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  #1   ^
Old Mon, Jun-09-03, 06:09
gotbeer's Avatar
gotbeer gotbeer is offline
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 280/203/200 Male 69 inches
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Location: Dallas, TX, USA
Default "'Size-friendly' resort woos heavier tourists"

'Size-friendly' resort woos heavier tourists

Sunday, June 8, 2003 Posted: 7:20 PM EDT (2320 GMT)


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TANKAH, Mexico (AP) -- In a world enthralled by thin, perhaps no place is more slanted toward the slender or more daunting for the double-chinned than the beach.

No more. The beach is being made safe for the amply built with the opening of what claims to be the world's first "size-friendly, all inclusive beach resort." At the Freedom Paradise resort south of Cancun, the motto is: "Live Large, Live Free!"

The resort, which formally opens June 15, targets people afraid to go out on the sand with a few extra pounds, or a few extra dozens of pounds. No more enduring cruel jokes on the beach, or wisecracks from the staff.

"We have hired personnel of all sizes, and have specially trained our slim staff, because there's a lot of discrimination in everyday life," said Jurriaan Klink, commercial director of the resort, about 85 miles south of Cancun. "There are a lot of people who put off vacations, saying 'I'll buy that bikini when I lose 15 pounds.' We say, why wait to lose weight, when you can enjoy life now?"

That sounds good to Angel Alonzo, a rotund 28-year-old from Cancun frolicking in one of the hotel's four pools, which boast wide steps instead of flimsy aluminum pool ladders.

"It's marvelous because it's not just for one size. Everybody fits here," said Alonzo, one of the few pre-opening guests.

Alonzo's biggest gripe about regular hotels are the flimsy beach chairs: "I don't know why they make them out of such cheap plastic. They just collapse under you."

Freedom Paradise has big, wide benches made of tree trunks, four-foot-wide chaise lounges, and 26-inch wide dining room chairs. All the furniture is reinforced and made of wood.

No more getting stuck in a chair with armrests, because there are no armrests. No more getting stared at on crowded beaches, because the hotel's Tankah beach is 250 yards long and relatively secluded.

Cindy Sabo, spokeswoman for the Sacramento, California-based National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, NAAFA, said the beach can be both a place of anxiety and freedom.

"One of the most empowering things I ever did was when I turned 40, I bought a two-piece bathing suit and went out in it. My husband thinks I look cute, and I feel good," said Sabo, who places herself in the "oversize" category at around 400 pounds.

She recalled a less pleasant experience on a recent vacation in Hawaii.

"We had some terrible experiences with some other tourists," she recalled. "Especially some people from Asian countries would walk right up to you on the beach, poke you in the belly and make some rude joke."

Slim allies

At Freedom Paradise, the staff pledges that nobody is going to look at you funny if you ask for second helpings. Klink says that many of the front-desk staffers are what Sabo would call "our slim allies."

The 112-room property has plenty of places to eat as part of its $150 per-night double-occupancy rate. The owners expanded from two restaurants to five, each with a different theme: international, Italian, Mexican, a steakhouse, a Hawaiian-style seafood room and a snack bar.

"Who better to understand the problems of heavy people than heavy people, to make guests feel at ease without being surrounded entirely by skinny people, or be all self-conscious," said resort sales representative Enrique Lopez.

Other vacation spots bill themselves as "size-friendly." For example, Juno's Stables, near Yuba City, California, advertises riding classes using draft horses, saying it is "dedicated to putting big beautiful women on horseback."

Lopez says other resorts for large people exist are oriented toward weight loss. "Here, we don't care. We accept all weights."

"The tendency toward overweight adults is increasing, they're now a majority in the United States," Klink said. "But this is something many businesses are refusing to accept. People are getting bigger, and products are getting smaller."

A large step ahead for big people
So if we're all getting bigger, why battle the bulge rather than enjoy it? "There's a lot of pressure about the health advantages of losing weight, but what about mental health?" Klink asked. "Isn't it just as important to be happy?"

Sabo said that Freedom Paradise "is talking the talk" of size-friendliness, but asked, "Can they walk the walk?"

"Speaking of walking, that's not as easy for some of us as it is for other people," she said. "Is the place all spread out?"

Check, says Klink: The hotel's "big" rooms are on the ground floor, with ample walkways. Railings and access rails on pools and in showers? Check. Extra large, reinforced beds and doublewide doors? Check.

Whatever the wrinkles that remain to be worked out, there's no doubt it's a large step ahead for big people.

"At our conferences, we have pool parties," Sabo said. "A lot of people come out who haven't put on a swimsuit in years, and it's so great to just be out there, and be comfortable and be ourselves."
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  #2   ^
Old Mon, Jun-09-03, 12:35
DebPenny's Avatar
DebPenny DebPenny is offline
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Default If I ever wanted to go to Mexico

I'd go to that resort. Even if I were thin.

;-Deb
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  #3   ^
Old Mon, Jun-09-03, 15:16
Qball Qball is offline
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Plan: T-dawg
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Default

When I read something like this I really do have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I understand fully about being the object of "fat jokes". I was fat as a child and anyone else here who was a fat kid knows exactly what I mean. But, obesity is more than just appearance. It's unhealthy and people shouldn't be made to feel comfortable with it. And to be perfectly honest it was one of those rude individuals (In The Philippines) who motivated me to get back into some form of shape. I'm better now as a result. This is a tough one for me.
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  #4   ^
Old Mon, Jun-09-03, 15:40
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Angeline Angeline is offline
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Plan: Atkins (loosely)
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Default

I'm with you on that one Qball. On one hand, I'm glad these people can take a nice vacation, where they will feel comfortable and where they will not be judged and poked fun of.

On the other hand, having to go to a resort with wide benches made of tree trunks, double-sided doors, reinforced beds and draft horses in lieu of riding horse.....well....that should send an alarm signal.
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  #5   ^
Old Mon, Jun-09-03, 18:10
gotbeer's Avatar
gotbeer gotbeer is offline
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 280/203/200 Male 69 inches
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Default

I'd like to see an Atkin's resort - all of the best low-carb food prepared by expert chefs, moderate exercise, etc. I've certainly found Atkin's dieters to be more convivial, respectful, and interesting than those poor, long-suffering low-fat zombies.
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  #6   ^
Old Mon, Jun-09-03, 18:18
DebPenny's Avatar
DebPenny DebPenny is offline
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Plan: TSP/PPLP/low-cal/My own
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Default

But I'd rather go somewhere I know I'm not being judged whether I'm thin or not or fat or not. Also, I like the pools with stairs and no ladders. Those ladders have always hurt my feet, even when I was a slim, AAU synchronized swimmer.

In my opinion, anywhere that promotes acceptance of people as they are is a good place to be. And just because it may be unhealthy to be fat, doesn't mean you should belittle a person for being that way. We all know how hard it is to control our weight.

And we all need encouragement of all types. Many of us cannot make the changes we need to make to get our weight under control until we are comfortable with ourselves as we are. When you have people always telling you how fat you are, it's hard to be comfortable with yourself.

I don't see this resort as any kind of encouragement for being fat. Instead I see it as somewhere that allows you to be yourself without making value judgements at you based on your size. As they said, most other places that cater to larger people are places to "help" you lose the weight. That I think is cruel and I would never go to one of those kinds of places.

And when it comes down to it, I've given up being embarrassed by my appearance. If people don't like the way I look, they can keep their mouths shut and their distance. And if they do say something rude or unkind to me, they might get likewise back.

;-Deb
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  #7   ^
Old Mon, Jun-09-03, 19:13
Qball Qball is offline
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Plan: T-dawg
Stats: 240/200/195 Male 72 in
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Progress: 89%
Location: Knoxville, TN
Default

DebPenny,
I agree that people should not be ridiculed because of their weight. And going to a resort that suits ones taste is certainly ones business. I'm not tying to be offensive or disparaging. My comments are simply a reflection of my own experience. If everyone in the world were as polite as they should be I would be about 50lbs heavier right now. It was the "rude" ones that prompted me to change my life. At the moment I wanted to choke the two individuals, but I would thank them now.
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  #8   ^
Old Tue, Jun-10-03, 11:15
DebPenny's Avatar
DebPenny DebPenny is offline
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Plan: TSP/PPLP/low-cal/My own
Stats: 250/209/150 Female 63.5 inches
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Progress: 41%
Location: Sacramento, CA
Default

Hi, QBall. I appreciated your comments and I didn't think you were being offensive or disparaging. But as one of "these people" as Angeline put it, I needed to voice my opinion too.

And if I'm going to "blame" anyone for pushing me to gain weight, it's the rude people and the well-meaning friends and family who made a big deal out of my weight gain, which is actually a symptom of insulin resistance, who made it worse. As the saying goes, "If I'd known then what I know now," I could have prevented over 25 years of overweight, PCOS, inactivity, and living in a fog by controlling my insulin resistance by controlling my carb intake.

When I first started to put on weight, as I entered puberty at 15 and started with PCOS, my swim coaches, who were very rude about it, forced me to try a number of different methods to control my weight gain. All of them were miserable failures and just made matters worse. The only good thing is that I got so angry I stopped dieting in my late teens, and except for 2 or 3 forays into the low-fat world in 25 years, I managed to keep my weight pretty steady. That's probably why I never went into full-blown diabetes. I have not done a lot of yo-yoing.

Also, I have to say, that I am one of those people who would rather be "destroyed by praise," at least as it's used in the context of your signature.

Unfortunately, when we think of criticism, we think of it in the negative, as in your signature, when the word is really a synonym of critique. You can have negative and positive criticism. Personally, I am always much more successful when I know I'm doing well. Constructive criticism, which includes acknowledgement of success (praise), is great and I appreciate and relish it, but all too often, negative criticism is given for the sake of telling someone strictly what they did wrong, neglecting the positives, and not to help a person improve their situation. Just my opinion...

;-Deb

Last edited by DebPenny : Tue, Jun-10-03 at 11:17.
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  #9   ^
Old Tue, Jun-10-03, 16:11
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Angeline Angeline is offline
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Plan: Atkins (loosely)
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Default

No offense intended, "these people" refered to the people who were quoted in the magazine.
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  #10   ^
Old Tue, Jun-10-03, 17:11
Qball Qball is offline
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Posts: 40
 
Plan: T-dawg
Stats: 240/200/195 Male 72 in
BF:
Progress: 89%
Location: Knoxville, TN
Default

DebPenny,
I appreciate what you're saying. The whole issue of weight is a difficult one.

Qball
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  #11   ^
Old Wed, Jun-11-03, 17:33
DebPenny's Avatar
DebPenny DebPenny is offline
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Posts: 1,514
 
Plan: TSP/PPLP/low-cal/My own
Stats: 250/209/150 Female 63.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 41%
Location: Sacramento, CA
Default Mo offense taken

I'm sorry if my responses sounded like I was taking offense to what either of you said. That wasn't the case. I simply felt I had to respond.

;-Deb
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  #12   ^
Old Wed, Jun-18-03, 06:57
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AlluraD AlluraD is offline
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Plan: Lchf
Stats: 340/246/170 Female 5'6"
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Progress: 55%
Location: Maine
Default

I think the whole issue of the resort is not a promotion of being overweight and "unhealthy".....and the two do not always go hand in hand, but an acceptance of the fact that people come in all shapes and sizes. I think the resort planners should be applauded for taking the initiative to cater to a huge segment of the population.
I know there were times when I weighed well over 300 lbs that I was mortifyed when going out to dinner and I could not fit in the booth at the restaurant nor buckel the seat belt on an airplane.....and instead of calling attention to myself by asking for an extension I simply did not buckle up.
There are rude, insensitive people everywhere and I was never motivated by their cruel comments.........and have never known anyone else who changed their lives for the better because of them, more likely when eating issues stem from emotional pain it's just made worse and more complex.
Thin people, or those whose weight is approaching a more "normal" level can be angry over the fact that a larger person might need two movie seats for example.........I don't understand that anger or where it comes from.

In any case I think the resort is a wonderful idea and I would go there in a heartbeat. There is to me no mixed message about whether it is promoting "overweight" as a positive thing.........just an acceptance of the fact that all people are different and all deserving of a comfortable and happy vacation..........that is what a vacation is right??/ No stress, no worries~
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