by Carol Gioia

Created on: August 16, 2010

Lifestyle has a lot to do with losing weight and keeping it off. If you want to stay thin without being on a perpetual diet, there are some simple lifestyle changes you can adopt to help you maintain a healthy weight.

Habits to develop to stay thin:

* Stay hydrated

Drinking lots of water throughout the day will ensure your body is hydrated. Dehydration often masks itself as hunger and you might be snacking excessively when what your body needs is more water.  Also, drinking water makes you feel full and will help you to avoid snacking between meals. 

* Exercise

Keep your body moving and it will reward you by remaining thin. Have a daily exercise regimen and stick to it. In addition, if you have a choice between a physically demanding activity and one that is not, opt for the physical activity.  For example: Take an invigorating bike ride on the weekend, in lieu of the sedentary movie session accompanied by fattening popcorn.  Increasing your phsical activity will actually give you more mental and physical energy.

* Develop a healthy concept of portions

Avoid fast food chains altogether, for most of their fare far exceeds the amount of calories your body requires. When you do dine out, get into the habit of requesting a take-home box before your food is served and immediately put one half of your plateful into the box for the next day’s lunch. When eating at home, eliminate the habit of second helpings. It takes twenty minutes for your stomach to send the message to your brain that it is full, so eat slowly, savoring the taste of your food and allow your brain to receive the message.

* Trade-off

If you are consuming enough water throughout the day, you might not indulge in snacking. However, when you do want a snack, trade off something fattening and sugar laden for a naturally sweet piece of fruit or fruit-flavored love calorie yogurt. Your craving for sweets will be assuaged without sabotaging your goal to remain thin.

* Raise nutrition awareness

Become educated about what foods are healthy, how many calories your body needs and all the other good nutrition information available. Take a class on nutrition or purchase a book on the subject. There are myriad on-line sites at your disposal presenting every conceivable angle of dieting, weight-loss tips, calories, healthy eating habits and weight maintenance.

Sometimes weight gain is due to ignorance about how to remain thin. Once you understand the components in various foods, the ramifications of eating too much fat and sugar, and the correlation between exercise and calories consumed, you will be able to make healthier choices and potentially stay thin.

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