BBW

I’ve always felt that the BBW acronym (“big beautiful woman”) was kinda patronizing. It’s also a bit over-the top.

Can overweight women be beautiful? Certainly. That’s not the problem. The problem is that the term is used indiscriminately. It’s used even when the woman in question is not particularly good-looking, and that’s what makes it sound patronizing. Perhaps even a little insincere.

I liked this comment from an overweight woman that I read on the ‘net:

honestly, the thing about “bbw” that bugs me is that well, being big doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re beautiful. it’s as if people have to add in the “BEAUTIFUL” part. we dont’ have “spw-skinny pretty woman”. i am beautiful and i am a bigger girl, but they dont’ go hand in hand. it seems that the beautiful was added in there to help us out or something, as if we couldn’t be beautiful on our own, and that just drives me nuts!

Why not dispense with the over-the-top rhetoric? Why not simply say that you’re overweight but attractive (or if you wish, overweight AND attractive)? Let’s keep things real.

Cardio work DVDs

I’ve been discovering the joys of various cardio workout DVDs. Some of them are lame, but some are actually pretty darned good. I really liked Gilad’s bootcamp DVD, for example, and Fat Burning Workout for Dummies was also remarkably good.

The Dancing with the Stars exercise DVD was very lame, though.

I plan to watch the following DVDs as well.

1. Fat-Burning Kickboxing Workout for Dummies
2. Dance Workout for Dummies
3. Bootcamp. Maximum calorie burn. (from The Firm)

Trying to get in better shape

I’ve been eating lean, watching my portion sizes, and doing a lot of cardio work. I’ve also been lifting weights, paying special attention to my deltoids, forearms, and glutes.

Why?

It’s a question of physical appearance. I’m a fairly short fella. I’m also Asian, and women don’t tend to find Asian features attractive in a man. I earn a good living, but I’m not rich, and I don’t have the kind of cockiness that some women find attractive… nor could I ever see myself acting that way.

I also tend to strike out a lot. A lot.

So I’m trying to get leaner and sculpt my body more. Franlkly, there’s not a whole lot more that I can do at this point.

Got a workout

I spent about an hour today hiking around an unfamiliar city while carrying to heavy bags — one laptop bag and one small suitcase. My traps are going to be sore tomorrow.

I sure hope that I burned a lot of calories in the process. I’d really like to get slimmer and thinner. I’m not happy with the way I look, and that’s not just extreme vanity either. Rather, I know that most people would not consider me to be a particularly good-looking fella, and in certain respects, I drew the short straw when it comes to genetics. Trimming down is just about the only thing left that I can do, and so I’d love to lose a few pounds of fat.

I’ve already lost maybe five pounds recently. I hope that I lost more today.

So very tired

I’m tired. So tired. So very, very tired.

No, I’m more than tired. I’m beat. Wiped out. Completely and utterly exhausted. I wish that I had more time just to chill and refresh. I’ve got so much to do and a 2000 sq foot house to maintain. I also wasted time trying to fix somebody else’s work today, and that was a huge time sink.

And I also want to spend more time in exercise. I’m trying very hard to do so. Gotta trim down and lose those last few pounds. It’s tough though, and I’m losing energy. But I have to do it, since I’m getting older, I’m a fairly plain-looking guy, and I have a hard enough time finding women who might be interested. Ouch.

Dang it. Why couldn’t I have been genetically blessed when it came to good looks?

Rats.

Cardio Fitness DVDS

I borrowed a bunch of calorie-burning cardio fitness DVDs from the library — too many for me to fully try out each one. My goal, however, was primarily to sample some diverse exercise moves from each one so that I could do more exercising at home, in front of the TV. It’s a time management thing.

I really liked Gilad’s boot camp DVD. Denise Austin’s DVDs were nice too, but they’re geared more toward women. Still, she had a lot of nifty moves that are easily incorporated into an impromptu cardio routine.

I didn’t borrow any of Kathy Smith’s DVDs, but I know from past experience that some of them are pretty good. It depends on one’s needs, though.

I once borrowed some BodyShaping DVDs from Netflix. They were par for the course. They were meant as general fitness DVDs though, so the cardio segments were pretty short. The cast was outstanding though; it’s just that these particular programs didn’t fit my specific needs.

Accepting fat — to what extent?

This fellow had some harsh words regarding the so-called “fat acceptance movement.” That’s a movement which urges society to lay off overweight folks — even the mordibly obese — and simply accept them for who they are. They point out that it’s possible to be healthy at any weight, so let’s not get hung up on weight loss.

Perhaps you see the dangers of such thinking. Sure, one can have some extra pounds and still be physically fit. That’s a far cry from saying that one can be healthy at ANY weight, though. What’s more, while it’s possible to be fit and (ahem) “overweight,” this does not mean that extra body fat carries no risk whatsoever. In other words, proponents of the fat acceptance movement are grossly oversimplifying.

Of course, one should always treat overweight people with respect. That just goes without saying, even if we often forget it. But to declare that we should act as though there’s nothing wrong with excess poundage… that’s just wrong. Dangerously wrong.

The fella in question had harsher words, though. He said, “Fat acceptance is nothing more than a ruse to avoid necessary weight loss. PERIOD!” Wow. He’s awfully brave to say such a thing.

On obesity

Just wanted to preserve some excerpts from a long post by some guy regarding the obesity crisis:

[T]he majority of the time people are fat because they lack the willpower to make the right food choices and are too lazy to stay active. End of story. I swear, I wish I had a dime for every time I’ve heard someone complain about how unfair it was that they were overweight, even though ‘I eat less than my thin friends, and I’m so active, and you’d never keep up with me if you followed me all day’ blah blah blah. I have yet to see this actually be true for someone who has said it. Not once. The amount of food they eat, and the amount of food they think they eat, are two completely different amounts. The amount of exercise they think they do, must be in some parallel universe, because it bears no resemblance to actual reality. Self-delusional.
…
I honestly don’t think we will fix the obesity crisis – and that is what it is – without completely rethinking what food means to us. Focusing more on quality instead of quantity. People are so used to thinking in terms of ‘value’ (i.e., the ’supersize’ factor) that it’s easier for companies to promote ‘more food for less!’ than it is to improve quality.

Speaking of fitnesss…

Right now, I’m typing away while watching a stupid cartoon.  I’d rather be exercising, but I have work to do, and besides, I’m feeling kinda exhausted right now.

I think that this article has it right.  TV is a huge time waster.  I’d much rather exercise while watching the tube, if at all possible.

Right now, I’m in the mood for some heavy duty stomach crunches.  I wish I had more energy, though.  It has been a draining week.

Short men, fat women

Women often accuse men of being shallow. Men prefer women who are trim–sometimes, even skinny–which presents a challenge for women who have a hard time keeping the excess weight off.  Speaking as a man who has a few extra pounds to shed, I can sympathize.

My question, however, is this:  Why is it socially acceptable for women to reject short men, but if a man expresses a preference for thinner women, he is considered shallow?  This strikes me as an unmistakable double-standard.

I’ve posed this question a few times on some Internet discussion boards.  Almost invariably, there’s a flood of responses that say “So what? Is it wrong to have preferences?” or “Don’t be unreasonable. You can’t help being attracted to the type that you like.”  I think this clearly misses the point, though.  Nobody denies that one can have preferences, nor was that the issue I was addressing.  Rather, I was asking why the preference for tall men is acceptable, whereas preferring thin women is considered to be a sign of shallowness.

It’s interesting.  When it comes to a woman’s weight, people often deride men and urge them to look past the physical.  Yet when it comes to a man’s height, these same people will turn around and ask, “What’s wrong with having preferences?”

Now, please don’t get me wrong.  I do agree that we need to look past the physical.  I prefer women who are reasonably fit, but I have also been attracted to women with some extra poundage.  I just don’t think we should adopt a double standard when it comes to physical preferences.