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I CAN AFFORD THE BURDEN OF NEEDING TO LOSE WEIGHT
Did you ever think that being overweight may actually be a blessing? Have you ever contemplated that your excess weight may signify more than just a state of overeating?The fact that being overweight is actually a luxury not everyone can afford?
Here we are on Fatsecret all dying to stop eating when there are people on this planet dying to eat. There are millions of starving people around the globe trying to feign off starvation and poverty, all with the common goal of trying to live, trying to keep their families alive.
The above heading was a quote I read in a magazine recently and it impacted me profoundly. I never realized that being fat could actually be a luxury that one could afford. We have the means to be gluttonous and put ourselves into the situation of eating in excess. Just think about the amount of chips and soda we consume or have consumed just on a whim. Ever picked a bag of popcorn because you felt like it and then ended up eating more than you want to just because its there? Unfortunately, there are too many people who dont have such liberties. They cant find a grain of rice to eat, much less a whole bowl. They probably dont even know what a chip tastes like, let alone contemplate the variety of flavors we fuss over.
I would like to suggest a mini challenge to everyone to be done over the entire month of September. Every time you want to eat a unhealthy choice item, calculate the cost of that and put that money aside instead. If you eat the item, you can should double the cost of the item. If you only want to eat a portion of something, place a value on it. E.g. how much would two cookies be worth? As this is for a good cause, be generous!
This should be an incentive for you to avoid the food and to do a good deed at the same time.
At the end of the month, donate the money to the charity of your choice, whether it is local or international.
I will be fasting for the whole month of September as part of Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims. This is when you fast from sunrise to sunset each day, so I intend to donate the cost of each meal I miss (breakfast and lunch). You can choose to donate in lieu of snacks or meals.
Finally, please report how much money you collected from not eating the foods you contemplated and which charity you are going to donate to at the end of the challenge. You can keep daily tallies or give a final report at the end of the month.
I hope that this challenge will help motivate both your dieting and your compassion. Good luck!
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 Comments
Question? Excuse my ignorance here, but I have lived in several foreign countries, speak a few languages and worked for families and children in crisis, in third world countries and a few others not so bad off. I spent a lot of time in Turkey, speak the language there and worked for Turkish American Relations. I'm not sure of the differences or the reasons but I was there through two Ramadans (quite the experience I tell you,I really loved it) but I thought they did eat after the sun set? I didn't think they fasted 24/7 for the whole Ramadan. They do eat in the evening am I wrong? I agree with you that I wish everybody could see a bit of how so many other places live. I've seen it and experienced it, used to call it my souls work. Then life through me a few curve balls of my own but after seeing most of what I saw, I was always appreciative! Have a glorious night!
28 Aug 08 by member: ImLuuvd
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Duh, you did say sunrise to sunset! WOW! I feel so honored to have witnessed this firsthand. Thanks for sharing this with others who have never seen or heard of this.
28 Aug 08 by member: ImLuuvd
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Thanks for asking Imluuvd. Actually, there is only Ramadan, which is the month of fasting. You may be referring to the festival that concludes the fasting, namely, Eid. We have two Eid occasions, one to commemorate the end of fasting, and the second to celebrate the ending of an annual pilgrimage (Hajj). You are right that eating is done after sunset (as I mentioned in journal..FROM sunrise UNTIL sunset.) After that we usually pig out and end up gaining weight by the end of the month!! Nassulsun!!
28 Aug 08 by member: caged liberty
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One of these days I will make it back. All the people and memories are flooding back to me now. I wish you a fantastic challenge result! Goodnight. In Turkey there were a few ways you say this depending on if you were the one leaving the premises or staying, but the basic I suppose the tourist would first learn would be iyi geceler? Good night. :-)
28 Aug 08 by member: ImLuuvd
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Have you ever done the pilgrimage to Hajj? From what I understand, every Muslim strives to do this pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.
28 Aug 08 by member: mbhpro
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I havent done the pilgrimage Mb because 1)it is expensive to take the entire family 2)I would need to leave little bear because it is a very chaotic place 3)most importantly, I dont have the willpower. The pilgrimage requires some rituals that require a lot of discipline and its about the purification of the soul. So you leave the pilgrimage like a new born baby without sin. The idea is to continue to maintain that purity once you have had the opportunity to be absolved of all sin. But I dont know if I can be a good girl all the time because I do sin a lot! It is a dream to visit the religious sites, so maybe one day?
28 Aug 08 by member: caged liberty
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I have a friend who lives in Egypt who went there on his honeymoon with his new wife. I saw pictures from his trip and noticed he shaved his head, but I didn't ask him why. Is this part of the ritual?
28 Aug 08 by member: mbhpro
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