Some Tips - Laughter and Fasted Cardio

In these terrifying political and economic times (not mincing words here), I turn to laughter. One of my New Year's resolutions for 2025 was to begin each day reading jokes or stories on a sub-Reddit devoted to humor or on the BoredPanda.com website. Another resolution was to practice daily gratitude (more on that later). My rule is to read humor for 15 minutes or until I laugh out loud. Puns, heart-warming humor, or dad jokes don't count -- only belly laughs do. I've kept this resolution for more than a year. Starting the day with a laugh is a terrific boost. For more laughter, I am listening to Amy Poehler's "Good Hang" podcast -- she ends each episode by asking each guest what they do each day to make them laugh. Paul Rudd's response was most memorable... watching global news bloopers on YouTube. I agree!

Amy also recently quoted the oft-revered writer Anne Lamott, who writes with self-deprecating humor about, among other things, faith and alcoholism, as proclaiming: "Laughter is spiritual." The full quotation appears to be "Rest and laughter are the most spiritual and subversive acts of all. Laugh, rest, slow down."

Turning that on its head, also in the morning, after laughing at Reddit or BoredPanda, I get on my stationary bike, after drinking a large stadium cup of water with lemon, for a "fasted cardio workout" - listening to 30 minutes of fast dance music, an equally rewarding start to the day, in a completely different way. The science -- on whether one burns more fat while doing cardio in a fasted state -- is all over the place. There is not one definitive answer. In any event, it's good to begin the day on a high after my laughs. And at my weight (68 kg), I burned 316 calories this morning!