Black People : Digging Our Graves with Our Forks

ebonyoa

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Jul 2, 2003
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Digging our Graves with our Forks

Epidemic of Obesity
The disease of obesity is epidemic in the U.S. and even more so in the black population. The Center for Disease and Control and Prevention 2002 trends indicates black women at 42% rate of obesity more than twice that of white women. This startling fact was brought home to me by the death of a highly venerated and idolized Black woman whom I only knew through my sister’s narrative.

Her untimely death in February of 2003 so disturbed my sister and an entire community that I had to know why she was so vital. When I inquired about this woman and what she meant to so many I was told she had overcome several obstacles including substance abuse and had passed her spirit of survival onto others in a most dramatic way. But there lingered one last vice that my friend survival prowess could not conquer, the insidious, chronic disease of obesity.

It was indicated in one of her last journal entries that the burden to get her weight under control at over 300 pounds drove her to extreme means. She envisioned herself in a normal body after stomach surgery. But she never realized her dream because my sister’s friend died shortly after the procedure from complications from surgery.

How many countless others have followed this path, struggled with overeating in a hopeless fog of despondency, in the misguided belief that there is no alternative but to give in to the urges or risk life and limb through dangerous surgical treatment, or temporary fasts.

Compulsive Overeating is Treatable
Compulsive overeating which lead to chronic obesity is treatable much like alcoholism is a treatable disease. It is a learned destructive behavior that can be modified through the application of spiritual principals base in a belief of a higher power.

I believe that we as Blacks have, as so many say, internalized racism, we really believe we deserve the worst in life just as society tells us, that we are not worthy of success and accomplishment.

The tendency for us to sooth our immediate discomforts with excess food is not unlike any other addiction, we alter our current mood with some substance but are unprepared to pay the consequences when the food doesn’t completely satisfy and we are left with excess weight.

We live in the belief that we cannot have happy satisfied lives free of food addiction because our vision is clouded by low-self image. We live in a misapprehension of life that in order to be happy we need excess food in an unbalance manner, which harms our bodies and ultimately kills us. This is an illusion, a lie; we deserve healthy bodies, which leads to long healthy happy lives.

Applying Spiritual Principles
Breaking free of the illusion that life is not happy without overeating and consequently being obese comes about through belief in a Higher Power, a belief in a design in life by someone or something smarter than we are. We tap into that higher power by coming into reality, breaking free from the deception of the elusive fantasy of “having our cake and eating it to.” We trust that sane eating will lead to long-term happiness and longevity.

Too often we liken sound normal eating to “baring with unbearable sorrow”, an “Impossible Dream” but genuine joy comes from eating sanely and having a normal body size. Genuine joy is long lasting and doesn’t expire at end of the last bite. Genuine joy is achieved, accomplished and sustained when we believe we are worthy of long healthy lives through non-destructive habits.

When we embraced this vision, we increase our self-love and no longer are digging our graves with our forks.

Ebony OA Home Page
 
Ebony OA...Hi there! Welcome to our Forums! :wave:

You have certainly touched on an important topic in the African American community. My mother used to say that all the time, "people digging their graves with a fork."

Even before the startling information out there today about obesity and it's negative effects in the Black community, I can remember reading an article in "Essence" magazine many years ago titled, "Fat Is A Black Woman's Issue." It was a story about a young Black female that struggled with her weight all of her life. It was truly a sad commentary.

This is a great topic I think, for a "Sister Chat". Maybe you can join us one evening to lead us in discussion of this extremely important issue!

Thank you Sister and again, welcome! :)

Peace :heart:
 
Hello Ebonyoa ... Welcome and Thank you for sharing this information with us. I too think it would be a great topic for a chat, but not one that should be confined to our Sisters Only chat. Our Brothers overeat too and can benefit from hearing your presentation, asking questions, etc. Are you interested in doing this Ebonyoa? Do you have time? Have you ever visited our voice chat? You can get there by clicking on this link ~~~~~> www.destee.com/chat. Please let me know if you are interested. You can reply here or email me, Destee@destee.com to establish when would be a good time.

Again, thanks for joining us, thanks for sharing and please make yourself at home!

:heart:

Destee
 

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