Secrets of a Former Fat Girl (5 page)

BOOK: Secrets of a Former Fat Girl
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Even if you have dipped into more strenuous forms of exercise in the past, like I did before latching onto the gentler Jazzercise, it's better to start with something that's easy on your body, something you will more likely stay with and succeed at. Starting soft and slow will help you build that fitness habit every Former Fat Girl must have. And it will lay the physical groundwork for the more intense forms of fitness you may want to get into later. Activities such as yoga, Pilates, water aerobics, swimming, and stationary cycling are all low-impact exercises that give you a great workout but are easier on your body. You'll still be burning calories and getting stronger, but you're less likely to struggle or to overdo it and end up with an injury. I can tell you from personal experience how devastating it is to get all juiced up about an exercise program and then get smacked down by a sprained ankle, sore knee, or aching back. So-called overuse injuries—aches and pains from overdoing it—are some of the main reasons that women (and men) give up exercise altogether. All the more reason to take time to build up your strength and stamina.

Dress for success.

If you're into it, go ahead and spring for a complete color-coordinated workout wardrobe. But if you're like I was, the last thing you want to do is shop. Whatever you end up doing, though, make sure you invest some time and money in two key accessories: shoes and bras.

Shoes were big for me, bunions and all, but a good pair of fitness shoes is essential even for women with sleek, perfect feet. Unless you're involved in a zero-impact exercise, like swimming or yoga (which you do barefoot), the right shoes can make your entire workout easier on your body. Take the knees, for example. Achy knees are one of the plagues of beginning runners and walkers—especially women who take up the sport to try to lose weight. A good cushy-yet-supportive pair can help insulate your knees from some of the pounding. Many of the major shoe companies—New Balance, Saucony, Asics, and Rykä (which makes only women's fitness shoes)—even offer walking and running models for “heavy” runners. You might want to start there if your sneakers tend to break down quickly. (Trust me, you'll need them only in the beginning.)

As for the bra issue, I recently read that the average cup size of the American woman is a D. Just another thing I'm way below average on: If they made a negative A, that would be me. But back in my bigger days, I had my share of breast tissue, so I can relate. Plus, I've talked with many women about the pain they feel in their chests, backs, and shoulders when they attempt even low-impact exercise like walking, and the frustration of finding a bra that will keep “the girls” tethered without feeling as if they're in a straitjacket.

The bouncing boob issue is another reason to start with a gentle, low-jiggle form of exercise. Even so, you'll still need something to wear up top. The good news is that the fitness apparel industry is no longer ignoring women whose breasts are bigger than an eleven-year-old's. You'll get the best selection online (see the sidebar on Chapter 1 for details), but you're better off trying on a few different styles to get a feel for what you like. Some major brands (such as Champion) offer sizes up to DD and are carried in major department stores like Macy's and Nordstrom. Innovations such as gel straps, contoured cups, and front closures can help you get a comfortable fit even for high-impact activities like running.

Bra Basics: Keeping the Girls Comfy

I am so flat that I could probably do all my bra shopping in the preteen department. Comfort and support are still important for women like me, but for those who are more on the average and above-average side (cupwise, I mean), they are crucial. Here's the Former Fat Girl's guide to finding a fitness bra that will give you both.

  • Allow for the impact factor.
    Possibly the most important thing to consider is where your typical type of workout falls on the impact scale. Is it high, low, or somewhere in between? Most manufacturers and many catalogs and Web sites rate their bras by the level of impact they can withstand. Activa (www.activasports.com) and Title Nine (www.titlenine.com) are two of the best.
  • Pick a sweat-wicking fabric.
    Fabrics such as Coolmax, Nike's Dry-FIT, and Champion's DoubleDry work to move moisture away from your body so your skin stays drier. Your bra will be less likely to rub you the wrong way if your skin is dry.
  • Go seamless.
    No seams mean less chafing: Brands such as Champion and Nike offer a variety of seamless models, some of them with underwire construction.
  • Look for wider, padded straps.
    Wider straps help distribute the load (sorry!) more evenly to ease the strain on your shoulders. Some bras use gel in the straps for an even comfier ride.
  • Choose a model with molded cups.
    This kind of bra lifts and supports while maintaining your girlish shape. Virtually shapeless “compression” bras, on the other hand, use sheer force. You might as well duct tape them down.
  • Get some advice.
    You'd be amazed at how detailed some of the apparel Web sites are; for instance, Activa gives recommendations for specific bras that address particular problems and walks you step by step through the process of taking your measurements. The site also offers a toll-free number in case you can't find the info you need or just want to chat. The women at Title Nine have a sense of humor about what they do, and it shows. They call their bras things like the Wired and Ready for Action Bra and (my favorite) The Last Resort Bra, their recommendation for the big, bouncy girl who has tried every other bra out there.

Follow the 10 percent rule.

For anyone who exercises—from the elite athlete to the wannabe Former Fat Girl—any workout will get easier after about six weeks of doing it regularly. That means two things: To keep getting stronger, burn more calories, and lose more weight, you have to push yourself even harder, but in your excitement at your progress or your anxiousness to keep the results coming, you may push so hard that you hurt yourself. The last thing you want to do is get on a roll, and—bam!—end up nursing a sore knee, an achy ankle, or worse.

That's where the 10 percent rule comes in. It's used by trainers and other experts to help you figure out how to keep pushing yourself without going too far. It goes like this: Each week you are allowed to increase the intensity, distance, or difficulty level of your workout by a maximum of 10 percent. That means if you're walking two miles this week and feel up to it, you can add .8 of a lap next week. Round it up to make it easier to keep track of. Or if you're walking your two miles in, say, thirty minutes, try to pick up your pace to shave off three minutes. That doesn't seem like much, I know, but it will when you try to do it.

Step away from the mirror.

The reason for the wall-to-wall mirrors in most workout rooms isn't to fuel the vanity of girls in outfits who look as if they came straight from their waitressing jobs at Hooters. Nor are they meant to torture everyone else with the sight of their soft middles and muscles. The real reason for them is to allow people who know what they're looking for to monitor their form and to give you a 360-degree view of the instructor during class.

But there is a downside to staring at yourself in the mirror if you're new to the whole workout scene. An interesting study suggests that watching yourself move your body in unfamiliar ways might actually make you feel as if you're working harder than you actually are. This is not a good thing when you're on a quest for Former Fat Girlhood and trying to get into (or get back into) the habit of exercising. It is better to claim a spot a couple of rows back in your fitness class. (Most probably the class veterans and guys lusting after the teacher will nab the first rows anyway.) As for the cardio and weight rooms, if you can't find a mirrorless spot, try looking at the TV or focusing on the floor or ceiling. If you're doing a weight move or riding a stationary bike, close your eyes.

The Obstacle: You Don't Like Exercise

I know what you mean. For a long time I thought there must be an “I love exercise” gene that I don't have. And maybe there is—right next to the “never a bad hair day” gene or the “eat chocolate, lose weight” gene. Until modern science discovers them and figures out how to put their powers in a pill, we all have to deal. Here are my tactics.

Shoes Rule: How to Find the Right Fit

Every so often some group of podiatrists releases a survey showing that some amazing percentage of women are walking around at any given moment in shoes that don't fit. I'm not going to go into the reasons that that's true; let's just say we women are notorious for having trouble sizing things up.

This isn't a mere comfort issue for women on the heavy side who are just starting to get active. The wrong pair of fitness shoes can sidetrack you on your way to becoming a Former Fat Girl. Here is how not to let that happen.

  • Match the shoe to the activity you do regularly. If you're a runner, you should buy a pair of running shoes; if you're a walker, walking shoes. It's really not some evil marketing ploy to get you to spend money on a closet full of fitness shoes. Shoes for different activities feature different technologies; for instance, walking shoes are more flexible under the ball of your foot than running shoes to accommodate the rolling and pushing off you do.
  • Think about your feet. Are they wide like mine, and do you have high arches or narrow heels? Certain manufacturers and Web sites can help you match styles to the shape of your foot. Brands that are particularly good for women include New Balance and Asics, both of which come in different widths, and Rykä, which makes only women's shoes and is particularly good for walking, cross training, or studio shoes.
  • Try a style built for “heavy runners” if running is your activity of choice. Okay, so the hope is that you won't need this particular piece of advice for long. But shoe companies—from Avia to Asics to Rykä as well as New Balance and Saucony—in the last couple of years have introduced models specifically for women who are hard on their shoes. They typically have more support and are less flexible, and therefore stand up better to the pounding paces you put them through.
  • Know how you move. Certain shoes are constructed to compensate for issues you might have with your stride. The most common is the tendency to roll inward (called pronation). The easiest way to figure out if that is an issue for you is to look at a pair of athletic shoes or flats in your closet.
  • Look at the soles for any signs of wear. If the cushioning is broken down or the tread is worn away along the inner edges of the balls of your feet, you're probably a pronator. Shoes with what is called “motion control” can help correct that problem and make your activity more comfortable.
  • Specialty shop. Why shop in person when you can get anything you want on the Internet (without the humiliation of being waited on by skinnier-than-thou salespeople)? Because as well as you know shoes and as hard as you try to match your foot to them, you really have to try them on before you buy. If they don't feel good the minute you put them on your feet, they're not going to after standing up and walking around. Forget the whole “breaking in” bit.

Don't expect to love it.

Here's a little secret: I don't particularly like to exercise—especially running, and I've put in a lot of miles over the last twenty years. I meet people all the time who tell me they've just started running and are working at it, but they just can't wait to experience the “runner's high” they've heard so much about. Well, I've run ten marathons, and I think I've hit a “high” twice. But I could have been dehydrated. Or hormonal.

But I do it anyway. And I love that I do it. I love the fact that when I'm finished, I can check it off my list for that day or that week. That's my goal, just to do it—not to love it or to even like it while I'm doing it. I have found some things I do like or even love. I love bike riding, kickboxing, and rowing. But these are things I can't do very often because of the logistics of my life. So there's always running for me, and I've found ways to tolerate it while I'm on the trail or in the streets. If I expected every outing to give me some kind of high, I'd be constantly disappointed, and disappointment is one of the enemies of every would-be Former Fat Girl.

Designate a two-week trial period on your calendar.

Even though you might not fall in love with exercise—although that would be a pleasant surprise, wouldn't it?—there's some kind of workout out there that you will like enough to do several times a week. If, for instance, you don't already know that the stationary bike is more boring than school board meetings on local cable, the two-week trial period is the time to find out. The drill: Try at least two different fitness experiences—different cardio machines or classes at the health club; a variety of workout tapes; activities like swimming, walking, running, and cycling. Consider this a fact-finding mission. Which was the least objectionable? Is it tolerable enough and convenient enough for you to do several times a week?

Take more time if you need to, but it's better to put a deadline on this kind of thing. Otherwise, you could experiment forever and never commit—kind of like some guys I know.

Pick and stick.

BOOK: Secrets of a Former Fat Girl
11.78Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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