In this part of the world

I am back home in the Eastern cape for the festive season and I tell you people are big this side of the world. A friend of mine visited with her sister yesterday and my mom asked when she left “how far along is she?” She’s not far, cause she’s not pregnant, just fat, the tummy is huge. Her sister as well was double the size I last saw her in 5 years ago. I attended a wedding and bigness rules, a 10 year old as big as an adult. I was probably the same at that age so I should just keep quiet about it. While cooling off after the wedding my mother comments again about her second cousin who is humongous, at the end she says “…..you must do something to not get to that”. I am much lenient on my mom lately because in the past I would have snapped at her. She says the cousin use to exercise and was on her way of linking being way overweight now with having started exercise. So I explain how I think with each baby most people just put on weight. The cousin has had 4 already and just came back bigger after each one. I think the way we eat around here contributes to this phenomena, we eat mostly mielie-meal. Almost everything has mielie-meal. Other starches are loved but mielies is the favourite. Now that we work in offices and don’t farm like our ancestors we end up never burning the fat. I would say 50% of people in the Eastern cape are fat, not just chubby but fat.Statistics for the country(supplied by South African society for obesity and metabolism) reveal that 45% of the South African population is overweight. This was in 2006, I am sure they are much higher now. So having seen an aunt of my mom's at the wedding walking with crutches because of elephantiasis, she's diabetic and apparently she will have an amputation. I was inspired to do something. What though is it that i can do that I have not tried before? I was thinking control of what I eat as I know for a fact that limiting cabs works for me. I just did not have the discipline to carry it through. How on earth will I do that with all this mielies around me. Like now the pot for supper is mieliepap with sour milk. I love that meal......Damn I will have to think of something. I want my health, I want my body healthy, I want to live long. Forget small waistline, just being able to run and be fit . To be strong and use my body as an instrument, a tool.