skinny habbit

Found this interesting from betterhealthandliving.com

5 things thin/healthy people do

Ever notice how those effortlessly skinny types rarely sweat themselves silly at the gym or deny themselves their favorite foods, like chocolate? Meanwhile, millions of hopeful dieters skip meals, nuke Lean Cuisines for lunch, and sip diet sodas on the go, often to no avail; research suggests that 95 percent of people who lose weight gain it all back--plus an average of 11 pounds more--within five years.

You've probably already memorized the tried-and-true advice for successful weight maintenance (all together now: Don't skip breakfast, walk 10,000 steps a day, eat small portions, etc.). It's time to add some new methods to your arsenal. Here are five surprising, easy-to-copy strategies that really work for thin people. They also help so-called long-term maintainers, the minority of dieters who actually win at the weight-loss game. Follow their lead, and you'll increase your own odds of success.

1Be selfish
Barbara St. John, a nurse in Seattle, has two young sons and a husband who travels most of the week. She's so busy being a "fulltime caregiver" at work and home that she doesn't have time to read or get a pedicure. But when it comes to her daily Pilates session and carving out 20 minutes to shop for healthy, low-calorie foods, she puts herself first. "If I didn't, I'd gain back the 50 pounds I spent 10 years trying to lose," she says.


Clinical research supports St. John's selfishness strategy, says dietitian Anne M. Fletcher, RD, author of Thin for Life: 10 Keys to Success from People Who Have Lost Weight and Kept It Off. "In studies of long-term weight-loss maintainers, the minority who succeeded made time to pack their own healthy foods rather than succumb to temptation, and to exercise." Bottom line: Thin people put themselves--and their healthy habits--before other people's needs. "If you don't, resentment will build up, and you'll want to console yourself--usually with food," says Fletcher.

2Eat apples and fewer T-bones
We all know people who claim to have dropped lots of pounds by shunning fruit in favor of meat and other fatty foods. But they probably won't keep it off suggests a recent study of 52 heavy and 52 normal-weight people by University of Southern California dietitian Jaimie Davis, RD. "On average, overweight/obese subjects consumed about one more meat serving per day and one less fruit serving per day than their normal-weight counterparts," she says.


"And they consumed about the same number of calories." The reason: Fiber fills you up, and the natural sweetness of fruit may satisfy a sweet tooth that would otherwise have you craving a doughnut. Bottom line: Get more of your calories from fiber and carbs in fruit and fewer calories from fat, and you may find the needle on the scale moving into "thin person" range.

"...there are almost as many lingerie shops in Paris as bakeries." --Anne Barone
3Buy some skinny jeans
Thin people are unanimous in their warning to never underestimate the power of vanity. Form-fitting clothes, they say, will let you know with a popped button or snapped strap why you want to lose weight in the first place. While not all French women have sleek bodies, enough do that several books describing their "secrets" have hit the bestseller list. Anne Barone, author of Chic and Slim: How Those French Women Eat all That Rich Food and Still Stay Slim, claims that French women wear fancy lingerie and body-revealing outfits to remind them that their food choices come at a price.


"Their belief in this principle is demonstrated by the fact that there are almost as many lingerie shops in Paris as bakeries," she writes. Bottom line: Don't hide your shape under tunics and stretch pants, says weight-loss coach Janice Taylor, who runs the website www.ourladyofweightloss.com and has maintained a 50-pound weight loss for more than five years. "You have to picture yourself thin if you want to become thin. The more vivid the picture, the more real it will feel to you," she says--and the more motivated you will be to achieve it.

4Eat at home
Michael Sullivan, a 46-year-old accountant in San Francisco and former road warrior, used to scarf down meals in airports or roadside restaurants. Now he rarely travels for work, and he and his wife cook and eat dinner at home six nights a week. As a result, he says, "I just had all my suits taken in because I had lost so much weight." Coincidence? Probably not.


Sullivan is probably consuming a fraction of the calories he used to eat without even realizing it. Restaurants are offering bigger portions in a never-ending battle to attract customers, says Barbara Rolls, PhD, a professor of biobehavioral health at Pennsylvania State University. Her research shows that when restaurants serve up bigger plates of food, people eat more because they think it's a better value. "They don't take into account the health consequences." Bottom line: On average, people who eat in restaurants consume more calories and saturated fat, fewer nutrients, less fiber, and about twice as many calories per meal compared to folks who eat at home, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Eat out only as an occasional treat, and avoid drive-through windows at all times.

5Believe thin will happen
Bad genes, a fast-food-filled childhood, slow metabolism, sluggish hormones--there are so many reasons to think long-term weight loss is impossible. But thin people (and the formerly fat) don't buy it. That's what several studies of dieters found differentiated weight-loss winners from relapsers. "Self-efficacy, or the belief you can control your weight destiny, can actually help keep pounds off," says Fletcher. Bottom line: Stop the negative self-talk and start believing you can be thin. The best way to do that? Seek out successful role models and get support. "Groups like Weight Watchers and Overeaters Anonymous are powerfully motivating," she says.