How The Roseto Effect Can Help You Have A Bride Fit Mind & ‘Get Wedding Dress Ready’

I wish getting fit & fabulous for your big day was as simple as doing a specific workout, following an easy diet and taking one magical vitamin a day.   Unfortunately there’s not a one-size fits all program or magical pills and there are many factors when it comes to releasing fat and toning your Bride Fit body in addition to exercise and diet.  

In my on-line Exceptional Bride program I discuss how to have a Bride Fit mind which is connected to the success of getting your body fit, most don’t see or think of the connection.   Having a Bride Fit mind means you have a healthy brain and happy thoughts that support being a joyful bride.   Nutrition and regular exercise are two big contributing factors in brain health and being happy.   There’s another piece to the happiness puzzle not often addressed, which is community.   Often we think that happiness happens when we get what we want; new car, better job, dream vacation, or the ring!   The big lesson we learn from the Roseto Effect, that being part of a community or ‘your tribe’ has an enormous effect on your happiness, which directly affects our health.   What does this have to do with “getting wedding dress ready?”   I believe when you are happy and healthy it makes choosing the foods and habits that support your Bride Fit goals easier.   Feeling lonely and disconnected can result in emotional eating trying to fill a hunger that can’t be filled with food.

What is the Roseto Effect?  

The Roseto effect is the phenomenon by which a close-knit community experiences a reduced rate of heart disease.   The effect is named for Roseto, Pennsylvania.   Roseto was a socially isolated village made up of a group of Italian immigrants.   They only married within the community, kept to themselves, spoke Italian, worshiped God, shopped in their own local stores and lived as three generational families under the same roof.   They worked in factories and slate quarries.   In 1961, at the height of the heart disease epidemic in the U.S., a local Roseto doctor happen to mention to Dr. Stewart Wolf from the University of Oklahoma that heart disease was basically nonexistent in Roseto.   This chance conversation sparked outside researchers to study the residents of Roseto to find out why no one in the town under the age of 65 died of heart disease and over 65 was ½ the national average!   In addition there was no suicide, alcoholics, drug addicts, crime or welfare.   Was it their diet, exercise habits or genetics?   They took blood, ran medical tests and interviewed everyone.   This is what they found out about in this town of 2000 people:

  • They had an abundance of food and wine.
  • Ate rich Italian meals often prepared with lard.
  • Zero to little negative stress.
  • Large respect for grandparents and great grandparents.
  • Common practice to stop and talk to neighbors on the street.
  • Many belonged social groups where they gathered in each others homes to play cards and talk.
  • Many even smoked unfiltered cigarettes.

You may be wondering how could this group of people be healthy and happy?

The people from Roseto were nourished by each other.

I’m definitely not suggesting you eat copious amounts of food or smoke any kind of cigarettes!   Learning this beyond surprising information of how human connection affects your health in a huge positive way is powerful!   As your Bride Fit coach, my goal for you is to have a fit body, glowing skin and to radiate happiness on your wedding day!   The priceless take-a-way from the Roseto Effect is knowing that spending time connecting with family and friends creates contentment, reduces stress and makes us feel secure and happy.   It’s so simple but not always easy to connect with people these days because of the rushed, 24/7 world we live in.   Here are some ways to infuse more community in your life and reap the amazing health benefits:

  1. Start a biweekly or monthly girls night. Make it a game night!   Alternate homes, keep it simple, the idea is to just get together, talk, laugh and connect!
  2. Get involved in a group. Seek out clubs that host meetings and outings like reading, running and skiing through your church or township.
  3. Host a Sunday family dinner. Cooking and eating together with family and friends is a great opportunity to connect.

 

With one of the most commonly prescribed medications in this country being antidepressants, doing things that have been proven to make us happy seems like a good idea!   We are creatures of community and thrive when we care, love and nurture each other.

When we are happier and less stressed we make better, more conscience decisions with what we eat and influences our motivation to exercise.   Making deliberate decisions when it comes to what you eat, how to prepare it and your exercise schedule has a big impact on your Bride Fit body.   So doing things that make you happy supports you getting “wedding dress ready!”!

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Sheila is a health coach and creator of 12 WEEKS TO A FIT BRIDE.    She works with BRIDES in the area’s of fitness, nutrition & lifestyle to create a life of “happily & healthily ever after.”

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Written by Sheila Piehler
Medical Writer & Editor

Sheila is a health coach and creator of 12 WEEKS TO A FIT BRIDE.    She works with BRIDES in the area’s of fitness, nutrition & lifestyle to create a life of “happily & healthily ever after.”

View all post by Sheila Piehler