Big Fit Girl: Embrace the Body You Have

by Louise Green, Jess Weiner (Foreword)

In Big Fit Girl, Louise Green describes how the fitness industry fails to meet the needs of plus-size women and thus prevents them from improving their health and fitness. By telling her own story of how she stopped dieting, got off the couch, and unleashed her inner athlete—as well as showcasing similar stories from other women—Green inspires other plus-size women to do the same.

Green also provides concrete advice, based on the latest research, about how to get started, how to establish a support team, how to choose an activity, what kind of clothing and gear work best for the plus-size athlete, how to set goals, and how to improve one’s relationship with food. And she stresses the importance of paying it forward—for it is only by seeing plus-size women in leadership roles that other plus-size women will be motivated to stop trying to lose weight and get fit instead.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Self Help, Bodies, Fitness, Feminism, Personal Development

248 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 2017

Reviews

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're an athletic woman (or person) who doesn't fit the standard fitness mold, this book is for you. It may be a bit junior for more advanced athletes, but regardless it's motivating. As someone who loves exercise but has a larger body, it's inspiring to see someone who has a body like mine kicking ass and helping others. Go Louise!

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was recommended by a co-worker and I'm glad I took her advice and picked it up because it was super helpful to me at this moment in my life. It made me think a lot, particularly about the obstacles standing in my way towards becoming more active. 

I really like how much it's centered in activism, aiming towards normalizing fitness for people of all body types and expanding society's view of what an athlete is. I also think it gives some really easy but concrete action items, lots of good resources, and helpful strategies for changing patterns.

There were definitely sections I skimmed because they were not as relevant to me, either preaching to the choir about body positivity, or speaking more to those with very low self esteem, but overall there was quite a bit of stuff that really resonated with me. 

Definitely best for plus size gals who are new to fitness/unsure of how to jump in and want to be inspired.

[PJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so grateful I got to read this book. Please see my blog for my full review.

[Sugarpuss O'Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

To say this book is a game changer for me, is an understatement.

I was a kick-ass athlete from elementary school through high school. I was one of those people who was always one of the 1st or 2nd ones picked. I dominated everything played with some sort of ball--football, kickball, dodgeball, baseball, volleyball, basketball, you get the idea. Then the real world called & I had to hang 'em up. Since then, I've tried to exercise, but could never really stick with it. Now I know why. I would workout unabashedly when I was actively playing sports, but to exercise for exercise sake? No thanks.... Then, of course, the pounds came. So I would try the diet-of-the-hour & I'd lose 10 pounds but 20 would come back. Then I'd try again, & those same 10 pounds would keep bringing friends, until you look around & can no longer see your toes. You know you have to do something, so you go see doctors who tell you to eat more times a day to 'boost your metabolism' and you follow their orders & start to look like a Macy's balloon. And here you are.

A few years back, I tried once again to lose weight. I created challenges & worked my way up to walking 90 miles in a month. I went to my Dr, weighed in & in the 6 months since my last visit, I had lost a whopping three-quarters of a pound. In six months! What I couldn't/wouldn't see at the time, was that even though the scale didn't budge, my blood-work was the best it had been in years. But because I was stuck on the 3/4lb, I vowed I'd never put myself through anything like this again. Then I read this book.... I know I have to walk before I can run--and I am smart enough to do this for me, NOT the scale--but I want so much to be that athlete again. It's in my DNA. I just needed someone to show me that it can be done. Thanks Louise!!

[Dr Ariel Rainey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more of a 3.5 star book-great perspective, great resources, and very motivational. Since I'm a big fit athlete myself, it wasn't much new information, but I sure like that she's giving us a voice!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a book more for fitness beginners, but there is some great info in here for all athletes and I love the focus on working with your body as it is. I had hoped that the book would contain a bit more of Louise's personal journey, but it was focused on making fitness welcoming and approachable to all sizes. Certainly a noble goal! I particularly loved the info from all the plus sized athletes - it was great to hear from a variety of athletes moving their bodies in ways that make them happy.

[Hilo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nette Idee, aber kann man besser bei Hanne Blank gelesen. Grundsätzlich zu genussfeindlich, durchzogen vom Gesundheitswahn - der Schluss sich zu isolieren von Freund*innen, die gerne trinken, der Schluss wegen ein bisschen Bewegungsbedürfnis gleich das ganze Leben zu ändern und Athletin zu werden, klingt eher sektierisch. Auch dass die Autorin das Wort "fat" vermeidet, stimmt mich missmutig. "Women of size" really? WO bleibt der Spaß?? Die reine Freude an der Bewegung?

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would reccomend this book to anyone looking to be more active. Awesome resources for fitness, NOT WEIGHT LOSS or body type specific. It's also very motivating, with tips to overcome challenges, goal setting informations etc.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was a little choppy in it's flow, but the inspiration & guidelines were awesome. The second half worked much better than the first.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My expectations for this book were off. I was thinking I would get more personal insights into Ms. Green's journey but there weren't many personal stories and two of them I had already heard on the podcast that introduced me to her. This book was more of a "how to" guide to become an athlete if you are plus-sized, which, according to the book I am not. But, maybe because the "norm" is so thin, I "identify" as a plus-sized athlete (and officially qualify as Athena for triathlon). This left me feeling somewhat in limbo in regards to her advice. Am I like a size 2 woman whining how fat/bloated/whatever she is because I am not as large as her definition of plus-sized? Other than the size specific advice, I didn't feel like I learned anything new. This book would be best for a real beginner.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I greatly admire and respect Louise Green as a fitness professional and am totally on her side when it comes to athleticism not having a body type, some of the ideology in this book stems from a somewhat toxic place. Let me explain.

The idea that to be an athlete you have to basically sacrifice all other parts of your life - your social life for example - is toxic. Committing to your run for the day all other things be damned is not a method I personally subscribe too. I am a fitness professional in a larger body but come from a place of teaching my athletes to balance their lives with their athletic goals and to not get so wrapped in their athletic goals that they lose sight of their lives.

There is good information in this book - great perspectives, resources, and more. It's designed with beginners in mind, and I can appreciate that. The message is there, and I am 1000% on board with it, but as I said, I can't get on board with this idea of "run in the rain no matter what" kind of thinking - even if you are training for a triathlon.

Edited to lower the review more because I just can't get on board with the section on nutrition. So much problematic language and fully missing the point of what it REALLY means to have a healed relationship with food. Big yikes....

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So refreshing to have a book that is just from an exercise base and not pushing any weight loss. I have discovered I have about a 2 week timeline from deciding I will lose all the weight to getting SUPER discouraged and waiting a year to exercise, and then feeling embarrassed about exercising. It's a vicious cycle!

I can't say this book is perfect, it is very manual-like, but for the most part I really liked that. I appreciated how many women she quoted and resources she listed. I REALLY liked the recipes, they were so real and accessible. I'm super basic with my food and hate how fancy some of these books go. I've wanted to try overnight oats for years and since reading this it's been my go-to breakfast for about a month.

I am trying to take to heart her advice that I am my own CEO and I'm going to do right by me.

I got to meet Louise at an event in Portland, OR and I'm so grateful I did and then picked up her book.

[Sam Maciag · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be more of a memoir than a rah-rah you can do it kind of book.

This book would have been great for me five years ago when I started taking control of my health and, like Louise, took a running class. Since then I've learned so much about health, nutrition and being a positive role model as a bigger athlete that most of this just rang true.

If you know someone who was once athletic or wants to try to move more but is feeling limited by their size, this is a great starting point. It includes everything from what to look for in a trainer/coach, to nutrition, to stretches, proper training gear and even stretches and advice on when you may need a doctor's help if you get injured.

Not helpful for me, but it could have been once upon a time.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I thought this was a fantastic book. It really emphasizes many aspects of good health and is empowering for those who are trying to recover from yo-yo dieting in a desperation to "get thin" or the mindset that they can't be healthy or capable athletes because they are larger in size. Green did not go on an aggressive feminist rant about how obesity is perfectly healthy and anyone who says it's not is evil, which is what typically turns me off in discussions about size/weight and health. She instead focused on how her own personal health improved when she stopped having a restrictive, dieting mindset about food, and how it is possible to be healthy without having to be "skinny."

The book covers some excellent suggestions of questions to ask personal trainers and what to look for in a personal trainer. (Definitely something a trainer should read for self evaluation of effectiveness, as well.) It also covers where plus-size women can find athletic gear, practical ways to avoid injury, the power of a community support system, and some basic tips to move toward healthier eating overall.

She does seem to have have something against high intensity interval training, which I wouldn't demonize, because it works well for a lot of people. However, I agree with her that a trainer should not force certain methods on clients because of what they favor in their own personal workouts, and I also agree that trainers should be aware of burnout, avoid pushing too hard, and allow a client to make progress at his or her own pace and comfort level.

A small caveat would be that I do think fat loss and overall weight loss is an important piece of the health puzzle. However, I also recognize that good mental health is important, and that overall health is a journey in which many of us work on in certain pieces at a time. Sometimes people work on weight loss without the fitness component. Sometimes people work toward physical fitness but can't maintain good mental health restricting food. All of the pieces do not have to be in perfect place for progress to occur, and any movement toward better physical fitness, nutrition, or mental health regarding "diet culture" is positive, in my opinion.

Green is inspirational and I would recommend this book to anyone, as I feel her outlook is really healthy and positive, and we could use more of that in a culture saturated with obsessive dieting and overemphasis on rabidly pursuing bodily perfection.

[Val Wilde · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to the promise of a book that met non-athletes where they were and helped them figure out how to incorporate movement into their lives, but I wasn't really able to find much relatable here. I don't care about running a marathon or becoming an athlete; the book felt like it was encouraging a "fitness lifestyle" that's just not in line with my interest.

To be clear: I don't think it's a bad book. It's just very strongly NOT for me. Where's the book for someone who says "I'd like to incorporate a little bit of movement into my life as I age but I have literally no foundation for that except high executive dysfunction, a lifetime of being told my body is bad, and a bunch of formative trauma from middle school gym class"?

Small content note: in what I read, Green is usually good about making sure she talks about weight, health, and diet/exercise habits as separate things, but can sometimes come across as moralizing anyway. She's very willing to say "I had a bad lifestyle because xyz" and then contrast that to her "good lifestyle" as an athlete, which can be discouraging if you're not looking to transform from a person who eats Cheetos into a person who eats quinoa, just to a person who eats Cheetos and sometimes goes swimming.

[JA Grier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a useful book for beginners who are looking for perspective on Heath At Every Size, and where to start with running (and other fitness). But I did not really find what I was looking for here - nothing seemed to be developed quite enough. The memoir aspects were present, but not complete. The exercise aspects were skewed too much towards running, and came over as abelist in places; nothing really here for disabled fat women. However, I really enjoyed the aspects of the book that reinforced paying-it-forward, building community, and uplifting others. It has some useful resources specifically in the area of diet/nutrition research and why diets do not work. My last comment is a pet peeve - I do not like the trivializing word 'girl' in reference to women. Huge turn off that nearly made me give this book a miss entirely. Overall I'm glad I read it, but it isn't a work I'll be using much to help craft my own fitness journey.

[Michele Crandell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a solid work of empowerment, complete with testimonies from others the author has encountered that have struggled with acceptance and some helpful tips and ways to get started for yourself.

The problem I had with this book is I think it sets fairly unrealistic goals for readers. Committing to your exercise, every day, rain or shine, and building your entire social network around that neglects some of the other social aspects of human life. I found it hard to figure out where in the author's life she had time for her job, making meals, seeing loved ones, or any hobby other than athletics. I also found that the book came without many concrete ways to get into fitness in ways that weren't just jumping in with both feet to a highly committed sport. I understand that the author is a runner, and so her perspective and that of those closest to her are going to be about running, but I feel like there wasn't much space given to open the conversation to other sports.

[Ashley Nickels · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Very well written, and on par with a lot of the ACE personal training certification systems I learned about: the five stages of change and SMART goal setting. Book includes goals setting, gear to wear, healthy recipes and so much more. As a woman who has always been an athletic, sans the smaller athlete physique, I found this book encouraging for someone just starting out in fitness, to someone who has been at it for decades. I always have and always will compete in Athena divisions (165lbs or more) in races, and found this book to have many resources for self acceptance, and focusing on health as a lifestyle, rather than a diet. Louise suggests various other women in the fitness industry to connect with in her book, and it is really evident that body inclusivity in the fitness industry is a movement she is passionate about.

[Elizabeth Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about time for this book, to put it out there that fat/large, etc. people are athletes. Athleticism is defined as "proficiency in a sport," not thin and ripped. Thank you! If you are determined and make your physical activity/sport a priority, you will succeed. Lots of commonsense tips and then some. The author touches on other sports, including dance, from various fitness professionals. As the book is geared toward running and training for marathons, it's not my thing as I'm geared more towards dance. Now that's a book I'd like to see too, how to train as a dancer in a plus sized body.

[Tamara Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring read for plus size athletes which promotes fitness at any size. I like the author's candor when discussing the special news faced by plus size female athletes such as the importance of having a good supportive sports bra and tips for preventing irritation from having skin rub against fabric. I also enjoyed the quotes from various women regarding their fitness. Overall, the message in this book is a positive one of you can becoming fit regardless of your size and not to be ashamed of you body or your journey to begin healthy.

[Pallavi Deshpande · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book; it is unique and brings in a new outlook of looking at our body. The author is asking us to move away from the cliche and stereo typical definition of 'fitness'.
The message that I draw from this book to exercise and eat healthy for 'longevity' , it doesn't matter as much as to how you 'look'.
Given that the book is an all in one guide to fitness it is appropriate to have those details. But I did skip pages where the author is talking about the gym clothes, water bottle etc..

[Jeannette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this book as much as I liked the last fitness book I read (fit at midlife) but it still had lots of good information and inspiration. I liked how she often mentions showing up as a plus size athlete as not just providing inspo for others but to show that the range of fit people does include being plus size. Irked me when she said that you can just ask your boss for fitness time and they should be happy to give that time to you (uh, I think someone's privilege is showing). 3.5 stars.

[W.L. Bolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great resource for getting fit. It focuses on building athleticism and confidence over losing weight on the scale. It has practical advice on everything from finding a bra to finding a running group. It has questions to ask, plus sized clothing recs, and stories from real, plus-sized athletes. I would definitely recommend this to other women who are overwhelmed by the idea of getting started in an exercise routine or need help to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle.

[Rachel]

I agree with so much of what Green says and yet I did not feel connected to her at all. The flow was at times questionable, and I found myself mentally editing (ex: wishing that section C had actually followed section A, not B). Use of sources was really uneven and made me wonder why some stats/info was cited and some not. I think this could have benefited from some stronger editing.

[Rachel Blom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspirational read for a plus size woman like me, but not much extra in comparison to other, similar books I had already read. I loved her advice on finding a personal trainer. Still, four stars because it's such a powerful message for women to hear.

[Caron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although primarily aimed at getting big girls started on their journey towards becoming big fit girls, I found quite a lot of useful information in the book as someone who has already started on my journey 😊👍

[Melissa N · Rating 4 out of 5]

An athlete at an easy size is a mantra I need to take more seriously. It helps that Louise Green is a Vancouverite but this book is for anyone who finds fear takes over when it comes to sport and exercise.

[Elizabeth Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get it. Read it. The author delves into many areas that will make fitness doable for anyone. The diet culture is truly failing and women are constantly made to feel unworthy if they are “plus size”. Louise is a beautiful example of smart, strong and fit!

[Anna Whittaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this...it has helped me on my journey to realising that anyone, at any size, can be an athlete, and that I can call myself one even though I'm just starting out. Really encouraging, lots of practical tips, and very relatable.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it ! Finally a book & people that can recognise bigger people can be fit !!!!
Very inspiring & helps you feel proud of what you are achieving even though you do NOT fit ' the norm ' Brilliant !!