Ruth Field - Run Fat Bitch Run

T his book is not for the committed fitness freak. Nor is it meant for the super-motivated. I am not here to help you to acheive a perfect beach body or sculpt your deltoids. If you already have the body you want, and that includes those of you who are fat and blissfully happy just as much as the super-slim and toned among you, congratulations. You dont need to read any further.

This book is specifically designed for those of you who are unhappy with your body. Those of you who feel stuck and unable to commit to anything by way of exercise or diet for long enough to see any results. It is designed to shake you out of your torpor, get you up off the sofa and embracing a new way of being.

The good news is that nothing in this book is rocket science. In fact, a great deal of it is common sense. So why do I need to read it, then? I hear you ask. Well, knowing something is common sense is all well and good, but when it is buried under layers of self-delusion, its not always that easy to act on. You know that eating healthily is common sense too, dont you? And yet that cream cake makes you dribble with desire and you happily by-pass the fruit bowl to get at it. So dont be fooled into thinking you know it all already. You dont.

When I say its not rocket science, what I mean is that if youre looking for the latest high-tech, Gwyneth Paltrow-approved weight-loss programme, youve come to the wrong place. This book follows a basic formula: run, eat less rubbish, lose weight. Simple. But dont confuse simple with easy. Straightforward, yes. Easy, no.

Running is simple in the sense that it is entirely natural and instinctive. Just watch the way that any child, freed from the protective grasp of a parents hand, joyfully runs about with complete and utter abandon. Nothing could be more natural. But while it is a simple activity, easy it isnt. Certainly not when youre doing it as a self-conscious adult as opposed to during a game of kiss-chase in the school playground. So in order to rediscover this natural gift that you were born with, you will need education, discipline and commitment. But dont panic, The Grit Doctor will be with you all the way and will help you dig deep and find all three.

Before we get under way, there are three concepts you must take on board. Immediately.

1. You need to be taught how to run. It is not quite as simple as merely going outside and giving it a whirl.

2. When it comes to food and weight-loss, the bottom line is this: your run will be your diet. Quite literally.

3. This final point is critical: in order to hear my message clearly, you will need to make friends with your inner bitch. My own inner bitch is The Grit Doctor and Im lending her to you for the duration of this book. I hope you will come to know and love her, and ultimately adopt her, adapt her and make her your own.

Now I know that this whole Grit Doctor thing is in danger of making me sound like some kind of nutter, but really I am just naming that voice we all have inside our heads. Yours may be lying dormant, or suffocating under your excess weight, but it is there. That nagging little voice which makes you feel just a tad uncomfortable about helping yourself to another biscuit or ignoring the wet laundry in order to watch one more episode of Glee. You know, the one you usually ignore. Well, not any more. One of the things I am going to try and help you do is to listen much more carefully to that voice amplify it in fact until it really gets in your face.

The Grit Doctor will be with you throughout this book. Shell be there, holding up a mirror when you slump back onto the sofa, sighing that this all sounds too much like hard work as you reach for the Dairy Milk. She will motivate, inspire, and yes, even bully you into making the necessary changes in your life. Sometimes you will hate her. One day youll want to shout back and show her whos boss. And when that happens, youll know youve turned a corner and found your own inner bitch.