and avoid foods it didn't.  I eventually got off the Beta-Blocker and moved from Nexium to an antacid and herbal remedies which have improved GERD's greatly. (I am hoping to stop taking the antacids eventually); I rarely eat more than my body can handle and I am slowly but surely learning to eat normally again. (I don't know if I ever will.)

Every time I get the temptation to diet again, I think about the nights on Atkins where I wasn't sure I would wake up.  Because thinking that you are dying isn't healthy.  Listening to and loving your body is.

Yay Naafa con!

Yay Naafa con!

On the Outside Looking into New Jersey.

A few months ago I posted that I was someone who takes great care in knowing where my food comes from.  I believe in sustainability in food production.  I'm not perfect but I have a CSA share (last week I had some amazing zucchini) and try to buy local and organic when possible. However I also posted how I felt ostracized because I felt the healthy=thin ideal was entrenched in the movement. 

The Grassroots Natural Market in New Jersey is not helping to dissuade me.  An ABC news segment: "What would you do" from April sent an undercover fat reporter to this market where a manager pretty much told her she wouldn't get the job because of her weight. 

This store is associated her fatness with being unhealthy and not fitting in with the health=thin idea.  The second issue is that had she not been someone who really needed the job, she'd have had no legal recourse. There are no laws protecting her either in New Jersey or at the federal level. 

However we can take action.  Please contact this store with your concerns (And if you live nearby let them know they won't be getting your business) at grassrootsmarket@verizon.net, then contact your representative, and point this out as a reason fat people need protection from this kind of workplace discrimination. 

Speaking of New Jersey, their governor Chris Christie had an asthma attack. I'm not a political fan of him, but his weight has always been mingled into criticism of him. Fat hater Bill Maher called him Governor fatty fat and a sumo wrestler and facebook haters came out in force after his hospitalization. His asthma attack has been attributed to his weight (Christie himself blamed his fat.) However asthma is not triggered by weight, but usually allergens, air quality etc. This allergy season has been so bad, it has even affected my (thin) cat. 

I am concerned that Christie's desire to lose weight has little to do with health and more to do with political ambitions. After all we can't have a fat president. (Sorry Taft.)  If he was really concerned about his health, he would get a pulmonary specialist and figure out what his trigger is. He is sending out the poor message that if you are fat and have asthma, just lose weight!

Also next week is the NAAFA convention and I will be there until Monday so most likely no blog post, just maybe some pictures.

The best they can offer

Guess what parents? If you have a fat kid, Dr. David Ludwig of fat hating Harvard would like the state to take your child away and force them to diet. Dr. Ludwig is supposedly doing this out of the goodness of his heart. Those poor fat kids have evil or stupid parents and must be stopped!  Dr. Ludwig's concerned because these fattie children are getting WLS when they should be in foster care.  (I guess any other elective surgery is okay.)

So imagine you're a fat kid who genetically is bigger than most kids. (Only a minority of fat people are considered supersized but unfortunately when media portrays fat people, they are usually refering to someone supersized. But if you look at Kate Harding's BMI Project you'll see that what is considered "overweight" or "obese" or "Underweight" really don't match up to the label)  Imagine that you are relentlessly teased in school outright by other children and underhandedly by adults. The school bombards you with messages such as OBESITY KILLS! or DESTROY ALL OBESITY (Okay, I made that second one up.) And when other kids aren't calling you fattie two by four, they are blaming you because pizza or cupcakes are no longer allowed at school. 

So school sucks, but at least you can leave and go home to your loving parents. Until the state arbitrarily decides your fat ass is due to your parents' neglect, takes you from your loving home and puts you in foster care, forces you to diet and in the end, not only are you still fat but now you have been traumatized.

This happened to Anamarie Regino who was taken from her parents when she was three because she weighed 90lbs. (At the time, she could easily pass for a child who is 7 or 8). Yet in this fat hating obsessed society doctors didn't say "hey that's unusually for a three year old." They assumed her parents were feeding her ding-dongs all day. (BTW, if a parent was feeding ding-dongs all day to their thin child, there would be no state intervention.)

Marilyn Wann wrote a great article about this situation with a great quote that Dr. Ludwig needs to pay attention to: "What kind of choice is this for kids? We cut off your stomach or we cut you off from your family? That's the best advice a Harvard public health expert can offer?"

Yes, that is the best that they can offer. Health experts, routinely claim they "understand" fat isn't all about eating, but in the end, all they recommend is to diet.

Up the Mountain

Short post today, just got back from a week in Vermont. Because I didn't have to work, I had more time to have fun movement like swimming and hiking.

I went halfway up a mountain. My husband made it to the summit (He came back so tired, he couldn't even drive). Going up the mountain I came across people of all ages, sizes, and shapes. Physical fitness had more to do with getting there than anything else. Last year I was unprepared and only made it about a mile, this year I made four. (Despite a damaged tendon in my foot.)   Very few people hiking the mountain managed to do without pain and fatigue. 

So the moral of this post is this. Being thin doesn't make you automatically fit and being fat doesn't make you automatically out of shape. Exercise is important, we don't have to make it up the mountain. (Yes it would be awesome), we just have to make it as far as we can go.