Shannon: [00:00:00] I’m Shannon.
Lisa: And I’m Lisa, and you’re listening to Blacktivities, A Celebration of all things black,
Shannon: Black culture, black history,
Lisa: black perspectives, and black panache
Shannon: celebrating our blackness doesn’t mean exclusion.
Lisa: Everybody’s invited, but you gotta come in and have a seat. So let the black
Shannon: activities begin.
Hey, my people. We’re back with part two of our Black health episode with Bella and IB of the Fitted Network of Wellness and Black Fit Love. We’re talking about issues and myths that affect our community in particular because we have a special history when it comes to our health and wellness. If you haven’t checked out episode one, press pause, Go listen, and then come back to this one.
But if you have listened to part one last week, We are picking [00:01:00] up right where we left off talking about common myths about health in the black community. So Bella, what’s another black health myth that you feel is prevalent in our community?
Bella: I think another myth is that you can’t eat food that you like to eat.
Like you gotta, you can’t. Greens, you can’t have tacos, you can’t have wings, you can’t have all those, you know, black favorites anymore. And it’s not true cuz we eat all of those things and a lot of times people be asking us, they’re like really, really uptight? Like when we come over, it’s like, well, I don’t know what you eat.
Lisa: What do you mean ?
Bella: I don’t know if y’all gonna like this. I got some. I’m like, We eat. We just eat other stuff too. So you can, You can eat what you love to eat and still lose weight. You can still be healthy. You just don’t have to eat as much of it as
IB: moderations. [00:02:00] The way to look at it is this, you can eat.
They’re just certain universal principles that we decide to ignore that. Bestowed upon us by the most high that we should abide by, that we neglect, so therefore we suffer the consequences for them. So as a black community, I have to say this all the time, you know, cuz sometimes with social media, people try to come at me and things like that.
It’s cool, but that doesn’t, that’s ego. That’s ego and ni uh, uh, uh, being naive to think that you can go against the universal laws of science that were created by the most high, that says that energy cannot be created or destroyed, and if you take in too much energy, you will gain weight. We are naive and our ego won’t allow us to hone in on the fact that there are consequences that come with that.
You get what I’m saying? So it’s not about you not being able to enjoy food because in the same breath food was created for you to eat. We need food. [00:03:00] It’s the abuse of it. That’s what it is. It’s the abuse. If food is not innately, Dangerous. It’s not innately bad for us. It’s the abuse of it that serves consequences that we are suffering from.
Shannon: I know one of the things that is difficult for me because growing up we always had to clean our plates. Mm-hmm. , and it was not a good thing to waste food like, and I feel like that comes from a certain trauma. Like, because black folks didn’t have a lot mm-hmm. back then, and so you had to be grateful that you had the food you had, but.
every time I get full and I’m looking at my plate and I still have food left on it, I feel like I have to eat this. Like,
Lisa: I can’t waste, waste it. And I cha I, I changed that about myself. Even now, it’s like, I mean, I can’t eat as much as I used to. Um, but even now, as soon as I feel like I’m getting full, [00:04:00] that’s it.
I push the plate away. I have a hard time sitting at the dinner table with my kids. Because I always finish first because I get full. So I’m just sitting there just watching them eat. But I totally agree with you when it comes to the finish your plate, cuz I grew up with that. You need to finish their plate.
You can’t get up from the table till you eat all that food. And then I got picked off being chunky,
IB: so. Yep. That’s a, that’s a great point, Shannon, but that, that definitely, we talk about. In our, um, community as well as being like a culprit to, again, it’s not the idea that we are genetically, uh, predisposed to being of weight.
It’s things like that that were programmed into our mind that. We feel like, um, in the black community isn’t harmful, but it is. Because if you were taught that at seven, and especially if you were reprimanded, meaning like there was a consequence that came along with it, like, okay, you can’t get up or you’ll be, you’ll be up all night.
We won’t allow you to go to sleep. And then the most dangerous cases, like you’ll be [00:05:00] physically, you know, uh, you know you’ll be spanked. Hell, we’re gonna call it what it is you get. Tell ass whoop if you don’t finish your food. As a seven year old. Now you carry that along with you as a 17 year old, 27 year old, and 47 year old, because again, it’s trauma.
It’s trauma that you carry with you. So now you pass that on to the next generation. Like hell, I couldn’t move until I finish my food, so you gotta do the same thing.
Shannon: I try not to make my kids do it, but I find myself like eating their leftovers because .
Lisa: Oh wow. I can’t, can’t waste. Right. I, I kind of tweaked it a little bit for me.
It’s like when they eat, I’ll say, Y’all eat our veggies first, because I know how vegetables is very important. So I was like, You, you eat all them veggies. I don’t care about the other stuff. You be, need to eat the vegetables first. So it’s weird now, but when they eat, because I, I do this, I do eat my vegetables first, but they, they would go ahead and take down their vegetables first and [00:06:00] then finish with the other stuff.
That way if they are finished, they done got, they, you know, the vegetables has the nutrients and the vitamins and all of that. So at least they getting that in there. Um, but yeah, that’s, that’s a way that I kind of altered it a little bit.
Bella: I think the other misses that, uh, quote unquote healthy food don’t tastes good.
Lisa: Oh, sh Yeah, I had to, I had to learn that real quick, like with brussel sprouts, and bro, I, let me tell you, growing up, I don’t know if I just had, So whoever I had got it from when I was younger, it was just disgusting to me. But as an adult, I would kill for some Brussel sprouts. My 70 olds, like, she makes the best sauté.
It’s like a garlic maple butter sauce that she put on his B. But yeah, I, I, I would do vegetables, anything, anytime. I love Brussels sprouts.
IB: Yeah, see that’s an accountability thing. That just means that that’s people that just not trying to admit that they can’t. Legit, just call the say You just can’t cook.
Hey, look, [00:07:00] we gonna
Lisa: call, He said it.
IB: We like accountability here. Like instead of blaming it on a healthy food, don’t taste good. You need to take a look at in the mirror and you just can’t cook. You just ain’t honed in. I feel called out. I
Lisa: b .
IB: You said what
Lisa: now? I said I feel called out
Alright. Another thing too I found weird is, um, after my divorce I was going on dates and I was encountering men that don’t eat vegetables. That was a man went on a date and he, he said that he don’t like, he don’t eat vegetables like that. So when went on a date, he ordered like a steak and double mashed potatoes for his sides.
And I was so turned off and disgusted. I was like, So when do you eat vegetables? And he was like, Nah. I mean, not really. He, like, I might eat greens, you know, around like Thanksgiving or the holidays, but, and I’m just sitting here like, what is going on in his body? So like with people that don’t eat vegetables, like how [00:08:00] are they still functioning?
IB: Well, you, Well, here’s the thing. You just, this is why we’re so adamant that lifestyle, we don’t allow anybody to blame genetics for where they are. Lifestyle. When you start answering questions like that or asking them in your mind, you start realizing why we are in the state that we are in. It’s not, it’s less genetics and it is literally, We are, we encounter.
That’s not new to us. You know what I’m saying? Like we encounter people every day, just like these gentlemen that you talk about, that you go out with. So we’ll actually say,
Lisa: Oh, hold on, wait a minute. Don’t say it like that. Cause it be like, I’m out here. Just like. Hold on, show down .
IB: Now. I said you
Lisa: ok? I just had to put that out there first.
IB: No, listen, ain’t ain’t nothing
Lisa: wrong with a little date. Yeah, but bro, come on now. If Valerie, if she came and she was just like, You know what, I’m just gonna eat this chicken and this potato salad and that’s it. So you gonna look at her side, You gonna look at your wife’s sideways, right? Like, hold on.
IB: Like, oh, well look that, that’s how I [00:09:00] choose.
So, So I’m gonna keep it a book I choose like that. Oh, okay. So that’s why we are a match made in heaven because you, I mean, I choose like that. I’m not choosing anybody to mother my children. That, that don’t value vegetables and fruits. I’m not, I ain’t moving like that. Right, right. You know what I’m saying?
Right. So, all right. So bet and that’s dating advice for anybody listening. Like you gotta, you sign the contract with someone when you get in a relationship. So if you, if you choose someone that is completely. Opposite of what you value. Don’t just think that you gonna be able to change them. You gotta realize you signed the contract with that person.
That’s gonna affect every part of your relationship moving forward, even to when you have kids, because y’all are gonna be in about with that. You know what I’m saying? So
Lisa: that’s perfect. That’s, And with dating, This is something that you should be asking in the beginning or paying attention to, of observing in the beginning, because that is a very valid point that you just made.
Like you saw in a life with somebody, like you got, y’all gotta be on the [00:10:00] same page. Yeah.
Bella: And you can’t expect them to change. So we have a lot of couples where they’re like, they wanna do this change or they wanna be a part of our, our community, and they’re kind of. That their partner doesn’t see the value in it.
Mm-hmm. or doesn’t wanna do it with them or, you know what I mean? Like, you guys have been together for 20 years and now you just decided you wanna go down this road. But when you met him, y’all was Sharon Ram.
Lisa: You’re right. Mm. Not
Shannon: ramen. Bless. So you’ve given women permission to take out that checklist and add something.
Lisa: Men supposed to have a checklist too. Yeah. Yep. That’s
Bella: thing goes down to this. People don’t realize that a lot of people come to us because they can’t have kids. It’s gotten so bad that their lifestyle is making them infer. So you got our black men and our black women not able to produce. Now you trying to get shots and take these pills for hormones and all this [00:11:00] kind of stuff because your body is so confused that it doesn’t produce healthy sperm.
and your wound now has fibroids and all kind of stuff now. Mm-hmm. . And it’s just from the lifestyle. So when you’re choosing somebody, I know it seems like it’s not important, like is he gonna pay for this? Does he have this check? But. in a big, in a deeper scheme. This is like your children, your children’s children, how you guys feel about each other.
Even intimacy. I know. Mm-hmm. , you guys know, as women, I’ll be feeling some type of way and it’s not Ivy’s fault when it’s time to, to do the do or it’s time to get connected or have some time together. If I’m feeling some type of way about my body, I don’t want you to touch it. That’s true. I don’t want you to.
And now it’s affecting the relationship. Now he think you don’t want no more. You he think it’s a problem and it’s mainly just you feeling some type of way about [00:12:00] yourself.
Lisa: It happens. Mm-hmm. . Cause I was at my best baby when I was like, minimum fupa. . You could tell. But I had to embrace fupa again. And it just, this is temporary.
But I totally agree with you though. Um. The image, your body image, like, it, it is, it, it does take a toll on you. It it be yourself internally feeling a certain type of way. And it doesn’t necessarily be like your partner could be totally okay with it, but just because you feel that way, it gives off mixed messages.
Mixed signals.
IB: And um, and really quick before we move forward, because you made that point, I also wanna just bring up like the idea. And hear me clearly when I say idea cuz this, this really doesn’t exist in reality. It’s just an idea. Some people may disagree, but this is my take on it. The idea of body shaming, like.
Just what you said, like you can, you can attest to the fact that really, it doesn’t matter what anybody else says, it’s how you feel about yourself. [00:13:00] So nobody can body shame you unless you already are body shaming yourself. No self, right? So it’s an idea. So if it bothers you, It’s because it’s validation of how you already feel.
You know what I’m saying? So this idea where people are making you feel some type of way, nobody can make you feel any type of way that you don’t already feel about yourself. That’s why you can talk about the quote unquote ugliest guy in the room, right? But he’s still in his mind. He the coldest in the room.
He’ll walk up to any woman. He’ll ask any woman out on the day. It don’t care how ugly you think he is. He feels great about himself. So it doesn’t matter what you say.
Lisa: You talking about the guy, what’s his credit score?
Right? He we’re adults. I don’t care what you like, like what your finances looking like 800
t his confidence, he know what he got going on. It don’t matter, so, Right. Yeah. I, I feel you. [00:14:00] What Jay-Z say. Which one? Because he don’t said a
Shannon: lot. Yeah. A billionaire. He looked good, right? . Oh yeah.
Lisa: But you didn’t babe. Jay-Z. Come on now. Chill out, , chill out.
IB: B Hey, listen, you can’t tell Jay nothing no more, right?
Jay said, Not only am I being, I, I produced three of ’em. , at least I produce, I produced two of ’em, plus, plus one. That
Lisa: was the coolest line. That was, that was the coldest
IB: line. And, and LeBron the rock boy. So that’s full, technically . Ooh, ooh, ooh.
Shannon: Yeah. All right. Yeah. Let’s transition into a little Blacktivity.
Normally, Lisa and I run the Blacktivity, but today we’re gonna let our guests run the black [00:15:00] activity. They’re gonna ask us some questions, and we’re gonna do our best to answer. Those questions based on the knowledge that we
Lisa: have. I’m Finn get all these wrong, but y’all go ahead.
IB: Y’all ready? Yep. Yep.
All right. Um, I, I’m gonna go with what I, what I call, uh, fat stats. All right. So these fat stats. So, um, let’s start with what percentage of the African, uh, American community is clinically obese? What percentage. The African American community is clinically obese. I didn’t say overweight, I said clinically obese.
Lisa: See, even, even though some people do be in shape, like when you see like on social media, you see the little charts or whatever and be like, it’ll tell you obese, but then there’ll be like, because of your height. You know what I’m saying? Your weight, it’ll say you’re obese, but when you look at the person, they don’t look like they fat at [00:16:00] all.
So I’m gonna say this is gonna be a high percentage. I’m gonna say like a 75 or 76% type thing.
Shannon: I’m gonna up that and say 85.
IB: Woo Lord. See y’all . So, so that, that, that’s pretty, that’s pretty high. The, the, the um right answer is hot, but that’s, that’s way, that’s way too high. So, of. I’ll explain clinically obese.
Clinically obese is a hundred pounds over the ideal weight. Oh, okay. All so 40. Okay. Right. So 48% of the African American community is clinically obese, which means pretty much one out of every two African Americans you see is a hundred pounds over the ideal weight. Now as far as 70. Around what you guys said.
70% is seven outta 10 people are overweight. Mm-hmm. . So seven outta 10 people are overweight. So 70% of the population is overweight, but [00:17:00] 48% is clinically obese, which is a hundred pounds over. Um, the ideal weight. Oh yeah, Yeah.
Bella: All we have, um, the only thing that will ever matter in your life, If you keep these seven things straight in your life and how you live, then you gonna be all right.
Not only are you gonna lose weight, but you’re gonna be healthy and you are gonna be able to keep it off forever, no matter what happens. I’m talking bachelor parties, weddings, cookouts, all of the holidays every month you’re gonna be straight. What are these? Seven things.
IB: Can y’all guess The seven? These are called the seven laws of weight loss.
Now Shannon, we putting you on the spot? Yeah. Right. Um, so what are the seven laws of weight loss?
Lisa: Lemme do one. Um, staying hydrated.
IB: Okay. Yeah, that’s one drink. Lots of water. That
Lisa: was my rule. When I lost work, I was like, okay, I gotta drink water. Drinking [00:18:00] water was like the main thing. So staying hydrated.
Oh, ok.
IB: Yeah, that’s why
Lisa: that’s.
Shannon: All right, go ahead Lisa. I do their program, so I’m gonna let you shoot your shot first.
Lisa: No, that’s cheat in. Okay. I’ll just go with me. Staying hydrated. Exercising.
IB: Yes. Move. Move often. So exercise is a form of physical activity. All right? So you don’t have to exercise, but you do need to move.
So we’ll put that in the category. So move often, just get up and.
Lisa: Okay. Um, basic stuff. Um, sleeping good and a good
IB: night of sleep. Yeah. Okay. Yep. Sleeping. Yeah. So sleep more. Okay.
Lisa: Eating right. So eating healthy, what does that
IB: mean? Right? What does that mean? Try to be a little bit more specific. Um, you said one.
Lisa: What eating like the calories, the calorie intake and all of that. Like just being more aware of what you’re eating. [00:19:00]
IB: Not too much, so not too much. So the calories, so not, not too much. Okay. You said another one earlier on where you were talking about your, your dating and your kids.
Lisa: I don’t know, just tell, What did I say?
I forget. Eating vegetables, . Oh, eating vegetables.
IB: Yeah. Oh, so fruits and.
Lisa: Prioritize fruit. Some vegetables? Yes. Okay. Yeah.
IB: We got two more. All right. What’s up? You doing well? Two more.
Lisa: I dunno. Like what? What else Beside, okay. Eating healthy, sleeping, drinking water, exercising.
IB: Some, some vegetables. I go. I hint you.
Actually, in the beginning you talked about it with mental health. What is a way that we can cope with mental health?
Lisa: Way of coping is facing it straight on. Like
Bella: reducing stress. Stressed
IB: stress. Yeah. Okay. Stress less stress. Less. Stress
Lisa: Less. Okay. All right, and what’s the last one? Y’all can gimme this.
Yeah, one
IB: more. We’ll just give you this one cuz this one is not, is sometimes [00:20:00] not obvious to the public, but eat real food. Alright, and eating real food is just eating food as nature intended. You know, we have a lot of processed foods like donuts, cookies, and candy. This is what majority of people are eating on a day to day basis.
So eating real food as nature intended. Um, that’s the seven one. So, man, y’all, y’all gotta, uh, yeah, that was good. The sound, the clap sound or something? That was good.
Lisa: Yes, that was good.
Bella: Yeah, that’s dope. But those are the only seven things that matter. And then our program, those seven laws of weight loss, will take you all the way to wherever you wanna go at the basis of everything.
If you keep those, you’re gonna be all right.
IB: And we’ll say it one more time for you guys that wanna write that down. The seven laws of weight loss and really the seven laws of health are eat real. Not too much. Mostly fruits and vegetables, drink lots of water, move often, stress less, and sleep more.
Lisa: I could probably do like four of them, five, four [00:21:00]
Shannon: There’s levels to it.
Lisa: My,
Shannon: Yeah. All right.
IB: Y’all got any more? Let’s see. Oh, did I, I wanna do this one cause, um, cuz she talked about it with the vegetables. What percentage of the population. Gets in the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables daily. What’s the percentage of what percentage of the population eats the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables?
Daily? It’s
Lisa: gonna be low because of all the junk food and stuff they have. I feel like it’s gonna be low. So can I say like 35%?
Shannon: That’s around what I was thinking too.
Lisa: Yeah. 35, 30%.
IB: Mm. Man, that’s so sad. No. Cause 30% is definitely low. 10%. Oh, wow. Wow. One out of 10 people get the daily recommended amount of fruit and vegetable intake.
Now here’s, here’s the sad part. It’s not like the [00:22:00] recommended amount is like, um, you know, uh, 17 pounds of salad a day. It’s. Three to four servings, a fruit and vegetable a day. That’s one banana, one apple and a cup of spinach and only one out of 10. You know what I
Lisa: though, when I was eating healthy though, they, the meal plans and the things that I was on, I felt like I was eating constantly.
I really felt like with all the things that you’re supposed to eat, you’re eating constantly. So yeah, it leaves no room for you being hungry. But I really felt like I was eating a lot with the servings and the things that I was trying to get in, in the day on top of water.
Bella: Yeah, and that’s, that’s the other misconception is that people be thinking that you can’t eat.
Like, no, you eating.
Lisa: It’s a lot. Yeah, it’s a lot. We just
Shannon: eat the wrong thing.
Bella: Right. Yeah. So you can eat a lot. Uh, I think it’s just really thinking about what [00:23:00] can I eat versus what I can’t.
Shannon: You can eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and the calories don’t add up like the other stuff. Mm-hmm. .
IB: Mm-hmm. . Yeah.
That’s called, so that’s called caloric density. Uh, fruits and vegetables have a low caloric density, which means that you can eat more of them with a low cost, with a low calorie cost. So that’s why you felt like that? Cause you can eat more food at a low caloric.
Shannon: So basically if everybody just throws the fruit and vegetable intake into a smoothie that they eat for breakfast, then we’ll satisfy that requirement every day.
Lisa: Ooh,
Bella: Done.
IB: Done. Absolutely. That’s one of our gyms right there. Shannon up. Put y’all on game on one of our gyms. Ooh, right there. You can, you can seize the moment and you can take advantage. And in one smoothie, a. One smoothie a day keeps the fat away. All right, so you put your three to four servings of fruits and vegetables in the smoothie blended up, [00:24:00] and that takes care of that.
Bella: And we got some people that haven’t pooped in a week. So are they frozen?
Shannon: No, that’s our face. No, this is my face.
Bella: Yeah. So the thing about not eating your fruits and vegetables is that you not gonna go.
Shannon: That makes my stomach hurt. Thinking about it.
Lisa: Question? No, this is a question. So, for a while there, when I was making smoothies on a regular basis, I mean, obviously yes, it’s be, it is best to use fresh fruits and vegetables when you’re doing that, but how do y’all feel about buying your frozen fruits and using those when you’re making your smoothies?
Bella: Ding, ding, ding.
IB: We buy frozen fruit every week. Yeah, .
Lisa: Ok. All right. So it’s not really a. It’s, it’s okay. You’re getting the same nutrients and all of that from it.
IB: Yep. Yeah. As long as it says cause, cause being that it’s a packaged food, when you look on it, again, if you have mangoes and you’re buying frozen mangoes, and on the ingredient list, if it [00:25:00] doesn’t just say mangoes and they have like absorbing acid to preserve it, now that’s where you’re, because there’s a, that’s an additive and, and preservative.
Mm-hmm. . But it, but as long as it’s just frozen mangoes and that’s what the ingredients say. Then, then you’re good to go.
Lisa: So thank you guys for again, joining us and providing information that is very vital to African Americans and understanding, um, black health and the importance of being healthy. I also wanna thank the listeners.
Thank you guys for tuning in to the Black Activity Podcast. Remember, if you, um, have any information, insight, anything you wanna share with us, please join us on our Instagram page at Blacktivities Pod. Uh, we’d be more than happy to go back and forth with you and then especially if you want to be featured, if you would like to be featured, just hit us up.
Shannon: Yes, and go. Follow Bella and IB on social media as well. [00:26:00] There are direct links to their profiles as well as information about how you can support what we are doing in the show notes. Hope you enjoyed the show. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks, but until then, Kings and queens keep doing big tings.
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