As much as I hate to admit it, I have always been an emotional eater. Emotions can influence how much, when, and what I eat. Emotional eating is a way of coping with stress. Being a 24-year old college student and among the few African Americans in my college, I developed depression following lack of confidence with regards to my body image, hence could only find comfort through food (Germaine et al., 2014). I work part-time to try earning extra money. Furthermore, I have not been practicing healthy eating habits, finding myself indulging in fast foods more than I intend to. Recently, I decided to lose weight because I realized that I was among the obese individuals in the American population. I have also been finding it quite difficult to maneuver my way around, especially walking short distances such as from my dorm room to the classroom.
My weight loss journey started in May and since then, I have lost 45 pounds since then. Although proud of my attainment so far, I now want to concentrate on losing the final couple of pounds and continue with eating healthy in addition to going to the gym. There is the risk of giving in to the temptation of emotional eating and losing track, but I am determined and believe that I will eventually decrease the unhealthy behavior.
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Discussion
According to an article by Germine et al. (2014), historically and still today, African American women’s bodies have greatly been devalued and ignored by mainstream culture. Furthermore, America has always put a premium on ‘nondiscriminatory’ white skin, straight, blond, long hair, and blue eyes as being the epitome of beauty (Germaine et al., 2014). Compared with Caucasian females, findings indicate that black females recorded lower levels of body image discontentment, have a fear of obesity or weight gain, have fewer concerns about dieting, and uphold a more favorable perspective of larger body sizes.
The researchers in this particular study experimented on 31 black women to investigate body image and beauty. Most of the themes incorporated related to problems associated with skin tone, message sources, hair, and body type (Germaine et al., 2014). The findings reveal a reconceptualization of body image for black females where relevant features such as skin tone and hair are prioritized over conventional body image usually linked to European American females (Germaine et al., 2014). Simply put, black females overall perceive larger body or curvaceous body types as ideal. However, they tend to be discriminated upon by mainstream culture, which prefers a more slender body and lighter skin tone.
Reading the article has made me acknowledge that obesity is an issue amongst African American females and thus needs to be dealt with. The article has also enabled me to see what I can apply directly to my goals this quarter, for instance, ignoring the negative around me and embracing the positive (Germaine et al., 2014). Both the media and peers have always made me feel as if I am under ceaseless attack of my perceived ‘ugliness.’ Lately, I have also experienced a lot of ‘down time’ where I criticize myself for not trying hard enough in terms of my weight loss journey (Germaine et al., 2014). However, the authors in the article have made me realize that as long as I see myself as beautiful then I will not have any issues with the media culture’s definition of beautiful or how others view beauty.
Given the fact that I am in college, I sometimes find myself eating out in places like Flame Boiler or Panera, something that has proven to be quite costly. Therefore, I intend to start preparing meals similar to how I was doing over the summer. So far, I have managed to do this on Sundays because I also go to the gym during weekdays, coming back to my room exhausted and too sleepy to cook. Interestingly, I find myself enjoying my time preparing meals for myself because I understand that it is for a good course. I also am less anxious and more relaxed. My depression is completely gone and I feel self-motivated and confident. From what I learned in the article, I now appreciate myself more and intend to maintain a certain weight that is not too obese and not too slender.
This week, I have lost a total of 50 pounds. The journey of weight loss has not been easy but it actually does feel good that I am able attain that. While weight loss is significant, what is more important is the quality of food I put in my body. I believe food to be information that rapidly transforms my genes and metabolism (Germaine et al., 2014). Perhaps the biggest error most individuals make is to try losing too much weight too fast. Being overweight meant that I had no clue as to what it is like to live like an average individual. In the course of this week, I have continued to prepare and eat my meals during the day. I am able to monitor calories to ensure that my eating does not slip out of control.
Some of the improvements that I want to do include trying to prepare different meals each week. I find it boring to eat the same meal five days out of the week. I also have a few adjustments to make, the main one being to try hitting the gym in the morning right before work. This has been quite a struggle as I find it difficult to wake up early due to exhaustion the previous day. However, I intend to wake up on Monday morning and go to the gym. A workmate of mine approached me the other day and requested that I assist her in her weight loss journey (Germaine et al., 2014). Recent studies indicate that obese females taking part in a weight loss program or activity are more process focused and more likely to lose weight compared to those who pursue this by themselves.
I introduced her to SMART goal planning, which is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based. Some of my SMART goals include waking up early to go to the gym, eating healthy means each week, and avoiding fast foods as much as I can (Germaine et al., 2014). Self-monitoring is important to weight loss triumph and motivation. I have learned to record my emotions in my food journal. This has so far helped me in identifying particular prompts for over eating and finding healthier ways to manage.
Conclusion
It is unfortunate that African American females have historically been and are still being discriminated upon, particularly in terms of their skin tone and body size. Studies indicate that those who do not appreciate their bodies are less likely to lose weight. On the other hand, those who have an appreciative body image are more likely to pick a diet they can uphold, trying out novel activities that will assist them attain their goals. I have given myself flexibility and intend on celebrating the little attainment that I have made in terms of my weight loss journey. I discovered that my workmate has also given much attention to what the media culture defines as the ideal female body image. I have since then managed to convince her to appreciate herself for who she is and ignore the negatives.
Reference
Germine, H. Awad, et al. (2014). ‘Beauty and body image concerns among African American college women.’ Journal of Black Psychology , 41(6). Pp. 1 – 25.
