Every Monday, That's Fit's very own "charged up" wellness guru Laura Lewis presents The Passion Principle, a weekly guide that will help you achieve your greatest potential through words of inspiration, cutting-edge ideas and action tips you can use in your every day life.

I love to laugh and even find myself laughing when alone, thinking of a funny situation or something comedic a good friend of mine said. Heck, it is not uncommon to see me smiling or laughing when I'm walking my huge Golden Retriever named Tucker, who happens to be bigger than I am. He is well-trained, except for when it comes to little furry creatures like rabbits or squirrels. One time, I was standing in my front yard with Tucker and many of the neighborhood kids were hanging out, playing ball, skateboarding and just having fun. All of a sudden, a rabbit dashed across my lawn and before I knew it, I was laying on my back with arms and legs spread wide ... luckily the grass was soft! I laughed and laughed as all of the kids' eyes were upon me, in a rather uncompromising position, still holding onto Tucker's leash while he gazed longingly in the direction of the lucky rabbit that had disappeared! That laughter, it turns out, actually was helping rev my metabolism. Yes, laying there in my front lawn! Making light of the situation turned out to have more benefits than I could have ever imagined!

I figured it's about time to get you to lighten up too ... literally! Check out the photo gallery below for six reasons why laughter could help you melt away the pounds!

Laugh Your Way Thin -- 6 Reasons Why it Works!(click thumbnails to view gallery)

What's the catch? To create significant change in your body weight, you must change the way you eat and begin to exercise on a regular basis. The good news is that adding laughter to your life can add to your own "get lean with laughter" campaign. For a little more prodding, check out this post on resolving to be happy in 2009! So go ahead: Throw on your favorite funny flick (I love Jim Carrey in Liar! Liar! in the scene where he fights with an ink pen. Every time I see it I laugh so hard my sides hurt!), listen to a comedy podcast, call a funny friend, read the Sunday comics and laugh out loud! Oh and if you have never viewed this video of the adorable laughing baby boy, you must! If you don't laugh watching it, then you need to get your funny bone adjusted!

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