Healthy habits are contagious

When I started this journey, I was on my own. My co-workers and I had all dabbled in fitness, some folks trying diets, some taking classes from time to time. But when I started, it was a very big deal to me. I talked about it all the time, excitedly sharing what I'd learned with my friends, who were probably just listening politely but who were listening all the same.

I love an audience.

But now, three of the four of us in my department go to the gym regularly. The fourth has started meal-tracking with a phone app similar to mine and hits all her favorite fitness classes around town. A manager, who often hangs out at the empty desk, has started bringing healthy snacks and jokes with us about how he can't let his wife bring him burgers anymore, because it's embarrassing. He's making healthier choices, partly for us, but partly for himself. In another department, half of the staff members are either regularly going to a gym or changing their diets.

Instead of running for the snacks or overindulging in the office meals, we've learned to simply say "No, thank you." We're not controlled by the impulses that controlled us before.

This journey can so easily be hurtful or discouraging, driven by negative thoughts. Those ones that say "You're not good enough. You need to change." But my co-workers seem to feel every bit as empowered as I feel every day. We talk about these new discoveries with excitement and a sort of camaraderie.

Solidarity.

Even my teen-aged son has changed. Sitting down to a healthy meal and talking about his mile times in gym and how he's improving in sports is priceless. We poke at each other, daring the other to lift heavier or run faster. Sometimes, we stay up past bedtime taking turns with my free weights, critiquing each other. It's gratifying to know that I'm fit enough to inspire competition in him and that he's now interested enough in fitness to care.

'Course, he's nearly 6'1" with a 30-inch waist, so he's usually got me soundly beat on all counts. But still. It matters.

Healthy habits are contagious, guys. Small changes in you can become big changes in others.

It makes this journey more rewarding than I ever could have imagined.