~Ragen

http://www.google.com/search?q=venus+of+willendorf&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=f8F&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=uktWTqqxJOns0gGkl4nSDA&ved=0CDoQsAQ&biw=1467&bih=803

I’m so sorry – I was going back through comments and realized that I somehow neglected to approve this one. It is a great comment and you are a rock star! I was a competitive figure skater for a little while growing up and I can still do all of my single jumps at 5’4 284 pounds. I think it has to do more with your balance of strength and flexibility than with your weight but that’s just my perspective. It’s awesome that you are motivating people to try something that they want to do!!! Thanks again for the awesome comment

~Ragen

Marina, congrats to you on being healthy and happy. Long may it continue. Perhaps if you read more of Ragen’s blog you will become convinced that weight is not automatically an indicator of health. In any case, read, listen, educate yourself, enjoy.

I appreciate that you respect of my decision and I respect your decisions as they relate to your body. Sometimes people who have lost weight or who are thin think that they must automatically have more credibility when it comes to a discussion of health or that those who are fat owe them a convincing explanation. I don’t know if that’s how you feel but I want to be clear that based on your comment (including your consistent misspelling of the word exercise) I do not believe that you are by any means an expert, or even knowledgeable about health. You seem to have received all of your information from someone who succeeded in selling you personal training, a book, and from your own personal experience which of course cannot be extrapolated to anyone else. It also sounds like you think that fat people don’t exercise? In addition to hours and hours of research I have been an athlete all my life so while you are new to the idea of “serious cardio” and weight training, I’ve been doing them since I was 12 in additional to having been a certified fitness instructor and personal trainer and currently being a professional athlete. I will answer your comment but I think it’s important to note that I don’t consider us equals when it comes to this discussion.

Based on your 45 min of cardio per day and weight training 2/3 times per week you exercise quite a bit LESS than I do and while you are right that weight loss can be a side effect of a behavior change, based on all of the research that we have it’s a only short-term side effect for more than 95% of people. At this point you appear to be in the 5 year grace period and there is statistically only a 5% chance that you’ll maintain your weight loss.

Muscle does not burn fat. Muscle uses more energy to exist than other types of body tissue (fat, bone, etc.) do thereby increasing your basal metabolic rate. “Burning fat” occurs when your body utilizes fat stores for energy and is part of the complex biomechanical process that is metabolism. The rate at which you burn calories – and where those calories come from – is determined by a number of factors. Body composition is one but it is also affected by age, diet, stress level, genetics and previous food restriction (dieting) techniques, aerobic or anaerobic state of the body during exercise etc.

I don’t think that you are in any way qualified to make statements about what our bodies are meant to do or what will happen when we get old. There are many healthy fat people but we are considered exceptions and not studied, and rarely do people take into account how our health might be affected if we weren’t being constantly stigmatized, told that we’re unhealthy and told that we are liars when we say that we practice healthy habits. There are also many old fat people who are enjoying their golden years just fine and your statement to the contrary strains credulity at best. The VFHT (Vague Future Health Threat) is a tool utilized by the sixty billion dollar a year diet industry to scare people into using a product that only has a 5% success rate at helping them lose weight and even less success in making people healthier.

I believe in choosing healthy habits and while I am living proof that those habits can lead to perfect health (I am in the top 5% in the country in strength, stamina, flexibility, and all medical markers of health) I’m aware that my healthy habits are one of many factors involved. There are healthy fat people and unhealthy thin people and marathoners fall dead of heart attacks. Health is a very complex issue even when we don’t confuse it with body size as the diet industry makes Billions of dollars convincing people to do.

For full information on why I choose Health at Every Size, you are welcome to read this entry: http://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/why-health-at-every-size/

~Ragen

Ragen,

A friend of mine posted your blog link on FB. I find it very interesting and I’d like to share a different perspective based on my own personal experience. I totally respect your decisions and am interested in dialog.

I have struggled with weight all my life and I did have some serious health issues related to my weight. I have lost 50lbs, totally reshaped my body and changed my life-style in a way that I am very happy about. I’ve also corrected the health problemd.

I work with a personal trainer and I use a bio-metrics device called the [brand name excluded to avoid advertisement]. I’ve learned that serious excercise, including weight-training, is a game changer. There is a wonderful book that I would recommend called “Younger Next Year for Women”. It talks about how excercise, at least 45 minutes per day of serious cardio and 2/3 weight training sessions per week can change your health profile for life. A side benefit is typically weight loss.

I feel like I’ve found a secret that I wish I’d known years ago. It hasn’t been hard to lose weight and I love how I live now. I used to want to live my life the way that I was, eating what I wanted, when I wanted, excercising moderately and not get fat (well, this is of course unrealistic and I know that you do not advocate being unhealthy). Now, I love working out, I love how I feel and I truly enjoy all aspects of living a calorie concsious life. It’s not a burden for me. I also finally know what it “muscles burns fat” means and what it means to have your body operate like a finely tuned machine.

Where I have a hard time with your approach is that our bodies are not meant to carry significant weight. Even if heart disease etc don’t happen, our internal organs, joints and bones were not designed to manage heavy loads. The result will be that we will not enjoy our golden years. We will lose mobility and function, faster than fit individuals. This is my primary motivation for getting fit – living a healthy long life.

Again, I applaud your body image messages but I do question that one can be very heavy and truly very healthy. I’m just not convinced.

I appreciate your forum and am intersted in your futher thoughts.

Kind regards,

Marina