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You are here: Home / 2016 / Archives for September 2016

Archives for September 2016

Podcast: Episode 24 on Fat Shaming, Viral Blog Posts and The Most Asked Questions About Learn to Run

OperationMove · September 28, 2016 · Leave a Comment

24-fat-shaming-viral-blog-posts-and-the-most-asked-questions-about-learn-to-run

“Slim or Skinny or Athletic or Average Sized People Just Don’t Live in the Same World as Fat People”

In this podcast I talk about writing “I’m a Size 10, But I Will Always Be Plus Sized” and having to hide afterwards. And a new round of Learn to Run is starting soon, so I also talk about the most common questions I get:

  • What level of fitness do I need?
  • Will it work for me if I’m already running 1-3km?
  • Can I do it if I am overweight?
  • Can I do it on the treadmill?
  • What if I fail?

‘What if I fail?’ is a big one, and here was the response from graduates about this fear of failure and how they found the Learn to Run program. And I talk a little bit about stepping away from the construct of success vs failure and the real goal of the Learn to Run program.

Got more questions? You can contact me or pop into the Facebook Community Group.

 

Head over to iTunes to listen (and subscribe!)

You can listen and download episodes in Itunes here.

I am a size 10, but I will always be plus sized

OperationMove · September 25, 2016 · Leave a Comment

pus-sized
And no, not Calvin Klein plus sized. Actual plus sizes.

Over the weekend I posted this:

Note to self: Don’t post controversial things if you aren’t prepared to moderate comments for 6 hours. But you know, I didn’t think it was controversial at the time. Goes to show how much I know, hey?

I have a strong reaction to fat shaming, and I think pretty much everyone else should too. These days I pass for a not fat person. But I’m still here. A friend of mine, Cat wrote this great piece about before and after photos and how her ‘before’ did all the hard work. Mine did too. That bitch was fierce. She showed up places where she wasn’t welcome, like the 24 hour gym. And it didn’t matter how many people gave her the stink eye up and down. She ran outside, in public. And she even walked into shops where they told her there was nothing that would fit her.

No shop is required to sell plus size clothing. But it’s the rank hypocrisy of having a “National Active Day” to “fight obesity” while excluding obese people, that bothers me.

You know what the best way to ‘fight obesity’ is? Stop pandering to this idea that you can determine someone’s health by looking at them.

You know what the quickest way to be part of the problem? Fat shaming people while excluding them from the solution. I’m not saying one shop has that impact. It’s just a shop. But as a representation of people’s attitudes – sure it does. How many times do you think you can tell someone that they are lazy, hopeless and weak willed before they believe you? Not as many as you’d think. It’s a coward’s punch to a vulnerable population.

And I know because I was that person. And I still am. And I worry that every time someone hears that it’s their fault – because they lack motivation, or they are weak willed or they are lazy or whatever the judgement is – that’s a chance they don’t take. That’s a gym they don’t go to. That’s a class they don’t do. That’s a run they don’t try.

Because the fat shamers of the world have convinced them that they don’t deserve to be there. They don’t deserve to try new things. They don’t deserve basic human respect.

It’s an easy mistake to make. When you aren’t fat, you get to fly under the radar and no one ever judges what you eat, how you exercise or what you wear – no matter how unhealthy it might be. It’s easy to assume that it’s the same for everyone else. At my thinnest, I was at my most unhealthy and unfit. But no one would ever know, because I was a socially acceptable woman size.

So you want to support women? Start by including them in spaces where everyone is hell bent on excluding them. That seems like an excellent place to begin.

And don’t be fat shaming on my Facebook page. I’ll ban you so fast, it will make your head spin.

Everything I do is built on that you can, no matter what.

And I’ll leave you with this, some great thoughts from Wentworth Miller (in reference to a meme posted about his weight gain):

“And I put on weight. Big f — king deal.One day, out for a hike in Los Angeles with a friend, we crossed paths with a film crew shooting a reality show. Unbeknownst to me, paparazzi were circling. They took my picture, and the photos were published alongside images of me from another time in my career. ‘Hunk To Chunk.’ ‘Fit To Flab.’ Etc.

My mother has one of those ‘friends’ who’s always the first to bring you bad news. They clipped one of these articles from a popular national magazine and mailed it to her. She called me, concerned.

In 2010, fighting for my mental health, it was the last thing I needed.

Long story short, I survived.

So do those pictures.

I’m glad.

Now, when I see that image of me in my red T-shirt, a rare smile on my face, I am reminded of my struggle. My endurance and my perseverance in the face of all kinds of demons. Some within. Some without.

Like a dandelion up through the pavement, I persist.

Anyway. Still. Despite.

The first time I saw this meme pop up in my social media feed, I have to admit, it hurt to breathe. But as with everything in life, I get to assign meaning. And the meaning I assign to this/my image is Strength. Healing. Forgiveness.

Of myself and others.

Podcast: Episode 23 – 5 Steps to Getting Started in the Beginning

Zoey · September 21, 2016 · Leave a Comment

23-5-steps-to-get-started

 

The beginning is hard

This week I am talking about beginnings. They can be hard and unforgiving and sometimes it feels more like failing than succeeding. But I have five steps to get you started on the right track.

1. Breakfast: Literally and as a metaphor.
2. Planning out your week and creating buffer zones
3. Write it Down
4. Mindset: Define Success and Failure
5. Create a Reward System

Links I refer to:

Podcast: Gymnastic Strength Training

Post exercise selfies

Operation Move Community Facebook Group

Join Run Club

Head over to iTunes to listen (and subscribe!)

You can listen and download episodes in Itunes here.

All you need is one perfect moment of clarity

OperationMove · September 16, 2016 · Leave a Comment

run-the-race

I was asked a question at the Half Marathon on the weekend by the journalist who had interviewed me last year if I had been training. “I’m always training” I joked. But it is true too. Although sometimes, my training is more focused than others and it would be fair to say I’ve been floating for the majority of the year. Which I needed. I had lots of other things to focus on and couldn’t really give a more focused training the attention it deserved, so I was just trying to do the things that I enjoy and leave it at that.

On a whim last year, I registered for a heap of marathons this year – thinking that it would allow me to get lots of nice easy long runs in which I love and I wouldn’t worry about the pace too much. Turns out that didn’t quite work out as I planned, but you always learn something. But still, I wasn’t settled or focused which is usually where I prefer to be. Easy runs felt hard. Hard runs felt harder. It was like running in quicksand. But somehow I knew eventually the reason would come to me. I knew my run would show up somewhere: but to find it I would have to keep running through quick-sand.

On a whim really, four weeks ago I gave up refined sugar, dairy and grains along with most processed foods four weeks ago. There are reasons I could point to, but really I think that it’s a bit like when I decided to train properly a few years ago for a half marathon, I really wanted to know what would happen if I tried instead of gave up. Because I knew what giving up was like, but keeping on going – I hadn’t done that before. It was a bit the same with my nutrition I’d tried to out-train my diet for years and it didn’t really work that well (or at all) so I thought I’d give it a go. It hasn’t been perfect and I do tend to have a cheat day (and wine), but it certainly has been dramatically different from how I’ve eaten in the past.

The first week was pretty awful. Detox was brutal. I fell over on a run and skinned both of my knees and my hands. I felt ludicrously tired. The second week I came good in my energy but I still felt sluggish running. But by the third week something started to change. After only having run about 5km at a time for weeks I ran down the hill  to the Lismore Half Marathon (the start line is about 5km from my house), and then ran the half for a total of 26km. And it was the easiest run I’ve had in months (and probably one of the fastest).

I was out there in the sunshine and things were finally easy, I had finally found that elusive run. I had known it was waiting for me, but you never know when it’s going to decide to show up. And I had one single crystal clear moment of clarity on that run. The half is my distance. Not shorter, not further. And well after I finished I held on to that beautiful moment of clarity. And now I know. And I will take that knowledge with me down to Sydney this weekend. And I will enjoy it.

Learn to run starts Monday. You can sign up here.

Do you want to start running, prevent injuries and enjoy the process?

Podcast: Episode 22 – Are You a Victim of Tech Overkill?

OperationMove · September 14, 2016 · Leave a Comment

podcast-22-are-you-a-victim-of-tech-overkill

How much is too much?

This episode answers the question “At what point do things that are helpful for running like watches and apps and heart rate monitors, stop being helpful and start slipping into over-analysis?” And I talk a bit about:

  • How to avoid decision fatigue
  • How to use tech and feedback to remove stress from your running, rather than adding to it
  • Making sure you have the right context for the feedback you are getting from your tech devices
  • Keeping your focus on what is important

If you have a question, or would just like to hang out with some fun people, you can join us in the Community Group.

Head over to iTunes to listen (and subscribe!)

You can listen and download episodes in Itunes here.

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