Some big girls are also physically fit girls
Athlete’s new book hopes to empower plus-size women when it comes to fitness
One thing is certain: plus-size athlete Louise Green is a force to be reckoned with. She’s run half-marathons, founded her own plus-size fitness company and helped countless plus-size women to improve their well-being through personal fitness. Her most recent accomplishment, however, is her new book, Big Fit Girl — an inspiring account of how plus-size women can become fit, chock-full of stories from real “Big Fit Girls” who’ve taken control of their health and their lives.
Q Tell us about your book — what’s Big Fit Girl all about?
A Big Fit Girl is a fitness book dedicated to plus-size women who are tired of the standard idealistic fitness messaging — slim down, trim down and get ripped — as the only narrative to achieving health or fitness success.
The book is an accumulation of the experiences I gained over 15 years after I decided to abandon diet culture and live my athletic dreams in the body I had. This journey led me to ... start a fulltime career focused on fitness for plus-size women.
After training thousands of plus-size women, I’ve packed all my knowledge and experiences into Big Fit Girl. The book explores the challenges many women of size face when approaching fitness and offers practical advice for how to overcome them alongside empowering stories from other plus-size athletes.
Q Why did you decide to write Big Fit Girl?
A I was inspired to write Big Fit Girl because of my own experiences trying to navigate the fitness industry as a plus-size woman. After working with so many similar women, I realized that there was an enormous lack of relatable information available for this demographic. Women of size were craving fitness advice that simply didn’t exist. What types of activities are good for plus-size women? How to set realistic, safe-fail goals? Where to get nutrition tips instead of diet talk? Each topic in my book speaks to one of the unique struggles that plus-size women face.
Q What, from your experience as a plus-size athlete and trainer, is the biggest misconception about body size and fitness?
A I think the biggest misconception in our society is the general bias around larger bodies; that they are deemed unhealthy, lazy or unfit, and that they are judged by face value and outside appearance rather than ability. This misconception, fabricated by media messaging, drives millions of people into diet cycles that just don’t work. What Big Fit Girl champions is that you can break that cycle and turn your failures into successes. Let go of the old paradigm of failing diets and live your healthiest life now, in the body you have.
Q How can plus-size women overcome the stereotypes they face and become more active?
A For many plus-size women the barriers remain quite high but my hope is that with more information available, like in Big Fit Girl, we will usher a change in our athletic landscape. I think women need to realize that until our media makers start to be more inclusive of size diversity, the visibility we crave has to come from us. The more we can see, the more we can be. Getting involved, being seen, participating even when it’s difficult and scary is how we create change in our society.
Q What do you hope to achieve with your book — what do you hope readers take away from it?
A I hope to create the visibility that is so incredibly lacking for this demographic. I want to put plus-size fitness and athleticism on the map and mark a space on the fitness bookshelf so that women of size can feel included, gain inspiration and realize their fitness potential. There really isn’t another book quite like this one; I’m hoping it will act as a call to action that further fuels the movement of fearless fitness at every size.