Jumping to Lose Weight

When you feel joyful, jump!

Do as François Mauriac did, one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century and member of the Académie Française....

Frail and the very opposite of sporty, the French author François Mauriac got into the habit of jumping up and down in front of his full-length mirror. He jumped up and down starting off with small, gentle knee bends to warm up, gradually jumping higher and higher. I thought this was a fantastic idea and so I adopted it. As he recommended, I started jumping up and down when I was feeling joyful—this stimulated the body's strength and energy and produced a satisfying feeling of being alive which is joy. Finally, I realized that, even though temporary by definition, my joy was ongoing with this physical exercise. Then, I tried to test this sort of jumping in isolation without associating it with joy. I realized that jumping up and down made me feel joyful. Is this conditioning or mental association? I don't know but since then, I have been creating little moments of joy and I maintain this two-way association. At the same time, I work on my quadriceps muscle, the biggest calorie burner so I am controlling my weight. Try it out -- you have nothing to lose (except some ounces)!