Fitness Tip of the Week: Celebrate Our First Anniversary by Inviting Friends to Join the Fun

In one year, our community has grown to over 4,000 members. More members means more voices, more perspectives and more lives improved and extended by the adoption of healthy lifestyles. Our strength and vitality lies in numbers.

Please help our community grow by inviting friends and family to join the Fat 2 Fit online community. You can ask anyone to join because our program is free and welcomes all ages. The online community is open to AARP members and nonmembers alike wherever they live--in the United States, in Canada or around the world.

When you are deciding whom to invite, think how you have changed over the months and how this group has contributed to your health and well-being. Think what it would mean for the promotion of fitness and the visibility of our efforts were each one of us to step out and publicly take a stand for fitness. And consider how your effort will reinforce a commitment to your own healthy lifestyle.

Thought precedes action. Reflect on the opportunity you have to contribute to others--then act.

Featured Member: SuzanneMA

MaureenClaire began a discussion by asking if she could take a vacation from her fitness regimen. She reported lots going on in her life--a new grandchild, travel, social activities, heavy workload and other commitments. She received many comments, but the most potent was from SuzanneMA, who wrote:

"In my opinion, YES, you can take a vacation from your plan if you're only on a diet to lose weight. NO, if you want/desire to live a healthy lifestyle, free from obsessing about food and exercise.

What you're currently experiencing is just life, and eating any food handy to deal with life is not the answer. I know because I am a food addict. I am working on my particular plan too, just like you. You can do it! We can do it together. Stay in the present moment. After you read my comments, plan, right this minute, your next healthy meal. Then just eat that planned healthy meal. Go one meal at a time.

Enjoy your new grandchild. I will be a grandmother for the first time in August and want to be a healthy role model too."

I picked SuzanneMA as this week's featured member because she effectively reminded us that fitness achieved through healthy daily choices is our goal; weight loss is the wonderful and predictable byproduct of those choices. Our bodies never take a vacation. Every day, whatever our schedule or workload, our bodies need nutritious food, exercise and rest. That's why we can never take a vacation from our commitment to a healthy lifestyle.

As a thank you, I am sending SuzanneMA an autographed copy of From Fat to Fit: Turn Yourself into a Weapon of Mass Reduction. I have no doubt we'll receive more insightful comments from her in the weeks ahead.

Resolution Challenge 2010 Club: Last Week's Winner, FlyingDi

FlyingDi is last week's winner. She reached a turning point in her life and wrote, "It is time to wake up!" And she's using the Resolution Challenge Club to keep herself on track.

Her report, along with that of other members, helps us stay on track. Because of its usefulness, we'll continue the Club until May, when the second weight-loss challenge will begin. Until then, please continue to send your weekly reports.

If you, like FlyingDi, are new to the Club, you can still begin this week simply by posting your resolutions. Resolutions need to be specific, measurable and anchored in time. Here are examples:

--I will exercise 60 minutes each day 6 days a week unless I am injured or sick.
--I will eat 3 servings of fruit each day.

You can post one or more resolutions. You may resolve to modify an existing habit (such as replacing a nightly bowl of ice cream 6 out of 7 days a week with a serving of fruit). Or you may resolve to eliminate an existing habit (such as giving up sugared drinks 7 out of 7 days a week).

Each week, one person will be selected from the names of those who made, kept and reported their resolution, and this person will receive a prize. Weekly prizes will vary and include one or more of the following: CDs of "Skinny Songs," Fat 2 Fit coffee mugs, T-shirts and autographed copies of From Fat to Fit: Turn Yourself into a Weapon of Mass Reduction.

A Few Reminders

Removing Notifications: The Fat 2 Fit group is very popular. If you are receiving more notifications than you like, you can change your notifications under the settings tool by following these instructions:

1. Go to your profile page.
2. Click on the "Settings" button under your profile picture.
3. Scroll down to "Notifications," where you'll find a list of actions. Check the boxes to indicate when you'd like to be contacted and whether you'd like to be notified by e-mail or via your AARP.org Message Center. Or both!
4. If you do not wish to receive any notifications, be sure all the boxes are unchecked. (That is, they should not have a check mark indicated.)

Collect Your Messages: I notice that my personal messages to some members remain unread. So next time you take a break, go to the AARP site and log in. After you have successfully logged in, you will see a welcome notice in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. Underneath the welcome, you will see "Messages." Click on the word to find your messages from individuals and also notices of postings in the group forum. You can also compose and send messages. Some of you have reported difficulty in locating messages, so feel free to ask for help.

Next Week's Featured Member: Next week, I'll pick another member to lift up to our community. Who will it be? Maybe you?

Have a great week.
Coach Carole