Part 11 (1/2)

Have I not been nice to you? All right, relax and watch yourself get into the cla.s.s of the plumptically adequate.

And if you don't succeed after a faithful trial, take the milk-cure, with its three to six weeks' absolute rest.

_Recapitulation_

1. Calm yourself.

2. Sleep.

3. Exercise.

4. Food.

5. Masticate 6. Delete the details.

7. Milk-cure.

_Review_

1. Repeat Elbert Hubbard's advice.

2. Give three reasons why worry can make you thin.

3. Define ”Medical Trust” and ”League for Medical Freedom.”

4. Memorize paragraph about nature 5. Enumerate the things you can eat to increase your calories.

7

Exercise

It is practically impossible to reduce weight through exercise alone, unless one can do a tremendous amount of it. For the food that one eats is usually enough to cover the energy lost by the exercise.

[Sidenote: _Light On Your Feet_]

However, exercise is a very important feature of any reducing program; not because of the fat that is burned up in the exercise--and there is some burned--but for the reason that it is necessary to keep one in a healthy condition. The muscles, the internal organs, the bones, the brain, are all benefited--in fact, the entire system.

[Sidenote: _Duty Dances_]

The exercises described hereinafter will help make you fat or thin, and they will keep you supple, graceful, and light on your feet, so that when I tell my husband that he must dance with you, Madam, he will not say, ”Nothing stirring,” and when you, Professor, ask me to dance, I will not curse the day I was born.

[Sidenote: _Warning_]

If you have not been accustomed to exercise, I warn you to take up only one or two at a time and do each one a few times only. You will be atrociously sore, and you will realize that you have muscles of which you wotted not.

However, persist, if you are sure there are no organic reasons why you shouldn't--such as a weak heart. (In case you are very much overweight, I think it advisable to wait until you have reduced somewhat.)

[Sidenote: _Or Cla.s.sic Dancing_]

It is splendid if you can belong to a gymnasium or to a physical culture cla.s.s, but ten to fifteen minutes' systematic daily exercise practiced with vim, and each set followed by deep breathing, will do more good than a gymnasium spasmodically attended. Brisk walking with a long stride isn't so bad; in fact, if taken with a very long stride it will twist 'most every organ you have in your body.

There are hundreds of exercises you can take. If you will notice little rascal's ill.u.s.trations you will find many good ones. Those ill.u.s.trating the beginning of this chapter are excellent.