Brown Girl, Green Lifestyle

I first experienced weight related issues beginning in the fall of 1999. At that time I was a rather cute and chubby little girl transitioning from pre-k to kindergarten. Prior to beginning kindergarten I had not been drastically overweight. I possessed what most people would have labeled baby fat, pudge in my cheeks and belly that may have disappeared as I grew taller. However, the summer before school started I gained a significant amount of weight, most likely do to over indulgence and little physical exercise.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved to go outside and play. I spent many summer days tramping around my grandparents five-acre wooded property: making mud pies, riding my tricycle, and having fabulous adventures in my blow-up pool. But the child’s play I partook in could not compensate for my love of southern delicacies (such as fried chicken, peach cobbler, and gumbo), and my ever increasing waistline.

I was usually allowed to when and what I desired, but the price I paid was the sum total of social out casting among my peers and the resulting mental and emotional torment.



I was a “big kid”, drastically over weight. I desired to become thinner. However, each year the new semester approached, I would do little more then wishfully hope for the pounds to magically melt off.

I finally found relief during my freshman year of high school. With the help of my mother, I began to indulge less and exercise more. I moved from a size 18 (emerging from the eight grade), to a size 12 by the end of my freshman year. In the fall of 2009, I had reached my lowest weight as a 160 pounds, 5’6 girl, wearing a size 10.
I enjoyed it greatly. For the first time in my life I was not severely overweight.

Sadly, my success at trying to maintain this weight only lasted two years, which is common statistically. A poor relationship and depression resulting from a failed academic endeavor caused me to slip back into my old habits. I once again entered a cycle of over indulgence that caused my weight to climb, and unfortunately as I entered college, highly processed cafeteria foods, irregular sleep patterns, and little physical activity worsened my physical condition.

In December of 2012 I began experiencing gastrointestinal issues. For the first time, at the age of 19, I was unable to eat and digest foods that I had normally consumed throughout my life.

I found it both physically sickening and mentally and emotionally frightening. After consuming regular portions of foods commonly consumed by the average American, [foods made with high amounts of fat, sodium, sugar, and other chemicals additives] I was unable to digest it.

After consuming even simple dishes like homemade mashed potatoes, I would find myself experiencing nausea induced vomiting. During this period of time meat was usually out of the question, and small portions were chewed and swallowed with care.

Several weeks after I had first experienced these symptoms I knew it was time to make a change. However, I wasn’t sure where to begin. After talking it over with my mother I came to the conclusion that the cafeteria food I had indulged in daily would no longer be a regular option. After returning to school I began to supplement meals with fresher options like fruits, salads, hot and cold cereals, and microwaveable dishes.

My stomach began to feel better, but I knew that there were still many adjustments that needed to occur. For instance, I needed to set a regular sleep pattern and begin exercising. Remember, since August I had been gaining a little less then five pounds each month. Which led to a total of over thirty pounds. By the end of the spring semester I was wasn’t far from weighing 250 pounds, my most heavy weight to date.

Shortly before the semester ended I visited a small local bookstore with my roommate. As I passed through the rows of shelves I made my way to the cookbook section. I ran my finger horizontally across the shelf of books, carefully searching the titles. In doing so, I came across a cookbook pertaining to college students in-search of quick, easy, and cost-effective vegetarian meals.

After picking it up and flipping through the pages I felt an impression from within me. I feel that this was the guidance of God. I immediately knew that in order to correct my weight and gastrointestinal health issues, I needed to become a girl gone green; or simply put, a vegetarian.

When I arrived home for the summer I was still contemplating fully emerging myself in a vegetarian lifestyle. I wanted to eat healthier in order to improve my health. However , so many of the meals I enjoyed were made with meat.

To my admittance, I didn’t fully embrace the call to go green that summer. However, I did continue to incorporate fresh foods and lost 10 pounds due to the regular outdoor walking that was required at my summer job. I also made a wonderful investment by purchasing a new professional blender.

When I returned to school in the fall I was better prepared to make smart choices regarding what I ate in the cafeteria, and how to supplement certain meals like breakfast. I began by visiting the large indoor farmer’s market not far from my campus. There I bought ingredients I would need in order to prepare smoothie bags that could be placed in the freezer. Each morning I would blend a green or fruit smoothie before going to class. This small change helped me to loose eight pounds over the course of the semester. In addition to this, I also took a P.E. class that discussed women’s health topic. Early on in the semester we were given the assignment of picking an area of our health we wanted to improve and then tacking the issue. I of course chose my weight. The accountability of knowing I would have to report back at the end of the semester encouraged me to follow through with my choices.

After returning home from the spring semester of my sophomore year I realized that I had not taken control of my eating habits. For three weeks I indulged in fast food almost daily.

I realized it was time to make a change and and follow God’s leading to a vegetarian lifestyle.

This means that is took me a full year to follow God’s leading, and I’m thankful that he was merciful and gracious towards me along the way.

Today, I haven’t arrived at total fitness. There are still many areas in which I could improve. However, by God’s grace I have left behind my former habits of overindulgence and found freedom in restriction.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is helpful. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be brought under the control of anything.”

And in Romans 6:16 “Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey–either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?

The world teaches us that true freedom is found in overindulging in the lusts of our flesh, weather they be desires for sex, food, alcohol, drugs, credit card debt, etc. True freedom from over indulgence in food is found by choosing to renew your mind with scriptures regarding food, eating, and self-control that are found in God’s Word. Galatians 5:16 tells us that if we “…walk by the Spirit”, we “will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” God’s Word is spirit and life (John 6:63) and when we choose to live our lives according to it, renewing our minds by meditating it, the Holy Spirit will enable us to live free from the bondage of food.

Fallon Alford is a rising junior at Spelman College, located in Atlanta, Georgia. After having experienced issues regarding weight-loss and nutrition during her childhood and adolescence, Fallon Alford decided to make a change by becoming a vegetarian .She records her experiences on her blog, titled, Brown Girl Green Lifestyle. Her blog, which often takes a faith-based approach to health, chronicles her own victories and defeats in the area of nutrition and weight loss. Beyond blogging Fallon enjoys in-depth Bible study, serving in her local church, baking, and stalking the aisles of Target.