Kourtney Kardashian: I Considered Having an Abortion

Kourtney Kardashian said:

“I definitely thought about it long and hard, about if I wanted to keep the baby or not, and I wasn’t thinking about adoption,” Kourtney, 30, told People Magazine.

After scouring the Internet, Kardashian says she started to realize that an abortion wasn't an option for her. "I was just sitting there crying, thinking, 'I can't do that,' " she says. "And I felt in my body, this is meant to be. God does things for a reason, and I just felt like it was the right thing that was happening in my life.

Kourtney adds, “For me, all the reasons why I wouldn't keep the baby were so selfish: It wasn't like I was raped, it's not like I'm 16. I'm 30 years old, I make my own money, I support myself, I can afford to have a baby. And I am with someone who I love, and have been with for a long time.

"My doctor told me there is nothing you will ever regret about having the baby, but he was like, 'You may regret not having the baby.' And I was like: That is so true.”

Well, I am glad Kourtney Kardashian kept it real and stated she went through a wide array of emotions and thoughts during this process. I feel that a lot of times in the Celebrity Bump watch the only emotion shown is I am so happy to have a baby.

PETA from the Black Perspective

PETA has always been crazy. I love Nia Long, but in her new naked PETA ad she was way air-brushed and rubbing her private on a subway poll. Tell me what that has to do with Bessie the cow.

Even in the new Sister to Sister magazine the singer Mario has a PETA add. I respect them for trying to reach Blacks. I also apprecitate them using advertising dollars in black markets. But I am never given up the meat for the sake of animal feelings.

But I do eat less meat these days to conserve water. I will need that in the future.
So I think they can convert more people with enviornmental sound facts then with outrages adds.

PETA is a Bad Organization, Full Stop

Now, I have to admit that this billboard sparked me to do this post--in it, fatties are equated to whales and vegetarianism is the cure to our horrible, blubberious existence. First off, vegetarianism is part of an eating philosophy, sometimes religiously ordained, and it can be a very healthy lifestyle choice. However, it is not an automatic weight-loss system and there are certainly fat vegetarians! I know more than a dozen fat vegetarians, I even know a fat vegan. But this billboard is only the latest use of misogyny by PETA to get their message across. Below you will find a variety of offensive photos PETA has used to make sure that (as the Onion piece embedded below decries) "every animal on Earth is treated better than women." Animal Rights is important--especially in light of our inhumane industrial feedlots and slaughterhouses that need to be regulated and reformed (see: Omnivore's Dilemna by Michael Pollan). But, there are much better ways to get Animal Rights Issues across than caging half-naked women and getting C & D-List celebs to pose naked every couple months for a campaign against the fur industry. PETA says sex sells, but what they are really selling is the pornification of violence against women, reinforcing the very dangerous notion that women like to be abused, controlled, and tortured. It just so happens that caging a woman in a yellow bikini kind of could be coded as sympathy for chicks, baby chickens that is. Its a disingenous campaign strategy because all it serves is the attention seeking low-level celebs (who are rarely Vegetarians themselves, just out for the publicity), it makes animal rights activist look insane, and it supports the Patriarchy. Check out the images below!



Here we have a 3/4 naked, pregnant woman. The alleged intent of this campaign was to point out that pregnant cattle do not have much room--fair enough. How about actually campaigning for the humane treatment of cows? No, Vegetarianism is the only solution? Well, what this image does is to make pregnant women more animalistic and dehumanized, which they all ready are during that time (see: The Business of Being Born) in which the history of birth and of taking away decisions or agency from laboring women is detailed.



This is an anti-KFC, yellow chick add. Now KFC has some serious animal rights abuses to contend with and I welcome reforming industrial food in this country, but what does this do besides say: this woman is in sexy distress? Oh, she hates it, loves it. Doe-eyed and bikini clad. Please, its just pornification of abuse.

Pornification of abuse writ large, here. More "Chicks."

Now the pornification of abuse meets the commodification of "human meat."

Instead of posting the 20 or so C & D List Celebs who have done this ad, I wanted to mention that what I mostly heard about this particular anti-fur ad was how much Khloe Kardashian had to work out and "eat right" in order to get into PETA shape for this ad. Gross! First off, Khloe Kardashian is the Kardashian most belittled for her figure, completely unfairly, but second of all that just demonstrates how this whole PETA campaign stuff is really about the publicity, not the Animal Rights Activism. I doubt that many of these low-levels celebs give a damn, let alone have read a book or two on the subject. Its just a trendy "do gooder" thing to do that also happens to be slightly scandalous because you get nekked. Which is perfect publicity, because its both "sexy" and says "I care" which of course in reality its neither--its disturbing, anti-sexy, demeaning, and reinforces the sub-human status of women and it makes animal rights activist look both nutty and shallow.

So over all PETA bad, animal rights good, Patriarchy very bad.



Check Out the Onion's Take-Down of PETA's Misogyny:

Advocacy Group Decries PETA's Inhumane Treatment Of Women

Kelly Osbourne on DWTS: My Body Is Going to Be "Sick"

She said she doesn't care if she wins, either. "I'm not doing this to try and prove that I'm better than someone else at something," she said. "I'm doing it because it scares me." She said she's "excited" to get in shape too. Said Osbourne, "My body is going to get sick and be toned."

Kelly Osborne must have bought into the propaganda of Denise Richards when it comes to how DWTS can make you thin while you eat pizza.

It is true that dancing can be a great workout, but celebrities should not do these shows as away to jump start their weight loss. Many people get hurt on this show. From last season Jewel and Steve O were hurt badly.

Plus Sized Girls Deserve Crazy Outfits Too!

Check out Jezebel's review of an Australian Plus Sized Fashion Show put on by City Chic, an Australian plus sized retailer. So cool.

The outfits were fierce, the ladies were beautiful (although, where are the Aboriginal women, City Chic? I know that there are some Aboriginal women in Australia who would certainly fit into your clothes). So, when is City Chic coming to the US? Lane Bryant needs some competition.

Impulse Buy

Okay, so I needed a new pillow and I woke up pre-alarm contemplating how much I want just ONE nice pillow in my life. So, after work I went to Meijer and went pillow shopping--I got two and two new shams for balance. Anyway, on my way to linens I stopped of in the book section and Jillian Michael's Making the Cut jumped out at me. Although we here at Fat Feminist Fitness Blog seem to have a complicated (read: critical/jealous) relationship with The Biggest Loser, see our previous posts on the subject I've recently contemplated watching one season of the show to be fair. It will be 8 p.m. Tuesday nights (during which I have a class, so I'll have to watch it via hulu or nbc.com). Last season, I watched the first 15 or so minutes and once I saw someone puking on a treadmill because they were being pushed too far on the first day, I said "I'm done" but I was flipping channels, so maybe context was needed before passing judgement. Many people seem to gain a great deal of satisfaction and inspiration from watching this show. So, if I do try to watch it, I figure, I'll find the charm or I'll mock it in the blog. Win/Win.

So, having decided to review "The Biggest Loser" I picked up Jillian Michaels' book and flipped through it. On a total impulse, I bought it because it offered a 30 day exercise routine, complete with toning exercises with diagrams & rep recommendations. I can't afford a personal trainer right now, but having a toning regime might be useful for a while. I didn't really read much, so it could be crap, but I'll let you all know as I progress through the book. As always, take diet/fitness gurus with a dose of salt or reality checks.

p.s. Notice that the cover references getting that "bikini" body, ugh. See our collective previous tirades against the false idol known as bikini worshop over actual indicators of health.

Gardening Pics

I had sooo many yellow pear tomatoes to pick last weekend. They are lower in acidity than their red counterparts (though I love them all). I ended up putting most of them on the skewers for the Grill (pictured in my weekend food blogging post). Honestly, though, if you've only ever had grocery store tomatoes, you've really been deprived. They are picked unripened and then gassed to ripeness depending on transit and destination. Homegrown and farmer's market tomatoes are a whole other animal. And they are easily grown in containers, so the apartment dwellers need not miss out.

I still have tons of green tomatoes waiting to ripen as well.

Extreme green close-up.

And another view.

Here are some purple royalty beans. They turn green when you cook them, but on the vine they are easy to spot and produce red/purple flowers instead of the usual white flowers for standard green beans. They are as delish as any of their cousins, of course.

I found another zucchini, a black beauty. My zucchini has been extremely prolific this year. I also grilled these. Many of my zucchini plants have died off recently--they got this yellowing disease, though I didn't see any bug damage. But as I said, they have more than proved their worth over all. I just hope that my fall squashes won't perish before they bear fruit (though I'll have to plant them first).

Oops, I accidentally stepped on a growing cucumber. I picked it and washed it and it was good, despite its early death by clumsy garden photographer.

Here's my attempt at corn--it may or may not work out. Apparently corn rarely works in small gardens because the pollination is so difficult to manage in a small plot (they must cross-polinate). We'll see.

A young zucchini that I planted mid-season, hopping to extend my harvest.

Here's a plot I'm working on for my winter squashes, I need to get planting pretty soon! Actually, I haven't even seeded them indoors yet, but apparently that's not so bad according to the farmer's market crew.

Here are some more legumes.

Harvest on this date included zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, and gorgeous photos!

Lizzi Miller: Glamour Does Something Right

Glamour Magazine has been receiving boat-loads of fan-mail in response to the image above of Lizzi Miller, a plus sized model in her undies showing a little belly pouch, in a body-confident manner in their September issue. Look at the joy on her face! Lizzi is between a size 12-14 (so then, actually a bit smaller than the average American woman) and she is gorgeous. One thing that is particularly remarkable about this image and the one below is that Glamour isn't going out of its way to praise itself for having a non-sample sized model on the page. It isn't a "very special" article or spread loudly proclaiming their righteousness by opening the magazine up for a more diverse representation of body types. Its just an article and a photo. So well done Glamour and keep it up (although next time, how about a woman of color plus sized model?)

Celine Dion Is Pregnant With Second Child at 41!

I am happy for Celine Dion pregnancy, but I think her money makes this an option. She did in vitro fertilization with her first child and most likely did it with the second child. I think for the average middle class woman this option is not trully available. Here is the list of things money provides Celine Dion:

1. The option of bed rest if it is a high risk pregancy.
2. The option of the best care medical care if she has a special needs child.
3. The money to try mutiple in vitro applications. They cost about $12,400 each try.

Mid Summer's Night Run

Here's my brother and I before our race at our Mom & Dad's house. I look sooooo fat in this picture, I almost didn't post it, but its the truth.

Here's the view from mid-crowd prior to the race starting. Check out the sweat-band! Old School.

And another picture.

I was number 56--my brother teased me about it (registering so early). He said, oh, gee, #56 (in a loud voice) you must be one of the ringers--are you a Kenyan?

Being a procrastinator, he was #5149--and he missed out on 5150 (the police/medical code for crazy person who needs to be put in a mental ward against their wishes), which would have been appropriate, I think :)

Okay, so here's the deal, I came in at 1 hour 1 minute and change. BUT there's a couple details that need to be added:

#1 We were doing reasonably well among the bottom third walkers, but then my brother needed to pee and we took five minutes to find a bathroom. Then the entire bottom third passed us and we were 7th & 8th to last, which I'm a bit embarrassed about. My father said I should have gone on without him--his bladder, his problem. But fundamentally, this was about simply following through and doing the race, regardless of what shape we are in. Next year, my niece said she'd do it with us and that she'd show no mercy. Over the coming year I would like to get off some weight and get my time down--so, I'm considering this a baseline.

#2 There was no water until after mile 2 and they planned the race so that it looped around itself and the competitive runners had to pass the mass of solid walkers when we barely just started and there was no special lane for them, but a cop telling us to move over. It was confusing and needed better coordination overall. Apparently though this was a record breaking number of participants.

#3 We did it and that's something to be proud of! Thanks J for doing it with me!

Biggest Loser Couple Tie the Knot!

After three years together — and a combined weight loss of more than 200 pounds — The Biggest Loser: Couples' Nicole Brewer and Damien Gurganious have said I do, Usmagazine.com exclusively reports.
And while the now 145-pound stylist, 38, tells Us she felt "absolutely beautiful" in her figure-bearing Amsale tulle gown (paired with 11-plus carats in diamonds), she's even more stoked to don a bathing suit during their upcoming honeymoon in Cape Cod, Mass.

"I want it to be a red two-piece," she says. "I can’t wait!"

I am happy Nicole found love with a person who has the same health goals as her. Yet, why can't being getting healthy be enough. Why she got to obsess about getting into a bikini. We really have to redefine our goals as a society and get ready of the Bikini definition of health.

Weekend Food Blogging

Friday morning I started things out right with an Amazing Meal Smoothie--I never took a picture of the mix before, it looks kind of brownish-green, but when mixed with fruit it tastes really good.

I didn't have any fresh spinach, so here's the smoothie mid-mix with blueberries, blackberries, 1/2 a banana, yogurt, milk, and Amazing Meal Original.

The finished product is distinctly lavendar in color.

For lunch I had a cup of red-pepper & tomato soup, a burger on millet toast with candied onion.

Then as a treat I had some Breyer's "Natural" low-fat ice-cream 150 calories--just for portion sake, know that that is a really small cup.

For dinner I was determined to use my grill before the summer was out. My niece help me put it together. Now that I know how much more eco-friendly gas grills are compared to charcoal, I'll save up for an efficient gas grill in a couple summers, meanwhile, this one was $25. And, it didn't come with all the screws/parts needed to make it perfectly, so oops. On the grill are some veggie skewers seasoned with olive oil, salt/pepper, and Italian Seasoning. They were (are, I have tons left for veggies this week) delish.

Altogether now: veggie skewers, grilled chicken, grilled lamb, & 1/2 a sweet potato.

Saturday morning I made coffee.
I always take it sweet with creamer.

Millet toast with strawberry jam (fresh) and white cheddar cheese.

Salad with left over grilled chicken.

Salad Close-Up!

Pre-race carb load: Quinoa Pasta with purple cabbage, bacon, & cheese.

Sunday Morning: egg-sub omlette & toast with jam.

Fat Acceptance and Anti-Sports Scholarships

Here is a list of some Fat Acceptance Scholarships

1. The Gertrude J. Deppen Scholarship Fund(Bucknell University)
You can apply directly through Bucknell University.

2. National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance Merit Scholarship
Contact your local chapter of NAAFA, or visit the website.

Victoria Secret Gone Crazy

Victoria Secret has lost it's mind. This campaign is so ridiculous, "Which Body are you ?" implying that the chicks in the ad are diverse like the woman of the world. Please the only difference is the hair color. Also these bras wouldn't fit me or other plus size woman with any degree of comfort.

An they have the nerve to offer a contest about body confidence . If you want me to be confident about my body, sell me a bra that will fit and lift my 42 DDD off my tummy so I can try to create a waist.

Another Reason to Dump Diet Coke

Check out this article by Jen Mueller "Are Diet Soft Drinks Really A Better Alternative?"

Essentially, she cites two studies that link diet soda drinking and metabolic syndrome.

One theory suggests that artificial sweeteners may lead to increased food intake because they alter our sense of taste and interfere with the body's ability to properly assess how many calories are in foods. Therefore, you end up eating more- and we know that overweight and obesity are risk factors for developing metabolic syndrome.

I do know that from personal observation, when I drink diet coke, I get hungrier in the afternoon. Also splenda gives me headaches (not the sweetner used in diet coke, but relevant in terms of artificial sweetner conversations). I gave up diet coke for probably a year and I've recently "been back on the sauce" as it were. I actually do like water, so its not an aversion to water, but more a desire for a caffeine boost and for the occasional taste and sense memory I associate with diet coke. Making green tea, adding stevia and lemon might be a better solution for my mid-afternoon caffeine cravings, but it takes commitment and foresight--something that can be hard when you leave for work at 6:20 a.m. Hmmm, though...it, the diet coke, hasn't been as good as I remembered. Maybe getting this monkey off my back will be easier a second time? Well, for now I have six left in the office. We'll see what I decide on Monday.

So, dear reader, do you have a love/hate relationship with diet soda?

What is Normal Eating

Well, I've been doing some emotional eating this week and its not too too bad and it is a copping mechanism, afterall, but I wanted to recommend this post from Nutrition by Eve regarding "normal eating."

She quotes How to Get Your Kid to Eat: But Not Too Much, by Ellen Satter MSW, RD. Check out this passage:

Definition of ‘Normal’ Eating

“Normal eating is being able to eat when you are hungry and continue eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it – not just stop eating because you think you should. Normal eating is being able to use some moderate constraint in your food selection to get the right food, but not being so restrictive that you miss out on pleasurable foods. Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good. Normal eating is three meals a day, most of the time, but it can also be choosing to munch along. It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste wonderful when they are fresh. Normal eating is overeating at times: feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. It is also undereating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life.”

“In short, normal eating is flexible. It varies in response to your emotions, hour schedule, your hunger, and your proximity to food.”

Satter, E. (1987). How to Get Your Kids to Eat: But Not Too Much. Bull Publishing. ISBN 0915950839.

I like this definition because its flexible and recognizes that everyone will over or under-eat at times--there isn't that magical perfect eater totally in touch with one physiological needs alone, devoid of interest in food from a social or conditioning position--we are social creatures, and social eaters. And sometimes we are lonely eaters, etc. Read the whole post if you're interested.

Food Blogging: Thursday Breakfast & Lunch

Vanilla Greek Yogurt with Flax-Plus Granola. Around 10:00 a.m. I also had a left-over Blueberry Muffin from our meeting the day before. It was good, but probably very caloric.

Black Bean Soup with cheese & avocado.

Two pieces of millet toast, one with Monterray jack cheese and the other with left over brie. Some baby carrots as well. Oh, and more avocado.

Pregnant Kourtney Kardashian: I Forgot to Take "the Pill"

Kourtney Kardashian says

Getting pregnant with Scott Disick -- with whom she recently reunited after splitting in February -- was unplanned.

"This probably sounds so dumb, but there's so many times I'll forget to take my pill and I don't think it's that big of a deal. It's just so stupid," she admitted.

Kourtney Kardashian is the prime example of the break down in women's health education. There are some many things wrong with her story.

1. She didn't mention her condom breaking. Which means she wasn't protecting herself from STDs.

2. She didn't follow the instructions that come with the pill. For example if you miss more then 3 pills in a row. You have to trash the back and start over again.

3. At 30 you need to be planning your reproductive health you either having the baby or you are not. Unplanned at this point in you life is being moronic.

4. If you breaking up in February and having a Christmas time baby. I think we need visit Maury's show just in case.

Here is a link for up to date factual info about the pill.

Food Blogging: Wednesday Lunch & Dinner

Luna bar for a late-afternoon snack.

Here's the corn & salmon cooking. Its Wild Caught Alaska and Peaches & Cream from FM.

Salmon, asparagus, & peaches and cream corn--delish. Though I'm totally lying if I'm trying to represent this as all I had to eat last night. I also had a hunk of brie and two servings of 150 calorie light rocky-road ice-cream. I'm still doing a bit of emotional eating right now, but its not full crazy person binge, just two servings of ice-cream.