swimming – Everything Is Better With Dragons

Fat swimmer article

Hey all, I’m feeling rough and haven’t been able to go swimming for a week or so. It’s miserable! However, I have been thinking about writing an article or two for Swim magazine about being a fat swimmer or a disabled swimmer. I might just write an article and post it here.

I am a wuss, we all know this. I don’t want to ask people at the pool about their experiences, because they might get upset with me for calling them fat. I’m fine with calling myself fat, because I’ve come to see it as merely a neutral descriptor, like tall, autistic, artistic, reader. However, it’s taken me a hell of a long time to get to this point and I don’t want to assume other people have processed the bullying they went through, or the negative connotations society puts on the word ‘fat’.

Anyway, if you’re fat, a swimmer and in the UK, I’d like to hear about your experiences. Please fill in the form below to share your experiences:

https://forms.gle/uUwcH9regWUyicCA8

Magazine Review: SWIM Issues 1 to 4

I picked up issue 4 of SWIM from the newsagent last Monday whole I was browsing for a history magazine. It’s one of the things I enjoy about going into real newsagent; you never know what you’re going to find. SWIM bills itself as a lifestyle magazine for swimmers. Anyway, I enjoyed issue 4 so I ordered back issues 1 to 3.

Quality of production: high quality printing, heavy paper, full colour printing.

Quality of content: interviews with interesting people and really helpful advice on different techniques.

I found the technical information really helpful, as I’ve never had coaching and couldn’t afford it anyway (£39.99/month for adult lessons at Grimsby Leisure Centre).

The interviews gave some insight into professional swimming and the personalities involved.

I also enjoyed the articles on wild and open swimming, and the return of the lido. I found out there’s a new one being built in Hull, which I’m considering trying out once it opens. It’ll only take me a couple of hours to get there on the train and bus, and I think a swim session is £4.90. I now have a mental list of swimming pools and spots I want to visit at some point.

General opinion: Interesting content that’s highly readable and well illustrated. There was some repetition in issues 2 and 3. I found that a bit irritating. Hopefully, it’s just because it’s a new magazine and they’ll get better with time.

I’m going to keep buying it for now.

I tried a weight management programme for 18 months and all I got was worse mental health

This is a long one, get comfy. I don’t talk about personal stuff much now, since my blog has evolved into a book blog from a general/mental health blog.

For the first time in 18 months, I weighed myself today. Last time I got weighed was at the start of 2020 when I was weighed at the start of a ‘get active’ programme with the local leisure centres, where I started swimming two to three times a week, and then a ‘weight management programme’ a few weeks later.

I will be talking about weight and BMI, so if that’s not a happy thing for you to think about, probably best not to read on.

I haven’t lost or gained any weight, but apparently I’m 6 centimetres shorter than I was in February last year…