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.
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Monday, October 6, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Bike MIrrors
I recently went for a ride with a group of friends, including one who has all sorts of doodads on her bike. As this woman is a serious cyclist, I know she doesn't put on anything more than essential. (This comes from being part of the "light is better" biker mentality.) I was interested in the gadgets she had, and watched how she used them.
Her side view mirror was used frequently. She used it to see if cars were coming up behind us, as they don't always make enough noise to alert you.
She also kept track of her co-riders --making sure we could keep up with her, as she set the pace.
Watching her use the mirror I realized that craning my neck sideways and glimpsing over my shoulder was not practicing safe riding, so I decided that it was time to stop procrastinating and find a good mirror.
So which Mirror?
I consulted my Bike Guru, Tim Mathewson. Tim has designed bikes for me and walks me through all of the technical aspects of this business. He knows his stuff.
Tim didn't hesitate. He immediately told me that the best mirror to get is the Mirrycle. He likes it because it adjusts all different ways, and folds up for transportation. I like it because I can clearly see what's coming up behind me, and I feel much safer now that I don't have to try to do any gymnastics to see if a car's coming.
I've added it to our inventory, so check it out here. Let's all keep riding, and ride safely!
Have fun,
Joan
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
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!
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!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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?
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?
- Sign up at SuperSizedCycles.com/JustStartRiding, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
- Connect with your zize friends and invite them to ride with you.
- Ask you favorite businesses to contact us to participate in providing incentives for riders.
- And especially, strap on your helmet, hop on your bike, and Just Start Riding!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
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
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!
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