Enlightened article

Yesterday I was reading the NY Times on line (my favorite way to get the news) and saw this excellent article about bodies. The author actually questions whether the craze to be a skinny person is necessary and healthful. Not only does she question it, but apparently many people are doing the same. I put it on my site, because I think it's so promising. You can read it here.

What's great is that it is possible that the mainstream is beginning to understand what a lot of us know--you don't have to be thin to be healthy. Many heavy people are very healthy, and if the world around us was built to support our weight, we'd be even healthier.

Imagine a world where you don't have to go to a specialty store to find a bike or a pair of pants that fit. Imagine going into any establishment knowing that they have chairs that will be at least size-appropriate, if not comfortable. Imagine traveling knowing that you don't have to worry about getting bruises from squeezing into a too-small seat or asking the tiny steward for a seat belt extender. Imagine a world where what counts is that we're people, not that we're fat people.

In this world I'd bet a lot of the diseases that are associated with being fat would miraculously no longer be associated with it. In this world the social stigma and stresses of being the wrong size wouldn't exist. We'd all be satisfied with ourselves, so our bodies wouldn't have to cry out for attention in the form of diseases.

I'm not suggesting that those of us who are unhealthy and feel unhappy stay where we are. What I am suggesting is living the Zize life. Zize is size with Attitude, and as more of us do our part to keep the attitude positive, healthy, and active, more people will see that fat IS beautiful. Or at least healthy.

Break the Cycle of Depression with Cycling

This article was written by Susan Fernandes, who has over 20 years assisting people as a Registered Nurse. Susan was kind enough to allow me to share her article as one more way to show that biking is awesome!
___________________________________________________________________________

In the United States, approximately 18.8 million people are affected by depression. That’s approximately 9.5% of our adult population. Of those suffering from depression, about 80 % are not currently being treated.

What is the definition of depression?

· Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods.

· True clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interferes with everyday life for an extended period of time, usually more than 2 weeks.

Depression may run in families. This can be due to your genes (inherited), learned behavior (environmental), or both. If you are predisposed to depression due to your genetic makeup, you are more likely to experience depression when a stressful or unhappy life event occurs.

What can trigger depression?

· Alcohol or drug abuse

· Childhood events like abuse or neglect

· Chronic stress

· Death of a friend or relative

· Disappointment at home, work, or school (in teens, this may be breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, failing a class, or parents divorcing)

· Drugs such as sedatives and high blood pressure medications

· Medical conditions such as hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), cancer, or hepatitis

· Nutritional deficiencies (such as a lack of folate and omega-3 fatty acids)

· Overly negative thoughts about one's self and life, self blame, and ineffective social problem solving skills

· Prolonged pain or having a major illness

· Sleeping problems

· Social isolation (common in the elderly)

· Post Partum (after giving birth)

So as you can see, depression can be triggered by many conditions/events. The purpose of this article is not to diagnose or to suggest any treatments for depression, that is for you to discuss with your physician, but I do want to explain how activity can be a natural mood elevator.

It is not uncommon that when we feel depressed (sad, blue, down in the dumps), mentally and physically we slow down. We don’t want to do anything. It is extremely hard to get motivated. And unfortunately, the less we do, the less we want to do, and then the more we fell depressed. It is a self perpetuating cycle. How do I know this? I’ve lived it. In fact it is something that I still fall prey to at times. So, how can we break this self-defeating, non productive cycle?

Doctors and scientists continue to debate about the different chemicals and hormones that affect our moods and sense of well-being. Some believe that it is a release of “endorphins” by the pituitary gland that lessens the feeling of depression, while others believe it is the serotonin and serotonin uptake receptors that do the trick. Either way, all agree that moderate exercise, 30 minutes/3 times a week, can decrease our feelings of sadness and depression. In fact, it is documented that regular exercise as described can be as effective as many prescribed anti-depressants and work more quickly. If you are currently on medication for depression, I do not recommend that you stop taking it. Instead, continue with your current prescribed plan of medical treatment, but add exercise. Stopping or changing any medication is only at your doctor’s recommendation, but let her/him know about your change in activity and how it makes you feel, and let them decide.

Keep in mind, at times motivation can be a big obstacle, and it is at those times you have to force yourself to just “do it!” My personal preference for exercising is riding a bike. I’m not the most disciplined person, so the flexibility of choosing when I ride suits my personality and schedule. Also as a “plus-size” woman with knee problems, riding a bike is low impact and easy on my joints. In fact, it is a recommended type of exercise for those with arthritis. I admit, I was concerned about a regular bike being able to support my weight, so I did an online search and found www.supersizedcycles.com. They have bicycles and tricycles, and motorized bikes, and they are able to custom make bikes to your specifications. Now I can get out, have fun exercising, and feel better mentally, emotionally, and physically. Oh, and by the way, I still take my medication, but I’m feeling so much better, and I’m even losing weight! As they say, “There is no time like the present, “so decide today, that you won’t be held captive by your own inactivity. Get out there and get moving - you will be glad that you did.

Keep on pedaling!

people waking up

I like to know what's going on in the world of big people biking, so i subscribe to a google service that tells me when articles come up that talk about this. I got such an email this morning. I linked to the blog it identified, and found--gasp!--a reasonable person with a reasonable grasp on the ways to deal with obesity.

As anyone who visits this site regularly understands, we are not about weight loss. It IS a possible side effect from riding bikes, but the main purpose of www.SuperSizedCycles.com is to just get everyone who wants to out on a bike. And since big people don't have choices, that's who we're aiming to help.

Take a look at the blog at http://justwilliams.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/cycling-and-obesity/#comment-127, and then let me know what you think.

Let's keep those wheels and minds spinning!

good eats

My youngest daughter is home from college, and all of a sudden she’s become Rachel Ray Jr. As a child only very, very moderately interested in cooking she suddenly is making these amazing meals once or twice a day. We are eating like kings!

This, of course, makes one wonder if this is going to have a less-than-desired effect on the waistline. What seems to be happening instead is that what she’s cooking is so good that it fills me up and I’m not so busy grazing between meals. I’ve always thought that if I could just NOT snack my body would look a whole lot different, but when you grab a tiny lunch, by 3:00 your stomach is begging for more. With these amazing, complete meals, I’m totally satisfied until 5 or 6 hours later. It’s great!

Right now it’s 1:50 PM, and Natasha’s busy in the kitchen. She’s making lunch. (Okay, one downfall on having a college kid cook your meals—you can toss any kind of a traditional schedule out the window). It smells spicy and grilly and YUMMY. I wish she’d hurry up… wow—my wishes are powerful! Just as I was writing that she brought me in a beautiful pita sandwich stuffed with grilled beef and peppers and onions. Delish !

Okay, ENOUGH about food! I’m hoping this storm that’s threatening will pass soon, so I can go out for a little ride. I’ve been so busy with work lately that I barely look up from my desk. I’m trying to make a concerted effort to get a ride in once a day. It will help when my husband gets home (he’s been away spending a couple of weeks with his mother)—he loves to be outside and will request bike rides regularly, so I can’t get so caught up with builders and financials and answering customers’ questions and fulfilling orders that I forget why I’m doing this—cause I love to bike!

All those reasons I just listed are also why I’ve been forgetting to blog. Another thing to put on my list of to- dos. I’m off to tackle a new project.

bike ride with a camcorder

When I look at the web, I get a kick out of watching videos. To that end, I decided to make some of my own. I got a cool little camcorder called a flip, and bought the gadget that they make that you can strap onto your handle bars and secure the camcorder onto it. Time to get shots of today's bike ride--of both the view and of ME!

My husband and I set off for a ride after lunch, both of our dogs following us. It's a beautiful day, although still a bit cold. I decided it was a perfect day to try to videotape the ride.

I'd share what I got, but really, it's kind of silly. The longest clip is of me setting it up on my bike--there's an occasional glimpse of the picture-perfect day, with the beautiful green trees, blue sky and a few puffy white clouds. You see a glimpse of my husband, and a lot of my hand and my orange jacket. It ends with me trying to get my sweet, deaf dog out of the road as a car approaches her.

When we started riding I thought I had pushed the "record" button, but I guess I turned it off! No video for you all to enjoy, but I'll bet it will be a lot more fun for you to get out and see your own scenery, ride with your own spouse, friends, pet, or self, and finish by feeling a lot more achievement than you would just by watching me ride!

And don't worry, the dog's fine!

Press Conference on "Just Start Riding!"

Super Sized Cycles held a press conference yesterday afternoon. It was gorgeous outside, and we were right next to the bike path in downtown Burlington, VT. Here's the content:



Good afternoon and thank you for joining us. My name is Joan Denizot, and I’m the founder of Super Sized Cycles, the first and only store to offer bikes for big riders. This summer we are proud to sponsor the first annual “Just Start Riding!” bike challenge.

The “Just Start Riding!” bike challenge is the bike riding challenge for people who don’t do bike riding challenges. Taking advantage of May being National Bike Month, Super Sized Cycles wanted to create an event where those who don’t normally participant in organized fitness activities would feel welcome.

The objectives of the program are to increase fitness levels and self esteem, to “go green”, and to have fun! Riders set their own goals. While we suggest working up to cycling 10 miles per week, for some people that may be too much. For others it may be too little. Whatever the individual wants to set as his or her mileage goal is what it becomes.


We encourage people to set a weight loss goal, too. It doesn’t need to be huge—in fact, it shouldn’t be huge. This is about living life to the fullest, and who among us doesn’t find good food a part of that full life? Eating right is important, and so is allowing ourselves to sample all the pleasures of the season—a ride to a strawberry patch where we can feast on fresh berries, an afternoon picnic at the lakefront, maybe even an occasional ride to Ben and Jerry’s. It’s all good, and when you get there on your own power, you can allow yourself to indulge without too much guilt.

The goal of the “Just Start Riding!” campaign is to create a safe, encouraging environment for everyone to start exercising. We’d love to hook up people who are interested in meeting other riders, but it can also be done completely individually. The support comes from blogging, emails, and encouragement from Super Sized Cycles and other participants. There will even be prizes for those who meet their goals.

What difference, you may ask, will a few people riding short distances, make?

I speak of the Just Start Riding! Campaign as a summer program, but it is actually 6 months long. It starts now, in May, national bike month. It ends in October. We stretched it out as long as we thought Vermonters might actually ride! Six months—of fun, of connecting with people, of remembering the joy of exercising!

In six months many people who start biking can easily lose 10 pounds. That’s reasonable, about 1 ½ pounds per month. If we have only 500 riders, who each lose 10 pounds, that’s 2 ½ tons—just gone!

I daresay we can make a very moderate guess that our riders will total about 50 miles over the course of the program. Put those miles end-to-end, and we’ve cycled the circumference of the earth!

If those same riders are cycling instead of driving, that means that they’re conserving 1000 gallons of gasoline. This means eliminating 22,000 pounds of carbon dioxide! Not to mention saving money on gas.

Why the push to get people of all sizes biking? Did you realize that physical inactivity is the cause of one third of all deaths due to:
coronary heart disease,
colon cancer
and diabetes?


That’s a lot of premature deaths from just not moving. Obviously, physical inactivity has a strong link to being overweight and obese also.

I spent the weekend as an exhibitor at the Going Green Expo held at the University of Vermont here in Burlington. I had several bikes for people to test ride and was available to answer questions and encourage people to ride. My observation is that most big people attending the event didn’t even glance at my booth.

There could be many reasons for this, but one that I’m sure is a factor is that they are conditioned to “know” that they’re too fat to ride. While this is NOT TRUE, I know that I believed it for a long time. The fact is that the exercise options that many people take for granted are not easily available for big people. Cycling is a perfect example.

Bigger people just need bikes that are built better. They need
steel frames
comfortable saddles
wide tires with strong rims and spokes
metal pedals.

Some bicycles can be adapted to be made strong enough for a big person to ride. For those looking to purchase a new bike, Our Zize Bikes are built to hold up to 550 pounds.

I searched for a long time for a politically correct way to say fat. Every word I came up with was charged with negativity. My response was to invent a new word. I’d like to introduce you to Zize: Size with Attitude!


Zize is about people of size who just get on with their lives. If they’re happy being big, that’s great! If they want to lose weight, that’s great! It’s about the attitude of being positive and about that proverbial glass being half full. “Just Start Riding!” is an invitation to all people—of size, of zize, or otherwise, to decide to actively play.

Because the bikes built by Super Sized Cycles are so amazing and awe-inspiring, Zize Bikes seemed like the logical name to give them. They represent all that is positive, powerful, and attitudinal!



I’d like to end with some quotes from 2 emails I received just this morning. Not planned nor planted, here’s what they say:


“Greetings to you my name is jason and i am 6ft 3incehs and 500 lbs.my knee is in bad shape and doc says walking is out of the question and i need a bike…”


Bob says, “Hello! I cannot articulate how excited I am to have found a vendor that sells bikes for "oversized" people. I am in my mid 40's and have not rode a bike for at least 25 years because of my size. I am pleasantly surprised at your web site.”


Helping people find a way to reconnect with cycling is what Super Sized Cycles is all about.





How can you become involved?

1. Sign up at SuperSizedCycles.com/JustStartRiding, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.


2. Connect with your zize friends and invite them to ride with you.


3. Ask you favorite businesses to contact us to participate in providing incentives for riders.


4. And especially, strap on your helmet, hop on your bike, and Just Start Riding!

hopes

One of the things that really keeps me going is people's responses to Super Sized Cycles. Usually there is a slightly startled look, and then the big smile when they catch on. "Of course," they say, "That's an awesome idea!" The idea of big people riding bikes certainly shouldn't be original, but it takes a while to make it mainstream. Actually, I've been working on this company for over 2 years, and I still feel like it's a mini micro-business. We're getting there, though, and the feedback I get from my customers and potential customers keeps me going.

Yes, Super Sized Cycles is going through some growing pains and there is definite room for improvement. With our commitment to quality, excellent customer service and authenticity, we find that most of our customers are willing to accept the (proverbial) bumps in the road. I want to share a couple of thoughts from recent notes with customers:

• I ran across your add in the journal for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. As a diabetes educator, I am always on the look out for information to share with my patients to help find ways they can safely exercise. Your website is wonderful. I will pass this info on…Thank you for all you are doing!

• Hello Joan! I am so thrilled to find this site through OAC (Obesity Action Coalition). What an incredible link! I have wished for many years that I could ride a bike again and have tried to find somewhere in Canada.

God Bless You for having the drive and moxy to do something monumental like this for yourself and ultimately - others. What a great story!

In future blogs I’ll share more stories, and I invite you to tell your story, too. We’re all in this together, and the way out is through!