A Guest Post by Renee Ross

In November 2009 I decided to finally stick to my guns and begin a journey to healthy living. It wasn’t my first attempt, I’d tried two other times in very public ways during that year but was unsuccessful. However, given the alarming statistics regarding African-American women, obesity and the subsequent repercussions on our health I could not continue to be a statistic. My entire family has a history of hypertension and my aunt was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. in November 2009 I weighed in at over 200 pounds on was on the fast track to health problems.

The week of Thanksgiving I embarked on the journey to healthy living and seven months later I’d lost 50 pounds, ran my first 5K and was prepping for a half-marathon. Although I’ve always known the tools for healthy living - my emotional state prohibited me from making the best decisions for my health. My decision to live healthy, hopefully prolonging my life and stay around for my son is one that I don’t regret.

I will not lie and say it has been easy. Like everyone battling the bulge I have good days and bad days. Sometimes I ease back into old habits like emotional eating. Other times I just don’t feel in the mood to exercise but the difference between now and years ago is that I don’t let myself completely give up. I recognize that tomorrow is another day and even if I gain a few pounds I have the tools in my toolbox to get rid of them before it becomes problematic.

I will say here and now that I will never be obese again. I will be fit and healthy and I will work on it daily. Although being healthy is challenging I am committed to living a long life. In October I ran the Nike Women’s Half-Marathon and raised over $5000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. On Sunday, February 27th on the day after my 41st birthday I ran my 2nd half-marathon, the Disney Princess, and it was totally and completely for me. Although I was not as prepared as I was for my first endurance race I remained committed to my goal and completed it with a smile.

This Princess has plans to stay around for many years to come. If you need encouragement on your journey to healthy living you can certainly visit me at my blog, on facebook, twitter and YouTube. Inspiring others inspires me and I love hearing success stories!

Renée is the author of Cutie Booty Cakes where she blogs about her life as healthy and fit mom. She is a contributing editor for BlogHer.com and has appeared in The Atlanta Constitution Journal, Parents Magazine, Southern Living, The Victory Project on MSN and has been seen on National and local television. In a nutshell, she is one busy lady!

The New York City Department of Heath and Mental Hygiene sent me the following infographic showcasing the landscape of HIV/AIDS among women and girls in New York City. This coincides with today's March 10 observance of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

According to the infographic an estimated 31,663 women aged 13 or older were living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2009.

In 1985 only 290 New York City women were living with AIDS in 1985. Over a 14-year period this number rose to 19,156 in 2009.

Probably the most staggering of the several statistics illustrated is the following: Black and Latina Women account for 60.2% of the NYC female population but they make up 90.7% of women living with HIV/AIDS in NYC as of 2009.

(Click for the full version)



Let's get the conversation going with our kids. You know the one...about sex. We need to have "the talk" with our girls and our boys. As difficult as it may be, not doing as you can see is creating tragic results on the epidemic level.

NYC Knows is a public initiative carried out by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The program aims to increase HIV and AIDS awareness by promoting free testing facilities, treatment centers and prevention education. The ultimate goal of the NYC Knows program is to have every citizen of New York City knowing his or her HIV status. For more information or to become active in the initiatives check out Facebook.com/NYCKnows or NYC.gov.

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E.Payne is the author of Investing In An Emotional Letdown and I Didn't Invented Sex. For the past 3 years he has posted 600+ articles about fatherhood, marriage and everything in between here at Makes Me Wanna Holler.com. To learn more, click here.