Big Black Women

In all honesty, America is FAT, and it has been getting fatter since the '70s at a terrifying rate. EVEN ASIANS ARE FAT IN AMERICA!! This applies to ALL races in America; if you don't believe it, take a look at some photos of people in the early 70s or before -- yourself, your family, any random people at all--how do they look? a bit different than the general population today, eh?

We are fat because we eat junk. We make excuses that it's cheaper, easier, whatever, but it is what it is. My great grandmother had 14 children. FOURTEEN CHILDREN. She lived on a farm and they grew all their own food. She did not have a car, she did not have a dishwasher, she did not have INDOOR PLUMBING. She was poor. She was thin.

Poor people used to be thin. Now poor people are fat? No. Americans are fat because we have become lazy and forgotten what real food is and how to prepare it.

Tell you what, a few years ago I visited Armenia 3 times. I am 5'4 and weighed about 130 lbs (right what I weigh now) at the time. I was a fitness instructor then, as I am now. Guess what? I was F-A-T in Armenia. My luggage was lost and after 5 days I went to shop for a new skirt. I could not fit in size large there. That's right, Miss Size 4 (American fake-vanity size 4, of course) could not fit into an Armenian size large.

They do not have McDonald's, they do not use microwaves, they do not have partially hydrogenated oils or even prepared foods in their grocery stores! You want a jar of spaghetti sauce? forget it! Buy some tomatoes, onions and herbs and make it yourself. Interesting, in the capital city, Yerevan, there are very few middle class people--you see rich people in Hummers, and you see old ladies walking with donkeys, but NO ONE IS FAT.

There is no solution in "accepting" that you will always be fat, or that your certain race is meant to be fat, or skinny or whatever.

You control what you eat. You decide what to buy. A meal at McDonald's for my family of 6 is NOT cheap. It would cost over $45 and have essentially no nutritional value. However, tonight I will grill a 2-lb. organic marinated tri tip from Whole Foods for about $23, a 1/4 lb. of cabbage slaw from their salad bar ($1.75) and a bag of organic tortillas for about $4. I will make guacamole from 2 avocados ($1.50) a some chopped onion and tomato and a squeeze of lemon. Also I think I will grill some asparagus (2.99 for a pound), and serve some fresh strawberries and raspberries ($5 from farmers market).

So tonight for LESS THAN $40, my family of 6 will enjoy tri-tip soft tacos with homemade guacamole, asparagus, and fresh berries for dinner. And we will have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

blessings.

Are you really trying to say that socioeconomic status has nothing to do with healthy food availability and then trying to say Whole Foods is affordable?

Are you really trying to say that socioeconomic status has nothing to do with healthy food availability and then trying to say Whole Foods is affordable?

yes. I am. In fact, if you looked at socio-economic status in rural America where people do not have access to fast foods you might see something different. Access vs. educated food choices and cooking healthy food for yourself instead of buying junk. hmmmmmmm.

Budget carefully and choose what you will spend where. I certainly do not buy TP and dish soap there but guess what, their organic grass-fed marinated tri-tip is only $1 more per pound than Albertson's mystery meat. So, for $2 extra dollars split by 6 people, I'd say it's affordable. Plus I can walk there and I have to drive to the supermarket and spend money on gas. There you go.

I have a question... Which is harder; finding healthy food choices or finding clothes that fit and look nice on you?

Well, after reading all the different views from a large variety of backgrounds I just have this to say: People it is what it is! You are what you eat, but you can also be what want to be. To quote another MFP member whose name currently slips my mind, "Discipline is the diffrence between what you want now and what you want in the long run."

I was raised in a sourthen home environment where there was biscuits and gravey, lots of foods fried in lard. And sweet tea made with lots of sugar! I decided I was tired of being overweight and feeling like crap! I grew up in the inner city of Toledo, Ohio I went to school with Blacks, Hispanics and whites. It is the individual that choose what they are going to eat. No one forces us to eat unhealthy foods. If we have children it is the PARENT's responsiblity to see that they eat healthy not the schools or society to govern. America is over weight and it is not a Black, Hispanic or any other ethnic back ground issue. It's an American issue! Start manning up and being repsonsible for your own decisions and that of your children. Besides I though this was a site to encourage strength for all people to diet and get the support they need. I see over weigth White people just as much as I see over weight Black and Hispanic people (and if that's not the point, don't bring race into it!).

As for the stores the grocery owner is going to put on the shelves what his customers want to buy! I have asked my store to carry items when I want them and can't find them. Good luck to all who are taking their issue of weight into their own hands and accept it is their responsibility not that of the world to solve. Don't set yourself up for failure by making excuses that put the blame on others.

Down 85 lbs.

Being an african american woman myself... I have thought about these issues. I live in a predominantly white suburb in Minneapolis and have noticed the stores around me do offer healthier options opposed to the corner stores one might come by if they were to go into an area that is predominantly black Americans... I don't know why it is this way... or if even society pushes us to be okay with being bigger.. but I myself don't feel comfortable being called thick. Though I love my curves.... being healthy overall is my main objective no matter what image society betrays a black woman as. We have a high risk for so many diseases associated with being overweight, and that should be our strive and determination for getting healthy, so we live long.