Fat & Fit?

I've just watched a TV programme called Fat & Proud. One thing that was mentioned by quite a few women on this programme was about being fat & fit.

This may have been brought up on here before.

I don't understand. How can you be over weight & fit? I'm not talking about heavy due to muscle mass, & I can understand that a heavier persons body can work harder while doing light exercise & such. But in the case of the women on this programme - They all attend a dance class that is aimed at larger folk so they can go to a dance class without feeling prejudice. Fair enough. But when they say "I'm happy as I am & don't want to lose weight, it's to get fit".

Isn't that a contridiction? I know when I was larger I felt anything but fit even though I did go to a gym regularly.

What makes me ponder this the most is that any excess weight you carry puts strain on your heart, wouldn't that effect how fit you are? So wouldn't loosing some of that weight take strain off your heart & therefore help you get fitter?

So is it possible to be fat & fit?

That's sorta a mindfield you're laying out there.

I wouldn't call it a contradiction. You will note a lot of people here talk in similar terms (even if it's just a cover). People will say "I'm not trying to diet, I'm trying to live healthy." That's much of the same thing.

There's also a devil in your use of the comparative. There are, or so I've read articles of, triatheletes who otherwise look fat. Hell, I can speak from experience in saying that I, with asthma and +100 pounds, have outrun my hipster build friends. Now, is someone more fit if they do both? Clearly. But between the two middle range options, never working out but thin and working out but fat, the answer is less clear.

I mean, there was just a study that came out about how activity level is no predictor of thinness, but, to a degree, that's about other things entirely, and there's, of course, other studies that at least impliedly disagree. The question comes down to marginal utility, more or less, and that I don't really know the numbers on.

Finally, most of what the "fat positive" crowd goes on about is mindless insanity, which makes me really hesitant about supporting something that seems to have come from that direction. But it is worth remembering that the human body is still a mystery.

Short answer: yes, but don't think it justifies the cheesecake.

The more exercise you do the healthier your muscles and cardiovascular system are - that doesn't necessarily make you thin! Plenty of larger people are athletes - you just have to have the guts to get out there and do it, and the perserverance to keep it up.  Thinness has nothing to do with fitness. Just look at all the 'skinny-fat' people who pop up on this site - they may have a so-called 'perfect' bmi, but they pant like they've got emphysema if they have to climb more than one flight of stairs...

Sometimes people give up on trying to reach a goal.  Rather than keep pounding their head against a wall, they make the decision that they will just work on being happy with the cards they've been dealt.

I sincerely doubt that many who take up that cause "really" believe in it.  But, if it makes them feel a little better...if they can live and be happy and healthy and can do it at a higher weight, good for them.  Some who are thinner could probably lose a lesson in stress reduction.  But, at the end of the day, many of the "big/proud" are most likely just frustrated and will battle with the weight issue for the rest of their lives, even if internally.

I agree with everyone here... It's hard to say whether it's a cover when people say they are "fat and happy"... I have to wonder if it's true. But then again when I was fat I was happy... lmao, couldn't have cared less about my weight or my self image, I was totally ok with it all :). Then my mother-in-law moved back into town (she's a barbie doll, size 00 with fake tan, boobs, and blonde) and well I decided I was no longer happy, and just plain fat. But I suppose everyone is very different. Hard to tell. And to some degree I think you can be fat and still be fit. But only to a degree. I would much rather be "trim" lol... hairy subject!

You can be fat and fit in the same way as you can be thin and unfit.  'Fitness' is defined as how quickly you return to your resting heart-rate after exercise.    But it's just one of the predictors of long-term health.   The fat ladies dancing are counteracting some of the health-risks associated with being overweight by taking regular exercise.  They'll probably have lower blood-pressure and lower cholesterol levels, for example, than someone the same size who is more sedentary.   So that's not a bad thing.  But if they were a healthy weight and carried on dancing the long-term risks of their contracting Type II Diabetes, heart-disease, cancer and so would be significantly lower still.

 

Not sure how to word this.  I was/am what one would call fit and fat, but not happy.  My blood pressure is low, my total cholesterol is in line, my thyroid is in good condition, no liver or kidney issues, but I am 80 pounds overweight and anemic with low blood sugar.  Not big issues.  I currenlty do 5k and 10ks. In the past I begged the doctors to give me a reason to care about my weight and there response was to drop the weight before I did develop any issues.

While my health has always been good my mental status did not follow in line.  So if we are talking about mental health I am not as fit as I would like and that is directly contributed to my weight.  Do I think I will be happier with the weight gone, the answer is a resounding yes.  I feel uncomfortable in my clothes.  I am well educated and have a great job, but can't hide under my suits.  I want my "outside" picture to reflect the "inside" picture.  I want to want to have sex with my spouse, I want to go to the park/pool with my kids and not be emabarrased, I want to stop making fat jokes at my own expense.  I fed into the "I am  big beautiful woman" song for long enought.

Sorry for the length of the response.  Today is a good day and I am on track.

Although, note that your sample set for asking this question is going to be necessarily skewed. No one comes to this site feeling "fat and happy." Not even "fat and mildly amused." Necessarily, if you're here, you're depressed/angry/discontent/irritated/whatever enough about your weight to not just take action, but to take action and join a club.

So, naturally, the response of "they're in denial" is going to be a popular one.

I took a fitness class in college in which the definition of fitness was threefold:

Endurance
Strength
Flexibility

We measured endurance with the time it took to run or walk a mile, and the time it took our heart rate to return to normal.

We measured strength with the amount of weight we could lift 3 sets of 12 reps (we had different lifts to test the strength of different muscle groups)

We measured flexibility by sitting on the floor with our legs straight out (knees not locked but not bent) and reaching forward  to see how many inches past our toes we could reach.

A fat person can get better than average scores or even well above average scores on all three of those tests.  Such a fat person could be said to possess that level of fitness.

If you are asking,

Is it possible for a fat person to be in optimal health while having a body fat % that is higher than what is considered the healthy average....

I don't know.  If they have low cholesterol, low blood pressure, low resting heart rate, good blood sugar readings.. if all the markers of health that we look at are good, then can we say they're "fit"?

Maybe so?

But I can see how other people would want that person to feel bad about being overweight anyway. Social control and all that being what it is...

 

While my health has always been good my mental status did not follow in line.  So if we are talking about mental health I am not as fit as I would like and that is directly contributed to my weight.  Do I think I will be happier with the weight gone, the answer is a resounding yes.  I feel uncomfortable in my clothes.  I am well educated and have a great job, but can't hide under my suits.  I want my "outside" picture to reflect the "inside" picture.  I want to want to have sex with my spouse, I want to go to the park/pool with my kids and not be emabarrased, I want to stop making fat jokes at my own expense.  I fed into the "I am  big beautiful woman" song for long enought.

I appreciate your honesty about this!! I was totally anti-sex (well not anti but not comfortable) after I found out my bf had gone to a strip club... I felt like there was no way I could compare in looks and getting nakey in front of a mirror was trouble for me so yeah, I can totally agree here. Bathing suits?? lmao, still don't wear em and I'm a size 4/5... lol. Maybe this summer ;)

Thank you for all your responses! & thank you gi-jane, you always make sense! & thank you theresa for your honesty. I can also understand freedomfrom point about responses may be slightly skewed.

What confused me about this programme is that health was never mentioned. Self confidence is great & I say 'good on ya' to these people that are happy being big, but how happy are you to know you may die earlier than expected? The question that wasn't asked was if they worried about their health. Then again this programme was directed at the social issue of being overweight/obese, so Ive just solved that

Gah! I don't know what I'm trying to get at. I guess being big & happy is something alien to me because as far as I know when I was 228lbs I was not happy or comfortable in my skin (or clothes for that matter).

 

might die earlier than expected?

expected?

41,000 people died in traffic fatalities last year
6,000 people died in fatal workplace accidents
2 people per year die when a vending machine crushes them

if I worried about all the possible ways I might meet my demise... would I ever enjoy this moment, right now?

i'm happy every morning that i wake up and try hard not to take any day for granted (not always successful)

Re: the "fat positive" movement, maybe some people honestly CAN be happy that way, I don't know. All I know is I'm not one of them!

A few of their points are good. Overweight people should be judged for their character and not be mocked or discriminated against simply because they're fat. That should be basic good manners! But some of the "size acceptance" people give you flack if you say you're glad of the new calorie signs or insist that you MUST find overweight people attractive too. Um, no one but me determines what I do or don't find attractive!

As far as fat and fit goes, I always just thought it meant people who were overweight to some degree but not to a point where it was actually threatening their health.

Original Post by nomoreexcuses:

might die earlier than expected?

expected?

41,000 people died in traffic fatalities last year
6,000 people died in fatal workplace accidents
2 people per year die when a vending machine crushes them

if I worried about all the possible ways I might meet my demise... would I ever enjoy this moment, right now?

i'm happy every morning that i wake up and try hard not to take any day for granted (not always successful)

Good point, well made.

I meant life expectancy. Yes you might run over tomorrow, but if you don't you can reduce your risk of heart-disease & cancer.

Then you might live long enough to be the few squished by a vending machine.

I don't know this for a fact, but if I had to guess, I'd guess that the two squished by a vending machine are college-age males. 

::giggles::

sorry guys!

i guess I take the approach that, yes, i want to do all within my power to take good care of this body that i inhabit, but when my time is up, it's up and i'll be ok with that, whenever it comes, even right now

>.>    <.<     >.>

:)

Honesty and sarcasm are using my options.  It is kind of hard to "lie about" how you feel when it is evident to all. I am not a good poker player, if I feel it you can see it.  Same goes for my wieght.  I find that my sarcasm, like my wieght is an effective tool for keeping people at arms length.  For me it seems that being overweight is a choice.  I am now making the choice to change that, not for others but for me.  We were just joking at work, I stated that I would like a 25 year old attractive male to make a pass at me and mean it.  Not for him but for me!

Coffincritter - One point about size acceptance, I find the overwieght people, myself included, are more critical of other overwieght people than people who may not be overwieght.  That is one of the reasons I enjoy this site.  We are what we are and people here, for the most part, are supportive.

Original Post by clairesty:

Self confidence is great & I say 'good on ya' to these people that are happy being big, but how happy are you to know you may die earlier than expected? The question that wasn't asked was if they worried about their health.

Yikes, don't even start with this one. The people I know most likely to face sudden death (one family I know in particular, due to a heridtary condition) are slender as all get out.

Weight is one reason. And the science, while solid, is in flux. It's something to try and avoid being sanctimonious about.

Athletes who are fit & happy regardless of their body fat percentage give me strength when I get all hungup about bulls***. I know a lot of softball players rowers & welterweight+ boxers who are big girls and totally fit.

I just skimmed through posts..but a person can be overweight and fit. Like some others have said being fit isn't about being *thin.* It's when you can hold endurance, flexability, can run long distances, etc.

Tyra once had this subject on her show and to prove a point they had a girl that was probably like 100 pounds and another girl who was about 200 or so and they tested them they had them both run and the thin girl hardly ever exercised and the bigger girl does almost every day when it came to the running the thin girl ran out of breath faster and couldn't keep up where the bigger girl was still running, smiling and was hardly out of breath. So yes you can be thin and UNfit and overweight, but FIT.

I think that it is probably best for your body (heart and other organs) to be fit AND in a healthy weight range, but it is probably just as bad to be overweight and fit than it is to be thin and unfit.  That being said, it's proven that carrying a lot of fat is hard on your heart and highly linked to many health problems. 

Six in one, half dozen in the other.  I still would have a hard time being convinced that being fit and overweight/high body fat % is even close to as good as being fit AND within a healthy weight/BF% range.

It's good to promote a good self image, but convincing people who want to take the easy road, that being fat is a good thing is probably not the best message to broadcast on TV.

a person can be overweight and fit...but that doesnt mean that you wouldnt be more fit if you werent overweight.  ive been overweight my whole life and i would love to have the self esteem some big people have, but i think a lot of these people are also just lying to themselves.   being overweight or obese will never be as good or better than being at a healthy weight, as far as health is concerned.   if you can have self esteem and be proud of yourself at a big weight, then you are stronger than me,  but dont tell me that you dont have a physical issue.  being overweight is not healthy anyway you look at it.

edit: also, a person may be overweight and still have low body fat, due to muscles, body frame, etc..  I just mean a person with excess fat cant really argue that the excess fat isnt effecting their health negatively somehow.

what channel is the fat and fit show on?