Katie Hopkins – you know her don’t you? She’s the woman from The Apprentice who is now famed for her ‘acid tongue’, having a go at all in her path.
But she recently came across as caring and compassionate when she appeared on This Morning alongside Christina Briggs – the 25-stone mother who has called on the government to pay her to lose weight.
Here’s the story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2769345/Has-Katie-Hopkins-gone-soft-A-usually-caustic-Katie-comes-25-stone-mum-wants-government-pay-lose-weight.html
Christina is getting a raw deal right now – people on Twitter having a real go at her for being obese AND for the colour of her hair! Maybe people have nothing better to do than to abuse others.
Now people who are obese or overweight have their reasons for being in that position. It’s easy to ‘have a go’ because people automatically assume that you’re obese because you’re greedy and can’t control your eating – it’s basically out of control.
The weight then piles on. Comfort eating plays a large part in a lot of cases. It may be a case of wanting to do something about it, getting your trainers on and then feeling intimidated when you set foot on the pavement.
Imagine being 25 stone, stepping outside ready to go walking then a passer-by shouts abuse? How do you think that 25-stone woman feels? Do you think she still wants to walk?
Christina said “I go to the door and get ready for a run, but then I just turn back and go inside – I think that if I go for a run down the street, people will laugh at me.”
Nine times out of ten nobody would laugh at her but in her mind, it’s more like one out of ten – nine would. That’s the crucial part about obesity – people who are classed as obese actually do want to take action and want to tackle their weight. Their mind is willing but they have real fears.
Those fears can hold them back and they can retreat back into their comfort zone – their home and their comfort eating. The cycle is continuous.
In this case, Christina is asking the government for more incentives so that she can tackle her issues. Ok, she talks about gym membership being expensive and we know that walking is free. A few bodyweight exercises in the living room are also free. Being more active generally is free.
Slimming clubs (or as Katie Hopkins calls them ‘fat clubs’ – her words, not mine) are expensive if you’re living on benefits. If you read the article (yes I know it’s the Daily Mail!!), you’ll see Christina’s cupboards are full of crap – biscuits, crisps etc. She also talks about having to eat takeaways because healthy eating is expensive.
Now, in my opinion, takeaways are expensive. I mean, my partner and I ordered an Indian meal a few weeks ago and you’re talking at least a tenner. Now for £10, I could pop down to my local grocers and get 4 large bags of vegetables or for £5, I could get a kilo of chicken breasts at the local butchers.
It’s all about education. I’ve been educated in health, fitness and nutrition so I know how to live a healthy life. Ok, I sometimes drift from the path a bit, but I know the 80-20 principle – stay healthy 80% of the time and enjoy your treats 20% of the time.
What the government could do is to start educating our kids in primary school on what healthy eating really is and how we should include exercise into our daily lives.
This ‘5-a-day’ scheme hasn’t really worked. It was poorly implemented and people just ignore it in the main.
Supermarkets don’t help either. You enter a supermarket and the first thing you see is a huge display of beer or cola! Trying to find the ‘free-from’ range is like hunting for a needle in a haystack!
Back to Christina and Katie…
Katie says:
“So for example, (Christina) really loves swimming, so if she could find someone to buddy with then she’d feel safer because there are people there in case someone calls you names. Weight is much more of a mental issue than in your body.”
It’s true – finding a buddy can work wonders. However, finding a group of people with similar aims can work even better. Group fitness for example, has many benefits but the main one is that it can be a great support network.
Imagine not being able to step outside for fear of being taunted but there’s a group down the road that would welcome you and the other people there would have similar fears.
You could join that group and in a few weeks/months, you would be feeling so much more positive and finally getting the help and support you’ve been craving.
Luckily, there are people like me to help! I’ve really thought about my new group classes – with this story in mind – and I feel that I should offer health and fitness for women of all shapes and sizes.
I’m going to provide beginners classes so that women can start at a comfortable level.
I will also provide intermediate classes so that women can progress and start achieving their goals.
Like a slimming club, I will provide weigh-ins but also take measurements (unlike a slimming club).
My partner Awne took action and faced her fears head on. She put on her trainers, hired a trainer and started to exercise. She lost over 8 stone. More on that story in future messages.
So you see, anyone can do it.
If you want to know more about my group classes (women only), you can read a bit more here – and register if you think I could help you: GROUP CLASSES
There are different price plans too so there will be the right option for you.