Accelerate Health and Performance: Fat Shaming and Skinny Shaming Isn't a Thing... You're Probably Just a Jerk

WARNING: This is a bit of a rant that brewed for a while and reared its ugly head so it was updated accordingly. There are some rude words throughout. I, personally, feel it is warranted. I don’t mean to offend but punches will not be pulled.

Yesterday morning my friend, client and the big cheese of Sunny Coast Health & Fitness, Kylie, witnessed two women behaving absolutely abhorrently, ridiculing another female who was busting her arse climbing Mount Coolum. Suffice to say there was fitness and size differences between the two culprits and their victim.

These two people thought they were within their rights to take photos of this lady and openly laugh at her...because she was out and about doing her best. Trying to better improve her health and fitness, trying to change her circumstance, trying to go about living her life. When Kylie told me what had gone down I saw....whatever colour is beyond red.
I can’t fucking stand this shit and I knew I had to dig out this blog and revive it two years after its original release.

I’m going to throw something out there and it’s going to piss some people off…I don’t care one bit. Sadly, it needs to be said far too often. Here and now, I’m going to be one who says it, again. If you don’t like what I have to say then there’s a good chance that you’re probably guilty of exactly what I’m talking about – have a good hard look at yourself and sort your shit out. I mean no offence I just think what you’re doing is really shit and you’re only bringing more shit upon yourself as a result of your nastiness.

Stop Categorising Being An Arsehole Into Names Like ‘Fat Shaming’ And ‘Skinny Shaming’.

It’ the 21st Century for fucks sake!? It’s not about fat or skinny it’s about people. You’re a person, he’s a person, and she’s a person...not a fat person, not a skinny person...a person.
STOP sharing photos online with sayings like…

“Real men want something to hold onto, not a stick”

“Skinny girls look good in clothes. Curvy girls look better naked.”

“Slim girls look good in clothes. Fit girls look good naked.”

FUCK OFF. It is nobody’s right to ridicule anyone for their appearance. ANYONE!

And the insane thing is that people now think that it’s ok to ‘skinny shame’ people because ‘fat’ people have been the victims for so long.

For FAR too long overweight people were the victims of horrible insensitivity. In TV and Movies they still are. It’s WRONG…but if you think that gives you the right to turn the tables on ‘skinny’ people, I’ve got news for you...Making someone else feel shit about themselves doesn’t undo all the horrible things that have been said to you and it won’t stop the chances of it happening in the future. It just makes you an arsehole too.

Meghan Trainor is a prime example of just how far we’ve gone wrong on this front. Her recorded company should be ashamed of recording her bullshit if they weren’t too bust counting $100 bills.

This is not empowering. This is just as degrading as a slim woman calling you “fat”. Don’t be a hypocrite. Being proud of yourself does not require questioning someone else’s worth. It only shows that you really don’t value yourself all that highly at all.

Is this ok because it’s guy? Fuck no. He’s still a person!

Skinny girls are beautiful too. Beauty is an opinion, not a defined any specific quality. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some men are attracted to curvy women. Some aren’t. That’s ok. Some are attracted to women with no curves. Some aren’t. That’s ok too. What isn’t ok is for you to make someone feel less attractive because they don’t have the same body shape as you. What isn’t ok is when you to imply that someone is less of a man for the woman that he is attracted to
.

And this…when you’re using a horrible disease like Anorexia Nervosa to make yourself feel better…why not go to a kids cancer ward and poke fun at them too?

I’m not defined by my size and shape and I’m not defined by the size and shape of the woman I am attracted to. In part, I am defined by the woman I married. I’m happy to say that she is an incredible woman. Her qualities as a person stretch far beyond her physical appearance. Her size and shape is not the reason I married her…to me she’s a total babe but that is not why I married her. She is a kind, caring, compassionate woman who is an amazing mother. If she was a size 4 or a size 40 she would still be all those things.

But it’s not just Women who need to stop hammering each other in this way. Women need to ease up on Men, Men need to ease up on Women and Men need to ease up on other Men. 

I can’t grow a beard and I don’t want tattoos. I still have a penis though. I’m as much of a man as this guy…

And don’t for one second sit there and say ‘Oh...he’s a Personal Trainer, it’s easy for him.’ You haven’t got a clue! As a Personal Trainer I’m held to the highest and most bullshit of all aesthetic standards!
“When you see a Personal Trainer who needs a Personal Trainer”
Ever heard or read that? I’ve had it said to me and written about me.
My job as a Personal Trainer is to provide that training programs and nutritional guidance to my clients to achieve their goals...nothing more.
I’m not a model, I’m not a body builder, I’m not professional athlete.
I’m a guy with a burning desire to help people live a happy and fulfilling life with the understanding of the human body I was blessed with and worked my arse off to develop.

I could look like this guy...that doesn’t impact my ability to be a great (and modest) trainer with a large client base of very happy, healthy men and women of all ages, shapes, sizes and needs.
It’s 2017. It’s time that we stop defining what a “real man” is and what a “real woman” is and start letting people define themselves by the sort of man and woman they choose to be and the actions they are responsible for.

I truly hope the two arseholes that Kylie encountered read this. I truly hope they feel like jerks. They acted like jerks. But they can change, they can learn and they can never do it again. They can leave that identity behind and bring value to their world in the future.

To the victim of this hideous bullshit...I hope you read this too. MAD PROPS TO YOU SISTER! Congratulations on doing something good for you and your world! You’re welcome in my gym anytime! Hell, I’d love to just buy you a cup of coffee and have a chat...I really like coffee. But please, don’t be disheartened. The arseholes of the world are outnumbered...the majority of us love you and are behind you all the way!

To all men and women…
Our self-worth and character is defined by what we contribute to the lives of the people around us and to the world – not what we look like or the size of our pants. 
So do you contribute puppies, memes and ice cold beers to the lives of the people around you or shins kicked on towballs, bindy eyes and paper cuts?

Mitchell Knight
Accelerate Health and Performance
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acceleratehealthandperformance/
Instagram: @mitchellknightpt @acceleratehealthandperformance

AmSo Fit and Healthy (Danica): Protein

Protein. It seems to be common knowledge now that if you train, you need protein. But what doesn’t seem to be understood is what we need it for, how much we actually need and where we can get it from.


Why is protein important?
Protein is made up by long chains of amino acids, some of which the body can make itself, but others must come from foods and are consequently known as ‘essential amino acids’. The body takes these chains of amino acids, breaks them down, separates them and restructures them to become body proteins and uses them for a number of things, including:

• Transporting oxygen around the body (heard of haemoglobin?)
• Building bones, tissue and cartilage
• Creating hormones and enzymes
• Repairing tissues
• Source of energy

How much protein is enough?
You’d be surprised to know, based on the current hype around protein, that you don’t really need a lot. An 80kg male needs little more than 65g of protein each day and a 65kg female less than 50g. Now these amounts are based on every day healthy adults (19-70years) and requirements will increase based on the amount and type of exercise you’re doing but with most people meeting or exceeding their daily requirements already, it’s not that much extra. Think about the rump steak you’d have at the local pub, sometimes around 300g yeah? Well that one steak, without anything else, will give you over 70g of protein. More than enough for the average person for the whole day!

Now you’re probably thinking that eating more protein, especially after a high intensity strength session, means more gains and bigger muscles. This isn’t the case. After a session, the body can only use 20-25g of high quality protein to repair and build muscle, any more than that provides excess energy which can lead to excess weight gain.
But this doesn’t mean that you have one protein filled meal/snack after your workout and then forget about it. After a high intensity workout, body protein breakdown is elevated within the next 24 hours while the building of body proteins remains priority for 48 hours. What this means then is that if you’re doing regular strength sessions, your protein intake should be well distributed throughout each day for the whole week.


Where do we get protein from?
Protein shakes yeah? Well if you’re an elite athlete and you’re struggling to meet all you requirements from food alone then yes, protein shakes are for you. But for the everyday person, why spend loads of money on supplements that often taste like sh*t when you could just eat delicious real food?!

Instead of getting your 20-25g of protein after your workout from a scoop of protein powder, you could have a bowl of Greek yoghurt with nuts, seeds and fruit. Or a delicious peanut butter and banana smoothie. Or even a tin of tuna on crackers. All will give you the required amount of protein but plenty of other useful nutrients. People often forget about carbohydrates in their post-workout snack but it’s important to replenish the glycogen stores that are burnt for energy in exercise and eating carbohydrates can do that. 


Take home messages
Protein is a controversial topic these days and one that could be discussed at length for hours. Keep an eye out for future AmSo Fit & Healthy blog posts that will dig a little deeper but for now, remember:

• Protein is essential for more than just building and repairing muscles
• Most of us are already getting enough protein on a daily basis
• More intense exercise will increase the need for protein but not by a lot
• Protein supplements are okay to have if you can afford them, if you like them and if you’re not already meeting your daily protein requirements

 REMEMBER: excess protein = excess energy = excess weight gain

- Danica

AmSo Fit & Healthy - Student Dietitian

0458 001 848 | danica@amsofitandhealthy.com.au

www.amsofitandhealthy.com.au | facebook.com/amsofitandhealthy

Instagram@amsofitandhealthy

DISCLAIMER: Recommendations for requirements made in this blog post are based on Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand (NRVs) and are designed for healthy adults. Requirements will change based on a number of factors. Contact Danica for more information or a Sports Dietitian for your individual needs.

GUEST BLOGGER: Lucy from The Wholistic Being

Every day in Australia, 7 people die by suicide. Every year mental illness affects 1 in every 20 people. (Both statistics are approximate)

When I read that I understand why mental illness is a worldwide health issue. However it also affects us closer to home with friends and family and those we know in our community. I am one of those people. I identify with/am recovering from/am living with/have/had, a mental illness for about 10 years of my life thus far.. I’m Lucy and I’m the founder of a small business; The Wholistic Being. It’s important to know before you read any further, that I whole-heartedly believe that everything happens for a reason. Good, bad, happy, sad, unreasonable, improbable, unforeseen and inconceivable; whatever it is I believe it serves some purpose to your life. I want to be clear that I do not always understand what the purpose is and I’m not sure I need to. When it really, really counts – you just know.

The Wholistic Being is the representation of my purpose. I have studied Drama and Education, but have a degree in Business Management. I have been unwell with depression and anxiety and now my career is focused on positive mental health, which is how my business came to be. The journey makes sense and has created my purpose as well as my passion.

The Wholistic Being is small business with a big purpose. Our aim is to partner together for positive mental health. Partner with community groups, families, work places, big organisations, small organisations and with individuals – to make positive mental health a priority. The Wholistic Being provides training to the fore-mentioned groups to break down the stigma and build knowledge around mental illness.
At present, we offer three courses; Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), safeTALK and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). MHFA is a two-day course that looks at depression, anxiety, psychosis and substance use and informs participants on how to deal with several different crises associated with these illnesses. This course is to mental health, what conventional first aid is to physical health. No prior knowledge is required for this course and it something I would encourage everyone to do. safeTALK is a 3.5 hour suicide-alertness workshop, about promoting awareness and creating a suicide-safer community. This is also an introductory course, which is also open to everyone. ASIST is a two day course which teaches participants a suicide intervention model that informs them how to intervene and prevent the immediate risk of suicide. This course is important for all those in caregiver roles (doctors, nurses, teachers, police, support workers, youth workers etc) but is based on the idea that everyone can make a difference in preventing suicide, so the more people who attend ASIST, the better.

When I was struggling in the midst of depression and anxiety, those close to me also had a difficult time as they didn’t know a lot about mental illness and had to learn quickly what worked and what didn’t. The reason I have based my business around MHFA, safeTALK and ASIST is because they offer relevant information and practical techniques and frameworks that can be applied in the real world.

I feel incredibly grateful to have found my passion and purpose, presenting to different and diverse groups. If you are interested in any of the courses we offer or would like to talk about how we could partner together for positive mental health, I would love to hear from you.

The Wholistic Being promotes positive wellbeing and we are very grateful to be associated with Sunny Coast Health and Fitness!

Want to find out more about The Wholistic Being?
Website: http://www.thewholisticbeing.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewholisticbeing/
Email: lucy@thewholisticbeing.com.au

Amso Fit and Healthy (Danica): AmSo Fit & Healthy’s Guide To Superfoods!

 

 

'Superfoods' are inevitable. Throughout history we have grown to accept that some new product, herb, fad will pop up and grab everyone’s attention as a quick fix for good health. I’m not saying that there’s not merit behind them, some of them evoke a healthy shift in people by getting them to eat healthier foods. What I’m getting at, and have done so in other posts, is that a lot of these "superfoods" have no science to back them and just become over marketed and over-priced rubbish that can be replaced by more conventional and more affordable foods.

Our aim at AmSo Fit & Healthy is to get our clients to develop a healthy relationship with food and avoid quick-fix diet fads and avoid spending crazy amounts of money when they’re considering weight loss. We want our clients to enjoy eating real food. If you’re looking for cheap and realistic alternatives, or everyday heroes, for these crazy superfoods – you’re in the right place!

Remember that most of the "superfoods" out there are no better than the everyday foods, they’re a lot more expensive and a lot harder to find. Save yourself some money and enjoy those everyday heroes!

- Danica

info@amsofitandhealthy.com.au | facebook.com/amsofitandhealthy
instagram@amsofitandhealthy | #amsofitandhealthy
www.amsofitandhealthy.com.au


 　

AWA Sunshine Coast: Common Misconceptions About Whey Protein

 

Many women avoid using whey protein because they think it is going to make "me to big and make me bulk up going to turn me into a bodybuilder or she hulk " Whey protein alone will not make you bulk up Muscle is so much more difficult to build than that – especially for women because they lack the testosterone levels required to build big muscles. Whey protein will help you build lean muscle. Many people also think " I’m building up my muscles when i work out so I don’t need whey protein" When you work out, you’re actually breaking down your muscle tissue, this is a natural process which happens when you muscle tissue becomes depleted of its main energy source, glycogen. Protein, helps repair and build your muscle tissue back up, reducing the feeling of muscle soreness and fatigue after a workout. A high level of Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) in whey protein are especially important to this process. Protein supplement is in no way supposed to replace a meal, the purpose is to supplement your diet by making sure you’re getting the right nutrients by adding to existing meals.

Around the age of 40 even healthy adults can start to lose muscle mass. Th loss of muscle mass can impact your strength, flexibility, bone health and metabolism. Consuming high quality protein in conjunction with resistance exercise has been shown to help reduce age related muscle loss, and you do not need to wait till your 40 to add more protein to your diet, the earlier you start the better to prevent or reduce age related muscle loss.

So Protein powders are NOT only for bodybuilders, Whey Protein powders are for everyone of all ages, sizes and health and fitness goals.

The key benefits:
Fat loss
Protein helps stabilize blood glucose levels
Improves Athletic performance
Helps replenish depleted levels
Reduce Hunger
Helps keep heathly immune system
Improves wound healing
Healthy aging

　 Liam and Gary

AWA Supplements Sunshine Coast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awasupplements/Instagram: @awa_sunshinecoast