I’m not fat…I’m big boned!

My mother to this day will tell you that I was not fat growing up.  There are pictures in my book that prove otherwise…Oh the love of a mother.  Fat gene or skinny gene…it’s a roll of the genetic dice that I lost.  I believe that it was my mother’s point of view that inevitably gave me mine. I have a very good friend that has struggled with her weight since childhood too but she has told me before how her mother would make negative comments about her weight rather than being supportive. I think she has bitter feelings about being fat directly related to this. I know that given the opportunity to be left alone with little Johnny who did not pick her for the kickball team in the fifth grade – because she was the “fat kid” – it could get a little messy….and not for her.  My mother never harped at me about my weight or told me I was fat. According to her I was just “big-boned.” To me I was fat. Today I am fat. I am not angry about, mad at anybody because of it, and know that there are reasons for it but also know that even as I lose weight I will never be skinny. And I do not want to be skinny. I was not born to be a skinny chick even if my doctor tells me that at my height of 5’6” and large frame I should weigh something like 130.  Sorry, that is never going to happen – it is a physical improbability!

In Making Light of Being Heavy there are pictures of me at around 170 my senior year in high school. I had dieted like mad to get into a dress that I bought for senior prom and I was “skinny.” I can remember my dad coming up beside me at the dinner table one night pointing out my shoulder bone and hip bone and telling me to stop with the dieting. But according to the weight guidelines I was obese!

People should find a comfortable weight for them and consider that their weight guideline and just smile politely at their doctor who whips out the chart that says otherwise. A person’s main focus should be that they are healthy. I may be fat but I am healthy. People will ask how that is possible… if I am fat I must automatically be unhealthy. I am 44 and even though I am considered in the medical field “obese,” I do not have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, varicose veins, joint problems, etc. Am I just lucky?

Hey!  Check out my YouTube video – Fat Chicks and Unfriendly Chairs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQR5AC-r9qU

With a bunch of butt shots with measurements (yes I said measurements!) coming up to the slow rocking beat of stripper music, my video Fat Chicks and Unfriendly Chairs definitely has the market cornered on making light of being heavy 🙂  Making Light of Being Heavy is a comical book with opinions and observations from a fat chick’s point of view that puts an unexpected and funny spin on dealing with the fat gene!

Until next time, keep laughing!

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Lifestyle can offset the fat gene…

Anyone who has been following my blog or has read my book knows that I am a firm believer in the fat gene, and that yes I have it. “We know that genetics plays the dominant role in determining body mass index,” says Arya Sharma, one of the country’s foremost obesity researchers at the University of Alberta.

“Exercise will not help everyone lose weight,” Dr. Sharma says. Although slimming down is just one of many reasons to exercise, he notes that “the more genetically predisposed you are to gaining weight, the more effort it’s going to take to override those genes.” Did he just say what I thought he said?? Exercise will not help everyone lose weight…

“But before anyone concludes that diet and exercise are futile weapons in the war on weight, researchers have also found that the simple eat-less, move-more strategy can overcome the known genetic susceptibilities for excess weight. Some people just have to move much, much more and eat far, far less to see results.”

Move much, much more and eat far, far less….and this will offset the fat gene. Okay, show of hands of how many people want to exercise three to four hours a day and have a balanced diet of rabbit food in order to actually offset this dang gene?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/skinny-genes-how-dna-shapes-weight-loss-success/article1873494/page1/

Hey!  Check out my YouTube video – Fat Chicks and Unfriendly Chairs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQR5AC-r9qU

With a bunch of butt shots with measurements (yes I said measurements!) coming up to the slow rocking beat of stripper music, my video Fat Chicks and Unfriendly Chairs definitely has the market cornered on making light of being heavy 🙂  Making Light of Being Heavy is a comical book with opinions and observations from a fat chick’s point of view that puts an unexpected and funny spin on dealing with the fat gene!

Until next time, keep laughing!

Finally, a little vindication for the fat chicks….

According to an the article on WebMD  “New Genes Linked to Obesity, Belly Fat” http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20101011/new-genes-linked-to-obesity-belly-fat?page=2 – two studies have identified 18 new genes linked to overall obesity and 13 more that influence whether your weight goes to your belly or to your thighs (the lovingly labeled apple shape or pear shape body).  These new findings may explain why blanket recommendations about exercise and eating right just don’t work for a lot of people.  Wow, imagine that.  This is exactly one of the points I was making in my book, Making Light of Being Heavy.

Anyone who is just normally skinny seriously cannot wrap their head around any reason for another person being fat, and these people include physicians, counselors, experts, etc., unless it is one of the obvious incorrect assumptions including eating too much, not enough exercise, and basically not taking care of oneself.  These studies do not surprise me in the least, but actually make total sense and validate my lifelong struggle with weight and many others like me.  Apparently, the more obesity genes you have the greater chance for you to have the risk of obesity and even greater difficulty in maintaining a “normal weight.”  Personally, I think the whole “normal weight” theory is a bunch of hogwash anyway because as I have said before, if we all fit perfectly into the predetermined guidelines set forth by our physicians, counselors, experts, etc. we would all be the same size.  And how normal would that be??

So there you have it, proof genetics plays a key role in our weight.  I am thinking I should e-mail Dr. Victor Bellonzi a copy of this information.  In my September 9, 2010, blog, “Fat gene or no fat gene…” Dr. Bellonzi states that genes are irrelevant to weight – http://www.diettr.com/the-staggering-cost-of-obesity-increases-to-100-billion-per-annum.html. With as many initials behind this guy’s name as he has you would think some common sense would come along with it but, as I said, he probably has never had a problem with his weight and doesn’t have the fat gene.

To all my fellow fat chicks and professional dieters, give yourself a break!  Life is good, get out and enjoy it – things will fall into place.

Hey!  Check out my YouTube video – Fat Chicks and Unfriendly Chairs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQR5AC-r9qU

With a bunch of butt shots with measurements (yes I said measurements!) coming up to the slow rocking beat of stripper music, my video Fat Chicks and Unfriendly Chairs definitely has the market cornered on making light of being heavy 🙂  Making Light of Being Heavy is a comical book with opinions and observations from a fat chick’s point of view that puts an unexpected and funny spin on dealing with the fat gene!

Until next time, keep laughing!