Thin Is Contagious Too

By Editorial Staff, 

With all the bad news about your friends making you fat, where's the good news?

Carole Carson (dubbed "The Apostle of Fitness" by the Wall Street Journal, and author of From Fat to Fit: Turn Yourself into a Weapon of Mass Reduction), says, "If friends can make you fat, they can also make you thin." How do we make that happen?

Carole says to think "FIT" to make your thinness contagious:

F = Food choices: Make fruits and vegetables your new best friends. While you needn't totally severe your ties with French fries, hamburgers and milk shakes, you need to put a little distance between you and them. However, there's no need to starve. In fact, keeping calories too low will prevent you from succeeding. Instead, think about the colors of the rainbow, from purple eggplant and yellow squash to red apples and dark green lettuce. Keep the good oils in your diet, such as olive oil. And find friends with whom you can share recipes and progress.

I = Image makeover: Update your body image, and reinvent yourself as trim and fit. Our bodies are wonderfully forgiving at any age. When we lovingly nourish and exercise them, they respond beautifully. You don't have to accept elastic waistbands. You can reshape your body image by changing your eating and exercise habits. Over time, the mirror will reflect the new "you." Besides dropping 10 pounds, you'll also drop 10 years from your appearance.

T = Total body workout: Find exercises you love to do and friends you love to do them with. Some exercises you may want to do alone, such as a meditative exercise routine every morning before you begin your busy day. Others will involve friends, like a spinning class at the local fitness center. Today's choices are incredibly varied--kick boxing, walking, Pilates, fencing, table tennis, weight lifting, and rock-wall climbing, to name just a few. Find one that makes you feel like a kid again. And don't be afraid to take up a new form of exercise. Being a student will keep you young at heart. By engaging in adult play in the form of exercise, you'll recover the ease and flexibility of your body you once took for granted.

Two-thirds of us are overweight, so we can find plenty of companions to join us when we begin our weight loss journey. Just as we had fun getting fat together, we'll have fun getting thin together. Dropping pounds is contagious, so surround yourself with friends who are as determined as you are to make the numbers on the scale go down. That way, you'll increase each other's chances of success. We're all in this together. We can have an infectiously good time getting fit with friends and family.

For more information on how to get thin with your friends, a copy of From Fat to Fit, or to interview the author, please contact Mary Ellen Gross, 858-456-0707, sizzle@san.rr.com, or visit www.fromfat2fit.com.

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