Sweet Tea & Cornbread:
Inspiring, Motivating & Empowering Black Women to
Take Back
Their Bodies & Live a Healthier Lifestyle
by Karrie Marchbanks
CreateSpace
Paperback, $10.99
162 pages
ISBN: 978-1-478233039
Book
Review by Kam Williams
“Let’s
face it, ladies, as black women we have issues when it comes to food and
exercise... If you’re like me, you sometimes reminisce about the good ole days…
when you could eat whatever you wanted [and] you didn’t have to exercise.
So
what happened? Was it age? Your love of fast food? Heredity? Soul food is
typically high in fat, sodium and sugar… We’ve let our hairstyles determine the
size of our waistlines, and it’s killing us! Pride in your appearance shouldn’t
stop at the neck.
Sweet
Tea & Cornbread was written for every black woman who identifies with the
struggle to eat healthy, lose weight and exercise… Incorporating exercise into
your daily routine doesn’t mean you have to give up your weave.”
--
Excerpted from Introduction (pages xi-xiii)
‘Tis the
season to make New Year’s resolutions, and a popular one is to shed a few
pounds, a proposition easier said than done. For black women, losing weight is
even more of a challenge, at least that’s the thesis of Karrie Marchbanks, an
African-American female speaking from experience.
She says
that sisters are losing the battle of the bulge because of bad eating habits further
complicated by a reluctance to exercise due to a fear of sweating out their hair.
Not to worry. Ms. Marchbanks, a single-mom currently residing in North Carolina, has come
up with a plan to get you the body you deserve, and in just 21 days.
Not
surprisingly, the regimen involves both working out and eliminating unhealthy
foods from your diet. Oh, and it also addresses the coiffure controversy in a
chapter humorously titled: “Do what? I Just Got My Hair Done!”
However,
the author is dead serious about the subject, and has the statistics to support
her arguments. For instance, she cites the fact that 14% of black women have diabetes,
47% have cardiovascular disease, 45% have high blood pressure, 41% have high
cholesterol and that 51% are obese to suggest that the African-American
community has a health crisis on its hands.
The Sweet
Tea 3-week initiative involves a combination of sound advice, personal challenges
and daily affirmations (hope you’re a Christian). Of course, the real goal is for
you to find the motivation to stop with the excuses and put the valuable ideas found
here into practice year-round.
A timely,
fitness primer strictly for sisters!
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