body image

Podcast: Episode 92 – Your Body is Not Your Adversary

Zoey · December 20, 2018 · Leave a Comment

If I see one more post about how far you have to run to burn off Christmas lunch . . .

Or how I should eat BEFORE I go to parties so I don’t eat while I’m there or how maybe I should just eat less food the next day if I’m overindulged the night before, my head might explode. Running is not a punishment for the Christmas lunch you have, or for the date night you enjoyed or for the drinks you had out with your friends.

But this leads me to a bigger discussion about how easy it is to fall into the trap of seeing your body as an obstacle, as an entity you fight against or worse something that has betrayed you a million times and failed you more than you can count. That kind of thinking can get under your skin and sink into your bones if you let it. And eventually it will almost impersonate belonging there. But it does not.

Podcast: Episode 82 – Love Your Before

Zoey · July 27, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Let’s talk about before and afters.

This week I talk about:

Why ‘before’ and ‘afters’ are great for reflection and inspiration, but are also a bit misleading
Why the person in your before has done all of the heavy lifting
And how to appreciate your before, and enjoy your after too.

We are approaching the most glorious eating day of the year. Don’t ruin it.

Zoey · November 27, 2015 · 1 Comment

It’s only four weeks until Christmas which means already the food shaming has started. IT’S HERE. There are actual infographics on how many minutes you have to run to negate your roast dinner. ACTUAL INFOGRAPHICS. And whether they are a traditional roast meal with calories pointing to every last one, or a chart of donuts based on how far you’ve run or pumpkin pie. Hey guys, if you run a marathon you get whipped cream with your pumpkin pie. And helpful little tweets from elite runners telling you that you better go off and have that run before you eat.

JUST NO.

Let’s not do this.

For starters it’s a whole pile of crap because calories burned will vary depending on your weight. And how much you want to consume daily depends on your general level of activity as well as your metabolism and your goals. If you have a kick ass metabolism and are living well above the 1,200 calorie line of where happiness goes to die, then your calorie counting days are probably well behind you.

But even aside from basic logic or science, let’s just not.

This is just an example of everything that is wrong with everything. If I picked up almost any magazine aimed at women in fitness or running there would be practically no headlines related to fitness or running but I would get some helpful tips on how to be sexier, get abs in five days and finally achieve my dream of a bikini body. Well, it’s not my dream. Because that kind of achievement is pretty meaningless. Will I be able to run faster or further, will I be stronger? None of those things actually impact on my fitness or strength or endurance.

And once you set up appearance as the most important thing then it’s really easy to fall into the trap of exercise being punishment for food. And then you ruin the glorious time of year that is Christmas and New Year. A few days enjoying some of the most awesome food ever is not going to derail your nutrition goals or your fitness goals, but if you buy into this load of crap it might rob you of joy or zest for life or the will to live.

But the worst part is, it might take away some of your joy of running or lifting or moving. You might forget why you do this. You can’t put a calorie number on a run and define it in such meaningless terms. And it is totally meaningless. If I looked up my run today I could find out how many calories I burned: 809. Which let’s get real, I didn’t burn that many calories. My body is used to running, it is highly efficient at running, I don’t need an extra 800 calories in food today because I went for a run. And what does 809 tell me? Does it tell me about the ducks I saw out for a walk this morning? Does it tell me about the moon I saw at sunrise? Does it tell me how I totally aced my pacing (which I’ve been struggling with)? Does it tell me anything at all about how going for a run makes me feel purposeful and alive and home?

It does not.
Pass the cream.

Dear Fat Shamer

Zoey · September 9, 2015 · 8 Comments

Dear Fat Shamer,

I saw your video and I’m not going to link to it because frankly you didn’t say anything that we haven’t all heard a million times before and I’d hate for someone else to see it and have their soul vomit like mine did.

I was that person who you were abusing. Fat and with no medical condition to blame it on. And I am the same person, I just look different now. I pass. So people don’t judge me when I buy McDonalds or cake.

You know you can’t tell how healthy someone is from what they look like? People are quick to talk about the obesity epidemic which is based on the BMI which is a bullshit construct but no one talks about the anorexia or bulimia epidemic, it just passes on by, because they look ok. Until they die. You can’t tell how someone eats by what they look like or how much they exercise or how fit they are. All you can do is distill a really complicated situation into a false black and white one based on your lack of experience.

I hate that it’s people like you that makes people like me afraid to run outside. Or walk in a gym. Or exist. I hate that it’s people like you who are proud of it. Like shame every succeeded at anything. If I look back now at the person I was, people like you are the reason I wanted to disappear into the wallpaper. People like you stopped me in clothing stores and said ‘there’s nothing for you here – you should leave’.

Did you know a slim person can be internally obese and a fat person can be internally fit? Did you know my young children tell me that if you eat too much you will get fat. Do you have any idea how much of my life I spend fighting against that? And you know what I tell them? Being fat isn’t bad. Yeah I own that shit. Because the quality of the human isn’t defined by their size. And I tell them that if they don’t eat enough food they won’t be able to do awesome things like run and jump and play. And I mourn that I even have to have this conversation with them. Because they are four and seven and what the actual fuck?!

And you know what?

I resent that I pass for a stereotypical person now. I resent it when I pass someone who looks like I used to look and I can see that they want to be invisible because I might be judging them. I resent the fact that people judge my choices differently than they used to. Because I am the same person I was back then.

Dear Fat Shamer,

I hate that your video went viral but no one will see me say to them. You matter. You are worth it. Your size doesn’t determine your worth. You are beautiful. You are valued. And you have more strength than anyone else I know. And I am on your side.

Outside the bubble. Why body shaming has no place in fitness advocacy.

Zoey · June 30, 2015 · 1 Comment

Sometimes I kind of live in an Operation Move bubble. And I think that whatever running or fitness groups you are in or pages you follow all support what we do which is all about appreciating the body for what it can do, not what it looks like. I like a gun show and progress photos as much as the next person but we don’t do body shame. Ever. Shame doesn’t motivate people.

Not that long ago I got sent some prospective copy for one of our website pages and it had a bit of body shame about it in the tone and I cried for two days. And I felt physically ill over it. It’s not some kind of ideal or abstract concept to me. It is really personal. Because I was that person. I know how it feels for people to judge what you eat based on how you look. Or to sneer at you because your face goes beetroot in the gym. Or look at you with contempt because of the way your clothes look. I know all of those things. And if those people knew half of the courage it took me to even be in a gym or outside on a run in the first place, they might rethink it.

But every now and then somebody sends me something that is like a slap in the face. In the real world, especially in the fitness world, body shaming happens all the time. Sometimes it is subtle and insidious and sometimes it is all out, blatant shaming. But it is there and it is abhorrent.

The goal of fitness advocacy or running advocacy or weights advocacy is more people in the sport. Not less. We don’t want to foster some kind of exclusive club that you only get to be a part of if you look a certain way, or you dress a certain way or you body is a certain shape. That is not a club I want to be a part of.

I am in the business of telling people that they can. Sure there are obstacles but there are ways around them. If you can’t run, you can walk. If you don’t have dumbbells – you can use cans from the kitchen. If you are not ready to go to a gym – there are things that you can do at home. I am not in the business of ridiculing people who are being brave.

Accessibility is everything. It doesn’t take much for me to give a fellow runner a big smile when our paths cross on a morning run to let them know I am on their team. It doesn’t take much to support people in their achievements. And if you are passionate about fitness that means fitness for everyone, not just some small subset that you deem are worthy enough.

So the next time you see someone being body-shamed, because they are too big to be at the gym or they are wearing the wrong clothes, don’t ignore it – stand up for that person. Because you have no idea how much more challenging there world is. You have no idea how much judgement they have already absorbed. You have no idea what they are capable of. You have no idea what their history is. And you want that person on your team.