Love Yourself & Your Health.

BlackFood.org Reporter, Charo R. Walker, shared her weight loss and healthy lifestyle journey last week at an "alternative" diets panel discussion themed "I Changed My Diet, How it Helped Me’. Other panelists included: Gavin Khya Nash, Garth Sekani Nash, Cleveland Anku Sa Ra Eneas III, Sha King, Chrissy Love, Dr. Alvira Higgs, Ophelia Cooper, and Elvis Clarke.

The panel discussion was part of the Love Yourself & Love Your Health campaign  – a partnership between radio personality Chrissy Love and SEEDlings’ Place – which aims to bring focus to our health during the month of February. SEEDling’s Place is a support group for person’s who want to live a holisitic lifestyle and throught it Chrissy Love has been able to release over 100 pounds.

Below is Charo R. Walker’s presentation at the panel discussion:

Good night to all of you. I bring revolutionary greetings from BlackFood.org and I would also like to thank SEEDlings Place for asking me to be a part of tonight’s panel.

Why did I decide to revolutionize the way that I eat? Well, first of all, I knew that my diet was all wrong. My body was telling me that every day. I was overweight and generally unhealthy. I dreaded walking from the parking lot at work to my desk because I would literally have to catch my breath for a few minutes by the time I made it to the office.

Walking up stairs was also a challenge. In fact, when I got home I would stay in my room for the night because the idea of walking up and down stairs was just too much for me. I was in a really, really bad place and I knew that I needed to change what I was eating, how I was eating and also address my lack of exercise.

I was also frustrated because I couldn’t understand or pin point how I had “let myself go”. In college I had a much healthier lifestyle. I didn’t eat red meat and only ate lean meat – no pork – with a healthy serving of vegetables and I always drank water. But during the last 7-8 years I couldn’t even stick to that type of diet.

Because I was often busy I told myself that I couldn’t find the time to cook my own meals. And so I dined out frequently and in Nassau, as we all know, there are hardly any restaurants that cater to healthy eating. So, I often found myself putting the wrong things into my body.

Surprisingly, it was my job as a writer that gave me the strength and courage to change my diet and that placed me on the journey that I am on today.

Rhonda, the director of SEEDlings’ Place, invited me to the first “official” SEEDlings’ Place gathering in April of 2009. Initially, I was more interested in covering the event as a writer than actually taking part in the activities. But my involvement with SEEDlings’ Place quickly changed.

At that very first meeting I enjoyed the opportunity to candidly speak about food and what I ate and the struggles I faced trying to live, what I thought was, a healthy lifestyle. I liked the idea that there was a community of people that I could lean on; that I wasn’t alone. And by the end of the gathering I knew that I had begun a journey toward a truly healthier life style.

I say “truly healthier” because before SEEDlings’ I had attempted to lose weight. And I was successful but because I didn’t radically change what I was eating the weight came back. Honestly, I found myself pretty much starving myself so that I could lose weight. Eating meat, no matter the portion size, kept me overweight. And often times I would eat such a small portion size that I would be so, so hungry – and I would revert to my old habits. Also, because I didn’t stick to my exercise routine my weight loss successes were very short-lived.

In the months that followed that gathering, I found myself doing more personal research on food and the affects that different foods have on the body. I also found myself writing more about agricultural issues. And I realized even more that I had to change what I ate because I didn’t even know “what” I was eating or “where” it was coming from.

Roughly 80% of the food that we eat in The Bahamas is imported – mainly from the U.S. – and it costs us about $500 million a year. Aware of the harmful farming practices in the U.S. I knew that my health and that of every Bahamian is literally at stake. And so I became more cautious of what I was buying to eat and where I was buying it from. I read labels more and now I try my best to limit the amount of pre-packaged food that I eat.

Our reliance on imported food is so significant that the Irwin G. Stubbs, President of The Bahamas Agricultural Producers Association, has stated publicly that within three weeks The Bahamas would “fall apart” if food imports were not allowed into the country.

Yet, our Bahamian farmers are hurting. We are trading our local, organic and in many instances healthier produce for foodstuffs that we have no idea where it was coming from or how it is being grown.

Last year, communities in Andros where literally to the point of starvation relying on aid from a non-governmental organization in Florida because many people there, including farmers, couldn’t make enough money to survive. In fact, farmers in Andros were being told that foreign produce was better than their locally grown produce.

The more research and writing that I did I realized that my failures at living a healthier life had to do with what I was eating, which was imported, steroid and pesticide filled foods.

Historically, as Africans in these islands, we haven’t been in control of what we eat and this has led to our current unhealthy condition today. Throughout our enslavement we relied mostly on the rations of the enslavers, which were imported from God knows where. And as it pertains to meat, we were usually given the least meaty cuts of the animal such as the legs, feet, jaw, and skull.

I changed my diet so that I could not only eat what nourishes my body but also so that I could break this long history of oppression and take back control of my life.

I decided to transition to a vegan life style which is a life style whereby animal products are omitted. With this lifestyle, I don’t have to rely on imports. Fruits and vegetables are grown locally and can even be grown by me and by you.

The health benefits of a vegan lifestyle are endless. Health care providers, based on recommendations from the World Health Organization, are now saying that everyone should eat at least 5 portions of a variety fruit and vegetables each day, to reduce the risks of chronic diseases like cancer and coronary heart disease.

Fruits and vegetables are a good source of vitamins and minerals and people with diets rich in fresh produce have more energy and are less likely to gain weight. Fruit and vegetables also help reduce the effects of ageing.

Before transitioning to a vegan lifestyle, I did a one week cleanse in order to ready my body for the change that was about to take place. Next, I eliminated red meat. I quickly realized that chicken was not something that I wanted to eat a lot of, so I cut that out.

Then, I moved to a diet of only seafood. And eventually I got tired of that. Because of an on again-off again allergic reaction to shellfish – which I found out after research was really an allergic reaction to the parasites in the shellfish – and realizing that I didn’t like fish too much, by the end of six months I was on a vegan diet.

There are many recipes available on a site called Vegweb.com that I visit regularly so I am never really bored with my diet. I also try to drink more water, chew my food properly, eat proper food combinations, not eat right before going to bed, and eat according to my blood type.

It has been difficult at times and I’ve strayed off of the path sometimes but I realize that this is a journey so I’m not too hard on myself. And in spite of my mistakes, by totally changing my diet and lifestyle I’ve lost 20 pounds. My body functions better, I have more energy and, more importantly, by incorporating exercise into my life as well, I feel and I am healthier.

Thank-you for your time.♦bf