Size-ism: What is it? How does it affect you?
Published April 27, 2011What is ‘Size-ism’ and how does it affect you?
This weekend, Magic met with a leading guru in marketing to get some ideas on how to reach out to people in the marketplace. Interesting is an understatement. Infuriating is more like it!
You see, Magic has lost (to date) 50 kilos and still has a little way to go. When a person loses that much weight, they often have undesirable side effects like excess skin in large amounts, stretch marks, etc.
So as Magic attended this luncheon with a leading market guru, she was confronted by this statement, “Why should people listen to you? You are still fat compared to what I would expect from a gym owner and therefore, you mustn’t know what you are talking about.” So Magic then asked what would you expect from a gym owner? This person replied with, “You know, all good gym owners and instructors are skinny andradiate a healthy and keen approach to exercise”.
Magic was, by now, ready to blow her stack. Another person at the luncheon chipped in at this time. He asked this ‘guru’, “How much can you lift in weights? Magic can lift over 100 kilos. How often do you train? Magic trains every day twice a day if time permits. How can you say anything about radiating health & fitness when your meal is fried and Magic has organised a special dish from the kitchen to fit in with her healthy diet.”
Silence. . .
This guru then responded with the all time SIZE-EST comment:
” Well I think she should stay out of the marketing until she is really skinny. All fat people are stupid. They can’t know much about anything if they can’t control their weight.”
Folks, this is SIZE-ISM!! Many marketing gurus, like this one, are the ones controlling media messages about weight loss, health and gyms. Do we want to be persecuted by size-ism for the rest of our lives- NO!
With so many of us not exercising daily (around 90% according to recent research figures) and Australia now holding the mantle of the FATTEST NATION in our world, can we go on allowing the media and the big gym companies belittling us that we are lesser people if we are battling weight?
The good news is that in Geelong, we have the Fitness Driven Health Studio. We are not size-est, we have NO MIRRORS (so no negative reinforcement) and our staff are all qualified and willing to help you get fit, lose weight and support you. Come to a gym that is run by real people, not by skinny little poppets who have never battled with their weight, health or motivation.
Don’t like big gyms: Neither do we! Fitness Driven is all about you! Come and try us for free, you’ll see exactly why we are different.
In closing this article, Magic would like to add the following remark:
“You are not defined by your obstacles to good health, you are a valuable and deserving individual, not a number on a faceless membership list (like in most big gyms). Stand up to size-ism and show the world exactly who you are and what you’re capable of. There is nothing my staff and I will not do to support in your health & fitness goals. It’s up to you. You deserve health and happiness.”
Fitness Driven:
This is a lifestyle change I am committing to, this is an adventure which I am going to enjoy along the way. I am going to feel good about life! At the end of it all, I am going to be slim and in proportion to my height. I am going to be healthy and life is going to be good and enjoyable!
Katrina’s Story: overcoming hurdles 
This is a brief update on Katrina (our star client). She has been unable to train for two weeks now. No, she wasn’t injured during training. No, she hasn’t “fallen off the wagon”. No, she hasn’t given up. In fact, what has happened to her is what happens to many weight loss clients on their journey. You see, as we lose weight (I’m talking big amounts here not just 1 or 2 kilos), our bodies go into a type of panic. Many of us experience some sort of pain and many of us experience a lack of motivation. The intrinsic motivation (coming from within) can be dramatically lowered. This is not because we want to give up. It is actually the body’s natural response to weight loss. Why???As we contemplate losing weight, our bodies begin to contemplate the upcoming changes. In fact, our mind is already starting to set us up for a failure. This is a matter of survival. As cavemen, we were naturally protected from famine and danger by our minds and bodies. Nothing’s changed.So many of us experience a pain, niggle, minor injury, etc which are all part of our deep-seeded survival mechanism. Bodies are not equipped for a change in the Staus Quo and so we often hit the 2 week mark or the trigger point (in weight loss) with a rather unnerving result.Katrina has hit the 20 kilo mark in her weight loss. Almost on schedule, her body has sent pain responses to this through her. She is suffering from a rather nasty case of Sciatica. This will not stop her however. It is at this point that we must commend her GP. One of the few GP’s that I have heard of that understand the issue at hand. Her GP advised Katrina to return to the gym and keep stretching. This will now only alleviate the pain but keep her in the gym atmosphere and fight any urges to give up. THANK YOU!Katrina will soon return to training and is recovering at her own pace from this pain.Have you ever tried to lose weight and given up? Come on! We all have at some point in our lives. Let’s all take a leaf out of Katrina’s book and show our bodies and minds exactly who the boss is!!Good work, Katrina. Keep it up!
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