THE STOP BEING FAT CLUB
This lady is five foot, four inches tall and weighs fourteen stone. She isn’t a bodybuilder or power lifter, she is a stay-athome-mum who leads a very sedentary life. She had wanted her body fat percentage checked as she had read that twenty five percent body fat for a female is quite good and she wondered how far away from that she was. So, at her next training session I asked her, ‘If I did actually measure you and it came
Ian McCranor tells it like it is as he encourages fat folk to call a spade a spade so they can accept their status in order to change it...
Ó Sumo Wrestlers - probably the only martial artists who need to be fat!
I know of many fat people who are completely happy with being fat - they love to eat and they love life - all power to them. It certainly is not my place to judge and tell people how to live.These people, however, are in the minority and, as you are reading this, I would guess this does not describe you.
I
received a text message a few days ago from a client who had just recently started working out with me - the message simply said, ‘Can we do a body fat measurement next time I am in the gym?’ So I sent a text back which said, ‘You can do your own body fat measurement right now and get spot on accurate results.’ She replied back ‘But I don’t have any equipment and I wouldn’t know how to do it.’ I then talked her through the very simple process. I told her to remove all of her clothes, go into a room where there is a good light and a full-length mirror. She responded and said ‘OK, did that. What’s next?’ I replied with ‘Look in the mirror. You’re fat.’
weight etc... are all substitute words to soften the blow, so as not to hurt feelings. The lady who had enquired about having her body fat measured had fallen into the numbers trap that almost every fat person gets caught in - the number on the scale, inches around the waist. Both of which are relevant, but are only what I call the compass, they just let you know you are heading in the right direction. The word weight-loss when it refers to a human being, should be retired, made redundant, removed from the dictionary... Nobody is looking to lose weight - they are looking to lose fat and it’s about time we called a spade a spade. back at twenty five percent would she be happy with that?’ She replied, ‘Oh yeah, of course!’ I see this mindset every day. This lady was looking for a solution and it didn’t even matter if it was a contrived, miscalculated one. The fact that the mirror showed she was an out of shape, soft, flabby, pot bellied, miserable, single, unhealthy, forty-year old was of no consequence. If it had turned out that she measured a number that was deemed ‘acceptable’ she would have gone home a happy, out of shape, soft, flabby, pot bellied, single forty-year old... This lady is representative of many fat individuals. Visually, she is aware that she is fat but, emotionally, she has created a crutch to support her failings. I asked her if she had ever referred to herself as any of the following - plus size, overweight, curvy, full figured or B.B.W? This was a very important question, as the answer would determine what our next move would be. I was very relieved that she had only ever identified herself as being overweight, as this was a place she could remove herself from. Any one of the other terms would have meant she had settled into a lifestyle - a place very few people can leave. You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge... ‘A dietitian will tell you how to eat healthily. The mirror will tell you that you are eating too much of it.’ There is no doubt the world is getting fatter, which is really quite bizarre considering the amount of weight loss information now available. The words ‘weight’ and ‘loss’ combined play a huge role in why obesity is on the rise. Weight loss, lose
68 / martial arts illustrated
FAT is not a four letter word, it is not an insult or a slur - no one gets offended if you call them slim, fit, or muscular - nobody feels awkward when describing a fit looking colleague, searching for substitute words so to avoid the facts. As a male, if you have ever described yourself as heavyset, a big man, large framed, portly, well-built or generously proportioned, then you are fat. I have even heard people in the martial art field describe themselves as ‘built for power!’ Being fat is a truth - calling yourself anything but the facts just makes you look foolish. ‘All bought and paid for’ is a diversionary verbal response that proclaims, ‘I did this to myself on purpose,’ so as not to be judged as a gluttonous fatty. If you are fat you are fat - you can’t hide this fact with witty terminology or creative labeling.
ACCEPTANCE I know of many fat people who are completely happy with being fat - they love to eat and they love life - all power to them. It certainly is not my place to judge and tell people how to live. These people, however, are in the minority and, as you are reading this, I would guess this does not describe you. The Stop Being Fat Club is a place to open up - to tell it like it is, please or offend... You cannot change what you don’t acknowledge. As martial arts practitioners or even instructors we like to pride ourselves on being of a disciplined demeanor, but being fat is not something you can hide so its very presence destroys that illusion by revealing a weakness. We can all point to a skillful, tough martial artist who is also fat and thus proclaim that ability comes in all shapes and sizes and I would have to agree. The fact still remains, however, that you are fat because you want to be or because you don’t know how not to be. IAN MAcCRANOR
Next month: Getting Ripped... martial arts illustrated / 69