by Leann Zotis

Created on: June 01, 2009   Last Updated: June 08, 2009

We would all like to have healthy, fit bodies, free of excess weight, maybe with a little muscle tone to show off. A few lucky ones can come by this state of being naturally. For the rest of us, it may take a little more work.

In our youth, most of us never gave a second thought to the food we ate and the effect it might have on our body weight. We didn't have to. We ate when we were hungry and our young lives were so hectic and action packed that eating enough to survive was often more of an issue than limiting our intake to control our weight. We were young, fuel-burning machines, growing and playing, building muscle, burning fat. It was a perfect system, really.

The change was almost imperceptible. We reached our adult stature. Life and family and responsibility cut drastically into our play time. In a lot of cases, our brains didn't really absorb that change. Food was good and plentiful and the focal-point for many of our social activities. That first extra ten pounds may not have been too much to deal with. Somewhere along the way those ten pounds started to creep higher. The moment of truth came one morning on the bathroom scale or one afternoon at the doctor's office.

Most of us, at some point in our lives, are finally confronted with the seemingly inevitable weight gain that challenges us in adulthood. Maybe it's after the birth of a child (or two), maybe after that promotion that keeps us chained to our desk for ten hours a day, maybe sometime in middle age. It will come. We may cringe at the reality, seek denial as our defense for awhile, or stoically come to grips with it and fight back.

Fighting back is a strong and viable option. And, it's one that can meet with a high level of success if you're determined to succeed. In spite of the fact that the adult population is growing ever more obese with each successive generation, not all adults are overweight. Some are naturally thin and will remain so their entire lives. The rest put forth a conscious effort to outsmart weight gain.

Of course you must address the issue of a proper diet. You can't eat like you could back in the days when food was the primary building blocks for your growing body. Stop pretending your body is different. Adjust your meals and your food intake.

Hunger is a main enemy of any weight controlling diet plan. Don't let your hunger get the best of you. Instead of simply going from breakfast to lunch to dinner and eating as much as you care to at each of these meals, divide your daily food consumption into six smaller meals. Limit your calorie intake to around 250 to 300 calories in each of these mini meals. Save up for one splurge each week when you eat with friends or share a big meal with family, but other than this, think smaller portions.

Join a neighborhood gym. There, in a community of like-minded adults, you can share in the struggles and the rewards of working towards a healthy, fit body. Skip the mega-gym scenario where all of the next generation of world class body builders hangs out. Exercising with others is always more fun than struggling alone. For the truly committed, enlist the services of a personal trainer to jump start your efforts.

The most important step to outsmart weight gain is to come to a true and honest understanding with yourself. Weight maintenance is a life time endeavor. Good health will pay rewards to you for the rest of your life. And isn't that worth more than a glazed donut any day?

Learn more about this author, Leann Zotis.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.