"I CAN'T WORK OUT, I JUST GOT MY HAIR DONE!"
Ok ladies, the time has come for us to have the “beauty and health” discussion. Now no one is more into hair than me. I mean I just love hair, whether it’s the hair I was born with or someone else’s hair that I’m borrowing (tee hee!), I just love it! But more importantly I love it to look good. Now unfortunately it’ s a fact that many of us let our hair deter us from being healthy. This needs to stop! I do all kinds of things to my hair but I make sure that whatever is going on with my coif, it will not be something so elaborate that I say things like “oh no girl, I am not sweatin my hair out!” I just refuse to let hair get in the way of me being healthy and feeling good. That’s what we have to remember, that feeling good is more than keeping your every 2 week appointment with your hair stylist, feeling good is an inside out kind of thing. If you neglect your inside then you are missing the whole point of what feeling good about yourself is really about. I’ll be honest, it really disturbs me when I see severely obese black women in the nail salon getting ‘acrylics’ and other such nail adornments. I mean huh? What is having talons doing to improve your health? The fact that you are getting beautified is nice I suppose but it’s really skipping over the bigger issue. Should overweight or obese people not get their groom on? No, I’m not saying that at all but what I am saying is let’s groom everything. Groom your insides too by taking a brisk walk and throwing some fruits and veggies in your diet. Sacrificing health for beauty is just plain ole silly. What good is perfect hair and manicured nails when you have diabetes, hypertension or any of the other myriad of diseases that afflict us.
From now on reverse your thinking. Make your beauty regimen fit your healthy lifestyle instead of the other way around. After all, when you are your best you, that’s when your real beauty shines through.
12 comments:
Hi! This posting is so true, and is precisely why I decided to get braids )until further notice)! Thanks for doing this blog. I am 30 and have been trying to lose the last 15-20 pounds for about 2 years! I finally got fed up today, and decided I just need to implement more discipline. Reading your various posts made me feel confident that I can accomplish my goal. I look forward to the updates and new posts!
Great post! So so so true. I'm glad my hair is natural so it doesn't matter.
Thank you so much for this point of view! If (Black) women were nearly as concerned about their physical well-being as they are about their outer appearance (hair, nails, shoes, purses, pedicures, name-brand clothes), we as Black women wouldn't be "nearly doomed" to being the ethnic group with the highest percentage of obese women.
Even if you just cut calories a little, you'll see a difference. I've worked hard over the past three years to lose about 55 pounds (maybe more), so if I can do it, ANYONE CAN. Instead, all I hear is: "You not sick are you?" or, "How are you going to keep it off?", or just plain "hater-ism."
I agree! I have locs, which makes it a tad easier to workout and not worry about messing up my 'do (because there's nothing to sweat out) however, I sometimes worry about my locs unraveling if I've just twisted them. But on the flipside, I like feeling good inside and out so I just throw on a headscarf and call it a day! That method actually does work.
Congrats on the weight loss Randi, that's great! Did you do anything other than cutting calories?
Thank you! I do work out: 45 mins of cardio (elliptical and treadmill), then some strength training. I go walking for about 30 minutes on Saturdays. I'm actually doing my first walk a thon (for breast cancer) this weekend! :-)
I also started drinking lots more water, and I actually eat less meat.
Sorry to keep invading your blog space :-), but another thing that helped me out was finding out that I was severely anemic and having to take iron pills. I have a lot more energy to do longer and more powerful workouts. However, consult with a doctor first to determine if you are anemic or not.
Randi,
Please feel free to share any information you want here. We can learn alot frome each other.
Thanks!
Excellent post! I am a fitness fanatic (and personal trainer) and I would NEVA EVA let hair deter me from getting my work out on! Like glennishamorgan, my hair is also natural so I ain't scurred of a lil' bit of water, rain, or sweat! I just throw on my silk scarf and proceed to working it on out!
Oh and Ladies, if you really want to transform yourself, hit those weights! Your body will love you for it!
congrats randi! i'm glad you make it!
I Totally Agree. Hair does not hold me back nemore. Mostly because I am growing my hair out through weaves, and it helps because it is very low maintenance.
I am little disturbed by your comment that obese black woman should not get their hair or nails done. I think it is totally okay for all woman to get their hair and nails done, its okay to take pride in how you look at any shape, but do think black women can be healthier but of course. However, your statement about obese women is pretty nasty. Try to encourage others and not bring them down.
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