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It's not easy being slim. It's a cop-out for those who aren't thin to think all those of us who are just acquired better genes from our parents. Not so! It takes daily discipline and a certain ammount of education about how to eat healthily.

There are a few rare individuals who can eat anything they want and not gain weight, but most of us will have to work to stay slim.

Most children are slim; most adults are not. Why is that? What happens in between childhood and adulthood that makes us gain weight? A lot of it is determined by what we eat.

Definition: A diet is what you eat 95% of the time. It is your usual eating pattern, not a radical program of denial that you adopt occasionally to lose weight.

Here are the best diet secrets I have found:

What you eat is more important than how much you eat. Translation: If you fill up on natural, unrefined foods - fruits, grains, vegetables, beans, nuts, and greens, you will find it easy to lose weight and keep it off.

Eat for health, not for flavor. Notice the effect what you eat has on your mood and energy level - correct your diet if what you eat doesn't help you feel and perform optimally.

Go vegetarian or at least move in that direction. This will REALLY take the weight off, if you do it right. This is tricky, so get a good book on it, such as "Diet for a Small Planet", so you can learn to properly combine proteins to get all you need for health.

Don't watch TV or read foodie magazines that show you all these beautiful, slim models eating rich, fattening foods. They're paid to pretend to eat that stuff. In real life, they don't eat those foods - at least, not if they intend to stay thin.

Don't be a slave to comfort foods.

Always eat breakfast. Don't skip meals. As a rule, prepare your own meals - eat out only rarely.

Live by the Glycemic Index! Use it to guide you.

Don't stuff yourself! Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. Water is a good beverage. Milk is for baby cows - you don't need it.

Take a good quality, balanced multivitamin.

If you backslide, get back to healthy eating ASAP.

Drink green tea, not coffee. Don't put a bunch of sugar and milk in it. Nix the artificial sweeteners, too.

If you drink, make it wine, not beer - and not much.

Learn to listen to your body. Notice, I said, "your body" - not your mind. Your mind has been programmed with desires for what advertisers are selling and most of it does not contribute to a slim physique (or health). Your body, on the other hand, will tell you if you have eaten well: you will feel good, full of energy, and satisfied.

The real deep diet secret to being slim is to eat when you are hungry, stop when you are comfortably full, and to choose only natural foods that contribute to your feeling good.

The good news is that being slim is more a matter of how we eat than it is of genetics. Anyone can use these "secrets" to live a slimmer, healthier life - and that is a great reward, in itself.

Learn more about this author, Paul Kemp.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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