Can You Be Fit AND “Fat?”

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

by Erika

From NBC Nightly News, I bring you this delicate little issue with the sensational little title.

My thoughts were, of course you can be fit and “fat.” And considering how “fat” in America is anything over a size 4 – depending upon who you talk to – MANY of us are “fat” in someone else’s eyes… clearly that doesn’t matter anywhere near as much as the stuff that keeps us alive. That stuff is filed under that “fit” label.

Those who I’ve dialogued with outside of the site know how I feel about this “fat” thing. As I’ve said before, my primary goal was just being a healthy weight. The vanity aspect of it came when I could afford to be vain and think about looks.. which, basically, was when I had my health situated.

There’s a point in that clip that disturbed me, though – the thinner woman said, “Because I am thin, because I’ve never been sick,” she never thought that her system could be in such bad shape because her body wasn’t in bad shape. I think that the American understanding that our “outer” is a direct reflection of our “inner” is what’s making it so hard for us to have these conversations about health.

What do I mean? I mean that we keep connecting a person’s size to their ability to be healthy. It shortchanges the people on both ends of the spectrum. If being obese is the epitome of poor health, then if I’m superskinny I should be good, right? I should be able to avoid all of that, right? Ever heard of metabolic syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome is a series of diseases that appear in the body in conjunction with one another as a result of a poor diet yet doesn’t always result in obesity. It creeps up on people because, since they believe their small frames alleviate them of the responsibility of caring for their systems, they tend to not only ignore any warning signs that their habits might be unhealthy but this also results in them continuing in said damaging behavior!

I guess I wanted to share this because I want us to stop thinking this skinny/fat thing is so linear. Good health manifests itself within ourselves mentally as well as physically. It extends itself far beyond a nice body. Taking care of ourselves means inside as WELL as outside. Don’t let yourselves get caught up in BEING skinny or shooting for skinny. Aim for better health first and foremost, and I can assure you everything else will become MUCH simpler!

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Keywords

health, mentality, myths

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12 Comments

Feb 2, 2010

Tracy

On the other end of the spectrum, I’d hate for a “fat” person that is healthy to rest upon that. I believe that I am healthy and can do a lot of things that “skinny” girls can do. However, I would have for a “fat” person to receive a clean bill of health and feel as though they don’t have to lose weight.
Feb 2, 2010

Erika

I don’t know, Tracy… I’d have to wonder – how much weight are we talking? Like I mentioned earlier, everyone has different definitions of “fat.” Would they be losing weight purely for aesthetic purposes at that point?
Feb 2, 2010

Tracy

Based on the results in the video, I guess it would be aesthetic. And you’re right. “Fat” is subjective, especially in America. However, we hear all the time that “you might be healthy now, but your weight CAN (and WILL) eventually lead to health problems.” If it’s true that one can be fit and “fat,” then why encourage people to lose weight? Even at my weight and all my stats being good, should I even bother losing weight? I get so confused with all these reports. As soon as I try to lose weight to get “healthy” and save myself from future complications, I get reports telling me that I can be healthy and fat. I feel like a hamster on a wheel…
Feb 2, 2010

Ashley

I have a friend who is SKINNY as a beanpole and she just got diagnosed with high cholesterol. I think it’s partially due to her love of butter and partially from genetics. No matter what you look like, it’s important to have a balanced diet and lots of exercise!
Feb 3, 2010

Brittany

I am SO going to be posting this video (and linking you of course) on my blog. I am much like the “fat” woman in the video in that I work-out daily, eat well but still manage to weigh about 180-ish and wear a size 12. On the outside I may not “look” like I work-out as much as I do but my doctor says I am in great health and my BP has gone from the 140’s to 120’s.

I do wish the disclaimer was a little more thorough. “Healthy” can come in all sizes but there are a lot of us that think being “thick” without weight/diet consideration is okay.

Great post!
Feb 4, 2010

Erika

@Tracy, I think we’re mixing signals, here. If a person has a clean bill of health and their weight is kept in check, losing weight would be for aesthetic purposes. And when I say “kept in check,” I mean as in it doesn’t fluctuate to beyond 5lbs north or south of an intended goal.

I think you’re touching on a bigger issue within mixed signals, here. Additional weight isn’t usually the problem, it’s a visible symptom of the larger problem… which IS an unhealthy lifestyle. You’re generally told to “lose weight” because there’s a market for thing to HELP you lose weight. The woman in the video didn’t need to lose weight, and she was all jacked up on the insides – hence the problem with the focus being on LOSING WEIGHT and not being HEALTHY.

Combine that with the fact that the image of the “tiny woman” is constantly being put in our faces, and the message quickly becomes “lose weight, be healthy.” It then mutates into “lose weight to be healthy.” All wrong. You feel me?

If you are completely healthy and living a healthy and active lifestyle, you couldn’t possibly keep on the excess weight. It’s not physically possible. Because of that, I question the definition of “healthy” we are using here. I don’t know you or your stats to pass judgment, so I hope you don’t think that’s what I’m doing. But this is why I always say the focus should be on living a healthier lifestyle.. because once you fix that, the weight literally FALLS off. You dig?

Having said allllll that… at the end of the day, we just need to be honest with ourselves. Honest about what “fit” and “healthy” really mean, whether we are “close to” or “far away from” the definition of those… and what we really want out of life. After that.. just go after it. That’s all.
Feb 19, 2010

PhluffyPrincess

great post! i agree wholeheartedly with your objection to the statement “because i am thin i have never been sick” that is not true. being within a healthy weight just places you at lower risk, not guarantees you will not ever be sick or develop certain diseases.
Mar 11, 2010

Hidi

I like your article; it’s really interesting.
Aug 12, 2010

Heli

I haven’t watched the video (I’m at work) but this issue is a big one for me. I am active, eat a healthier diet than most people I know (whole fresh foods, tons of veggies, no refined sugar or starch, etc.), and I am also still overweight. I can definitely do more to lose weight more quickly, and I am plodding along on that journey, but I totally disagree with the idea that if you’re doing everything right, eating well, exercising, and living a healthy and active lifestyle, you cannot possibly keep any excess weight on. That’s simply not true. A 40yr old woman who eats a moderate diet of 1400 calories coming from fresh whole foods, and who gets an hour of real exercise every day (Zumba, weights, whatever), could very easily hold on to an extra 30-40lbs forever. I would argue that she is healthy and fit while being overweight. Aging, metabolic resistance, body type, heredity, and other factors all come into play.

The weight doesn’t fall off as easily as we women get older. Sure, if a person is making a lifestyle change and suddenly becoming a better eater, starting to work out, etc., yes, those lifestyle corrections will bring positive changes. But if someone is already a healthy eater, already getting adequate vigorous exercise, already doing everything right, she could be very healthy by all metrics and still be overweight.
- Aug 12, 2010
  
  Erika
  
  I’m sorry, we’ll simply have to agree to disagree.
  
  I’ve already written about aging here, but if a 40yr old woman is still holding onto 30-40lbs, its because she is creating an environment that allows for that 30-40lbs to be maintain. 1400 calories and active EVERY day? 30-40lbs? I’m sorry, I’d require more details regarding “1400 calories from fresh whole foods” because “fresh whole foods” can be abused just like processed foods. Add to that the fact that most people more often than not underreport their caloric intake? No, I’m sorry… there’s not enough detail for me to change my stance on that. I can understand the struggle, but 30-40 is a little much to be claiming to do everything right.
  
  If a woman is still having trouble losing weight after “doing everything right,” then outside of a hormonal imbalance (which, at 40, if you’re enduring a hormonal issue – as, unfortunately, a lot of us do – you should feel like an exception to what I’m saying here, anyway) it means you simply need to change your environment/intake/activity.
  
  I don’t want you to think I’m chiding you or chastizing you, but since you offered your situation up as a reason for me to not think the way I do, I did take a look at it honestly. I hope you don’t feel offended, because I know that kind of scrutiny can put people off.
Aug 12, 2010

Trina

People look at me and think I’m unhealthy all the time. I’m a runner. I watch what I eat religiously…there are no short cuts. I work out everyday to the point that I don’t miss a day…haven’t missed a day since June 4th and I may still be mad about that…LOL! I’m really good at maintaining weight, but not particularly good at losing it. I have test results…I’m not borderline anything–hypertensive, diabetic, cholesterol is excellent. But I am a big girl–again, this is subjective…to my eyes, I’m fat, to friends and guys, I’m thick and to the doctors, I’m super morbidly obese (at a size 14). I don’t believe that my weight will eventually lead to complications—I mean, what more can I do? I’m healthy, the doctor says I’m healthy. Yeah, folks give me the side eye when I say that, but *kanye shrug*
Aug 12, 2010

Heli

Don’t worry, I’m not offended–I’m not really talking about myself. I freely admit I don’t exercise as regularly as I should, and go over my calorie limit more often than I should. Sure, if I cut my sleep back to 5hrs a night I could get up extra early and work out, then get my kids up & out, get to work on time, etc. I’m not going to do that on a daily basis (can’t, won’t) so I have to be satisfied with super slow weight loss and fitting in a few great workouts a week, plus a few minutes of basic exercise everyday. I’m still working on baby weight, and just barely stopped nursing, so it’s cool. My goals are realistic and reasonable for me right now.

But short of going to extreme lengths (and yes, I do think exercising more than 60-90min every day on top of having little kids and a FT job is extreme), sometimes those last 30lbs just aren’t going to come off. I think what you call a hormonal imbalance/issue can also simply be a natural hormonal shift due to aging, which I would argue is closer to the rule, not the exception.

Just ask my 45yr old fat runner friend. This woman runs about 10mi/day. She’s 100% vegan, mostly raw. And she is fat. Chunky, thick, solid, fat. To see her in shorts you can tell she’s solid, but she’s got some serious padding and it’s not all muscle. Metabolic anomaly? I guess…but maybe her body’s healthy place is truly a slightly soft but truly fit 170lbs. *shrug*

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