The Thick Girl Sees the Light

For most my life, I have been thick. If being thick sounds strange to you then let me just say it is the happy medium between thin and fat; that is you are full figured in all the "right" places.  

When you are a thick girl in the black community, you get mad props from guys and skinnier girls who didn't "get it from their mama" might hate but they aspire to be thick like you.  You look great in everything from a pair of jeans to a dress, due to the fact that you can fill it out and you have curves and you become the subject de amor of rappers. In short being thick is great.

I was thick until 2005 when I walked into my doctors office for my annual physical and he told me I weighed 205 lbs.  That was a startling change from when I had last weighed myself, which to be honest maybe was two years prior to that.  Then I was a thick yet petite 135 lbs which looked awesome on my 5ft 3 in frame even though BMI says I should have weighed 10 lbs less. My doctor, always good natured and confident that I would lose the weight, simply told me that I needed to get into some exercise and watch what I ate. I agreed, but didn't heed his advice until I was almost 220 lbs within two years.

The strangest thing was that I had never even thought anything of it.  Yes I realized that my clothes were getting snugger, my sizes were increasing, and that I didn't walk as fast as I used to. Still, I was ok with what I perceived in the mirror, I was still thick right? Full figured, plus sized, nothing wrong with that. There was nothing wrong until neighbors started to tell me that I had become "healthy" which was a nice way of saying I was fat and when my boyfriend of six years told me that I could stand to lose a few pounds.

I was no longer thick, I was fat and I began to feel every inch of it from standing next to thinner friends who I used to share clothes with to almost taking up a seat and a half on the bus. At 25, people began to think I was much older. I began to suffer from severe depression, sleepless nights, and my hair began thinning and falling out...mostly due to the stress and being unhappy.  But there was something else: I had been diagnosed with a thyroid disorder and high blood pressure which contributed even more to weight gain. The doctor was adamant this time: lose weight or be on medicine and possibly have to get your thyroid removed.

I knew I needed to do something and that I would never lose weight if I trusted myself to exercise at  home. So in 2011, I joined a gym and discovered Zumba. While I lost about 30 lbs, I kept yo-yoing because I didn't add the one element that is most needed: a healthy diet.  Finally in 2013, I adapted a healthy diet and regular exercise plan which includes Zumba, Yoga, and Weight lifting to reach my goal of 170 lbs by my 29th birthday this year. In changing my eating and exercise habits, I have noticed that my hair is growing back very thick and healthy, I have more energy, I sleep better and I have a more positive outlook on life. I am also now saving up to become a Zumba instructor so I can impact someone else's life.

I should mention that my goal is not to be skinny, it is to be healthy and you can be healthy and thick. Right now, 58% of African-American women are obese and we have higher death rates than Caucasian women due to illnesses such as heart disease, breast cancer, and hypertension.  This is a serious problem that can be fixed if we are educated about managing our weight, and eating right.

I'm still not where I want to be physically but I know that as long as a I stick to the plan I will get that thick, healthy, and beautiful body back very soon :)