COVID and Musings on “T-Shirt Swim Club”

Just a short newsletter this week since I’ve been dealing with COVID and have needed lots of naps. I have nothing against naps, but it does cut into the time I’d have to do other things, and for a while, I didn’t have a lot of energy. I’m feeling better now, at least, and will hopefully be back to normal soon.

T-Shirt Swim Club

But while I’ve been sick, I’ve been reading the book T-Shirt Swim Club: Stories from Being Fat in a World of Thin People by Ian Karmel and Alisa Karmel, PsyD (brother and sister). As the title suggests, this is partly a memoir by Ian Karmel about his experience growing up fat and being fat as an adult until he started having some health issues and lost weight. A lot of weight, about 200 pounds.

The end of the book also has some commentary by his sister, Alisa Karmel, who works with people on weight-centric concerns.

As you might guess, I can relate to a lot of things in the book, given that I also grew up weighing a lot and carrying that into young adulthood. I don’t think I wore a T-shirt while swimming, though. Instead, I generally avoided swimming altogether because I was ashamed of my body and size.

One of the things that struck me about Ian’s journey, though, was that as a very large adolescent boy, he found a place on the football team. He commented that he found it strange that his size wasn’t considered good except for the fact that it gave him the ability to hurt other people. At least that’s something I didn’t have to experience.

Shaming doesn’t help you lose weight

Another interesting thing about Ian is that he’s a comedian. He was a co-head writer for The Late Late Show with James Corden, and the book discussed something I remember all too well: Bill Maher’s suggestion that we bring back fat shaming as a way to curb rising levels of obesity.

That was back in 2019, and part of the reason I remember it so well is because I wrote my own response to it. What I didn’t know is that Ian wrote most of the response from James Corden, which I don’t remember if I saw back then or not. But I appreciated seeing it now, and I agree with it. It’s worth taking a few minutes to watch.

What also struck me is that Ian struggled with the body positivity movement. He wondered why his parents had never tried to make him lose weight, and if body positivity was to blame for him getting to over 400 pounds.

So I really appreciated Alisa’s response to that. As she wrote (emphasis added by me): “People don’t change when they are told to change. Changes can only occur when someone is really ready to change…. Mom did her best to support us in dieting when she would join us in weight-loss competitions, but do you remember how long those lasted and how effective they were? Our family supported you, and me, because we received enough hate from society.” (p. 174)

That last line especially says it all for me. I wish I’d had someone like Alisa to talk to when I was a young, fat teenager, but I hope she can help others now.

A recommended read

In case you haven’t guessed by now, I recommend T-Shirt Swim Club for anyone who’s struggled with weight or knows others who have – which, I think, is all of us. And while much of Alisa’s suggestions in the end pertain to parents or educators, I think you’ll find them useful for yourself when thinking about weight issues.

(And I guess this didn’t turn out to be so short after all.)