Money Has Nothing To Do With It

While on Facebook, I decided to take a look at one of the women I'd like to be my mentors photos, Marshawn Evans, 'Reinvention Strategist, Entrepreneur, and Entertainment Attorney, founder of ME Unlimited, and author of 'SKIRTS in the Boardroom: A Woman's Survival Guide to Success in Business & Life.' And while perusing I noticed a recurring theme; all of the sistas were thick and the white girls were thin.

This immediately reminded me of a conversation I had with my bff.  He's a Global Marketing Strategist for Home Depot and in one of our conversations he made the statement that the majority of the sisters where he worked were fat.  Mine you, when he's talking to me, he's not diplomatic at all so when he said fat, he meant it as F A T!  

I wanted to be offended but I knew better because I'm 60 pounds overweight but I'm on food stamps so I shrugged my shoulders and subliminally charged it to the game.  But as he repeated the statement I knew he was directing it towards me on the slip, so I had to just take it and be truthful. 

Though humorous, he said that the women would wear tight fitting clothes and walk with an air of confidence like 'Yeah, I know I'm overweight but so what! I'm still fine and you still lookin!'  I knew the attitude so well because we do. 

But as I looked through this accomplished woman's pictures I thought 'Wow! She is so small.'  As I continued to look, when compared to her white counterparts, she - the sista- was even smaller! WTW!  So when I saw the picture of her with the sisters, they were all thick!  They didn't look slouchy or anything, but it was a major difference.

My excuse WAS if I had bread like them, I'd be in the gym er'day; but would I?  

These women were brilliant in their own right, major players on a national stage, tossed it up with CEO's all the time and still they struggled with their weight.  So for today, I have come to the realization that money has nothing to do with me being overweight; those accomplished women took that one away from me.  Now what? :)

I Like Me!

Yesterday I realized something.  There are so many women who are a lot bigger than I am who desire to be my size.  Sounds simple enough right? But that statement alone is life-changing!  Why?

Because it gives me the opportunity to be satisfied with the size I am and not cringe when I pass a mirror.  It gives me the freedom to value the size and shape that I am without a constant reminder - verbal or otherwise - of what I need to do.

After I thought that many women would like to be built like me, I decided to be thankful for the shape I'm in.  Be grateful for my thick thighs and my badonka-butt. 

Yeah, yesterday was a good day for me because I realized that though I may be overweight, I'm still fine...just the way that I am.

Won't you join me?

The Makings of Being Healthy in the Hood

This blog started as a result of living below the national poverty level for years and struggling with weight throughout that period.  It's easy for people who have access to healthy foods and gyms to make recommendations on how you should lose weight. But what happens when your monthly income is $160 in child support, $188 in food stamps, along with receiving $1500 in student loan grants that has to last you to the next disbursement which is usually 4 to 5 months away? 

I lived that way for two years and throughout that time I made the decision that I'd write about how to get healthy in the hood.  No, I'm not out the hood but I'm not where I use to be when this journey began.  I was living in a rat, roach, termite, and wasp infected rent house in South Dallas.  Hood folk know if it was like that on the inside, the outside was just as infested.

I had to figure out a way to be healthy off of Family Dollar, Save-a-lot, and Minyard brand products on what I was receiving monthly.  You do the math.  Food is higher in the hood than anywhere else.  Now factor in the experts want a ninja to eat fruit, vegetables, protein shakes and what not plus I'm on the bus?  How is this supposed to work?