What is “Fat Talk” and Why I Gave it Up for Lent

What is “fat talk” and Why I Gave it Up for Lent

Maybe you've never heard the term “fat talk,” but more than likely you've been a part of it, or witnessed someone else using this negative language.

So what is fat talk?

Fat talk is the act of bashing your body through comments like, “I hate my cellulite” or the more obvious, “I’m so fat!” Fat talk can also be subtle like, “I really shouldn't have that burger” or “I wish I could pull off that outfit like that girl.” These body-bashing comments will stick in your mind and will fog the way you see, and look at, yourself. This sort of talk creates all sorts of problems, such as negative body image issues, and even more extreme, eating disorders.

Unfortunately, fat talk is extremely common among women, at any age. I witness this all the time, within the gym setting, out of the gym setting, everywhere. Last week I witnessed this between two strangers, as I was in a dressing room, and overheard a conversation. I heard one friend remark to the other that, “this dress makes me look huge, but then again, I am fat.” I cringed. And what did her friend say to her, “You look beautiful just the way you are.” In my head, I was thinking, by saying that, how is the situation being helped? What her friend really should have said is, “stop talking like that, you’re only going to make yourself feel worse, and even though you’re not fat at all, you’re going to start believing you are.”

Fat talk, however, goes beyond conversations with friends; it becomes a never-ending conversation with yourself. You wake up, you look at the mirror, and what do you say to yourself? I look bloated, my stomach looks big, wow I have thunder thighs, why don’t I have a six pack. The mirror is where fat talk is most prevalent, it becomes a place where we automatically look for and find flaws. Would you look at a friend, look for all of their flaws, and tell them where they are and what they are? No. So why do this to yourself? Why do you break yourself down?

Why I gave up Fat Talk for Lent

I don’t want to break myself down, I want to build myself up. I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum in terms of my body, I have been overweight and I have been underweight. And what I’ve noticed for me is that when the number on the scale isn’t where I want it to be, I start seeing someone else in the mirror. When I was underweight, I saw someone that was overweight in the mirror, and because of that, I began to tell myself that I was fat, and I did it so often, that I started to believe it. At the end of the day though, I wasn’t fat at all, I just was mad that the number on the scale wasn't dropping, and that caused me to take extreme measures to bring it down.

Over the past few months, I have been consciously gaining weight, trying to become stronger, in what is called a “bulk.” During this process what I’ve noticed is, yes, my weight is going up, however, I am more confident, because I’m not freaking out about the numbers anymore. What I’ve also noticed is because of this, I actually live a much healthier life, because I truly love my body and want to show my body the love it deserves.

So, my point is, a healthy mind, leads to a healthy body. When you stop telling yourself you’re fat, it’s much easier to love your body. I go to the gym and eat healthy, not because I think I’m fat, but because my body deserves to feel good. This is why I’m giving fat talk up for lent, and hopefully for the rest of my life. Your body deserves to feel good, and your body deserves to hear positive self-talk, and in order to do that, your mind has to change.

So how do you stop the fat talk?

1.    Start catching yourself and spotting fat talk. Notice the times and situations in which you start talking about your body negatively. If it’s in front of a mirror, start looking for the positives in the mirror. If it’s around your friends, don’t fish for compliments, stop yourself, and start stopping your friends. Create a “no fat talk zone” within your social circle, address the issue and say to your friends, “guys, no fat talk here.”

2.    Stop judging others, so you can stop judging yourself. There are two aspects to this. First of all, never body shame someone else. You never know what someone else is going through in their life and you can't judge a book by it’s cover. Stop looking for flaws in other people, don’t talk about it in your head, and definitely don't talk about it with others. Secondly, don’t judge others and compare yourselves to them. Whether it’s a friend or a celebrity, don’t compare yourself and your body to someone else. Every body and everybody is built differently, beauty comes in all different shapes and sizes. See beauty within others, but don’t compare yourself to that, you are beautiful in your own way.

3.    Become body neutral. It’s not easy to go from being extremely negative about your body, to being positive, so become body neutral. When you feel like you have found a flaw, or you feel down about your appearance, instead of saying “I look gross,” say to yourself “I’m not gross. I’m just not feeling myself today, and I’m not feeling 100% confident right now, and that’s okay. Tomorrow is a new day.”

4.    Build others up, while building yourself up. Dish out at least one compliment to another person, everyday. You never know who needs a compliment and who needs some positive energy. By complimenting others, you are spreading positivity. Be sure that in your compliment, you don’t say something like, “Wow that dress looks great on you, wish I could look like that.” Don’t bring yourself into the compliment. Simply say, “You look beautiful in that dress.” In addition, compliment yourself once a day. At the end of the day, think about one or more things that are positive about you or about your day. It’s important to spread positivity through your own mind, and more importantly, throughout your community, because fat talk is truly an issue that is effecting society, especially women, as a whole.

I hope this helps you to better understand fat talk and why it is a negative thing. If you find that you lack confidence, or that you suffer from using fat talk, take steps to change that. When you change your mind, you can change your body.

What is a Calorie Anyway?

A calorie is something that many people count, or look at, on a daily basis when it comes to deciding on what to eat, but it is more than just a number on a nutrition label. You look at the number, and the word, calorie, multiple times throughout the day, but chances are you aren’t even aware of the definition.

So what is a calorie? 

Well, as defined by Merriam- Webster, a calorie is a unit of heat used to indicate the amount of energy that foods will produce in the human body. In everyday terminology, a calorie is the energy we consume through eating and drinking, and a calorie is also what we burn during exercise, and throughout the day. When looking at a calorie in terms of food, it is important to understand what makes up a calorie and how that number is created.

First things first, there are two types of nutrients: micronutrients and macronutrients. Micronutrients are the minerals and vitamins in food, such as zinc, vitamin c, and potassium. When calories are labeled as “empty calories”, this typically means that have little to no essential micronutrients. Macronutrients, on the other hand, are fat, protein, and carbs, which are the parts of food that provide calories and energy.

When looking at a calorie it is important to look at the macronutrients, which are often lost in translation when people diet through the process of calorie counting. In dieting this way people are neglecting what their food is made of, which usually means not getting enough of one of the macronutrients, and in turn, getting too much of something else. Before I personally discovered tracking macros, I was getting way too many carbs and not nearly enough protein. I was using all of my calories on carbs, which yes having carbs is very important, but it equally as important to take in enough protein, and even fats, as well. 

Another problem with counting calories is it gives eating a lower calorie diet the connotation of being “healthy”, when, in fact, being restrictive on calories can lead to low energy, hormonal issues (loss of menstrual cycle for women), and eating disorders. Low energy and restrictive eating can also halt any sort of muscle building you were aiming for, as food, especially from specific macronutrients, is fuel, and without this fuel, or enough of it, it is hard to perform in the gym. In addition, counting calories works in the short term, but not in the long term, as people tend to fall off as they stop progressing, and no longer want to keep track of the numbers. Also, the body will adjust to the restrictive calorie intake at some point and when you begin to eat normally again the body will be shocked and will store that food as fat, this typically leads to gaining any weight lost, back, and sometimes even more.

So why is looking at the “macros” different from simply counting calories?

By looking at the macronutrients, in addition to calories, you can better understand what exactly you are eating and how much. It is recommended that the average adult gets 40-65% of its daily calories from carbs, 20-33% from fat, and 10-35% from protein. By using these macronutrient percentages as daily goals, and implementing them, in addition to watching (not necessarily strictly counting) calories, you can create a more balanced approach to the “calorie” and food in general.

Sources: 

http://paleoleap.com/reasons-not-count-calories/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/388545-macronutrient-ratios-in-a-diet/

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/263028.php

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calorie

Which Burns More Fat: Aerobic Training or Resistance Training? How About a Combination of Both!

Some swear by cardio, and others rely on their lifting routines, but research shows, that by balancing both, you will see a bigger change in body composition and fat loss.

As a cycling instructor, I am partial to cardio, I find that it challenges me and pushes me, as it does the same for many others. What I have observed in the gym setting, is that women love cardio. Whether it be through the elliptical, Zumba, cycling, or running, women that workout, typically turn to cardio. That being said, cardio is a great thing! But solely relying on cardio may be holding you back from obtaining your ideal body.

But how does one come by this ideal body, if not through cardio? With much research, I found that adding resistance training to my daily routine might be the solution. Resistance training exercises specific muscles, or muscle groups, by the use of external resistance. By incorporating resistance training into your routine, you may gain weight, but the weight you are gaining will be a result of increased lean body mass, which in turn, burns fat. For women, “lifting” can be intimidating, which is why many have become so reliant on cardio. But, like myself, they run into the problem of not seeing the results they want to see with cardio alone. What most women don’t understand is that “lifting” doesn’t have to be heavy, you can start light, and work your way up, but let me tell you from experience, compound movements (squats, deadlifts, bench press) are what really effect your body composition. You can lift dumbbells and work with machines, but once you are comfortable, give compound lifts a try, because compound lifts work multiple muscles, at one time, which causes you to use more energy, and therefore, burn more fat. 

While relying on one or the other may burn fat, by doing just cardio or just lifting, you will likely hit a plateau in your progress. Studies, conducted by researchers at The University of North Carolina, have shown that the combination of aerobic training and resistance training significantly decreases body fat while increasing lean body mass. This is the perfect equation for reaching your fitness goals.

While the science proves this, experience does to. When I stopped seeing change in my body, I decided to stop focusing on cardio solely, and I added resistance training. I saw significantly more definition and tone, and on top of that, my body fat percentage decreased, and it showed!

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30 minutes of moderately intense cardio, five times a week, and a minimum of two non-consecutive days of weight training, that includes eight to ten exercises of eight to twelve reps, per resistance exercise. These are great guidelines to get you started, and of course they will change depending on your goals. Below, I have included what my training looks like based on my goals:

• Losing Weight: 5 days of strength training, 4 days of Cardio (2 days of HIIT, high intensity interval training, for 30-45 minutes and 2 days of LISS, low intensity steady state cardio, for 45 minutes-1 hour)
• Maintaining Weight: 6 days of strength training, 3 days of Cardio (2 days of HIIT for 30 minutes and 1 day of LISS for 45 minutes-1 hour)
• Gaining Weight (bulking): 6 days of strength training, 1-2 days of Cardio (1 day of LISS for 45 minutes-1 hour and possibly 1 day of HIIT for 30 minutes)

*With each split I make sure to include one day where I do absolutely no working out*

For your most balanced body, and self, try both!

Sources:

https://www.acsm.org/docs/brochures/resistance-training.pdf

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130102172945.htm

http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/cardio-after-lifting-strength-training/