Diet & Fitness: Nutrition

10 Secrets of the Effortlessly Thin

The majority of thin people—whether they have been lean all their life or managed to lose weight and keep it off—share several healthy strategies that help them stay thin and healthy with seemingly little effort. Here are 10 secrets you need to know in order to join the ranks of the thin.
10 Secrets of the Effortlessly Thin // Small amount of food on a plate (© Tom Grill/Getty Images)
They don't diet
Or at least not in the traditional, all-or-nothing, deprivation sense of the word. "You need to get rid of that diet mentality and realize that what you are doing is making a permanent lifestyle change," says Anne Fletcher, M.S., R.D., author of the Thin for Life book series. She adds, "You do have to cut back on calories if you want to stay thin, but it's about reassessing what you eat and being more sensible in your choices, not about a quick-fix, crazy diet." Research has also shown that thin people tend to have a better quality diet than those who are overweight. They eat more fruits and vegetables and more fiber, and drink more water—all healthy things that provide more food volume for the number of calories.
 
 
By Sally Wadyka for MSN Health & Fitness
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Sunday, January 31, 2010 1:54:23 PM

The headline of this piece irritates me--I'm 5 feet 8 and weigh 120 (and have maintained that weight for 30 years after ballooning to 160 at one point). I get tired of being told that I'm "effortlessly" thin. There's nothing effortless about exercising an hour every day, learning to cook "light" meals, and resisting the blandishments of the mega-corporations selling concoctions of corn syrup and starch in grocery stores and in fast-food outlets.  

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 4:37:15 PM
Bring a running outfit to work and tennis shoes and start by either going for a walk, slow jog, or a gentle run... Go over your school work in your head while out, or if you have a ipod download some material that your might need to study.  There's no reason you cant do this 5 days a week, dress appropriately for the weather. I find it almost like a moving meditation at times
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 2:19:44 PM

I'll tell you my day, you tell me how to lose the weight.

 

We get up at 4:30 am and get ready for work. We then get my two children ready for work (We dress, ready two diaper bags and toss something in the microwave for the 2 year old, then get the children dressed.) and we leave by 5:15 am.

We drive for about 25 min, drop my 2 year old off at his grandmas, then drive for another 20 min to work.

At around 6 am I am on my butt in front of a computer screen working. If I get up and walk around to talk with the other employees, I get told to go back into my office. The only time I'm really allowed to be up and about is when I'm going to the bathroom or going to make my 8 month old a bottle.

I technically get off work at noon, but since I work at the same place as my husband (who doesn't get off work until 2:30 pm), I stay later.

We are about 15 miles from any real town (and who likes to waste gas?) but surrounded by other houses and businesses, not to mention a very busy freeway, so walking anywhere is out of the question.

We get home around 3:30 and I don't have to leave for school until (on Wednesday) 5:00 pm or until (on Tues. and Thurs.) 6:15 pm.

We go to bed around 10:30 or 11 pm.

We have a puppy that needs constant attention, two children that need to be looked after all the time, we each carry a job, and are both going to school and we both need to finish homework. I want to exercise after I get off from school, around 8:30 pm or so, but my husband wants me home immediately so that he's not playing the part of a single dad longer than necessary.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 7:10:48 PM

do most all people who are overweight skip breakfast? Really? or is there some denial going on - forgetting the food that was eaten to try to "avoid breakfast"....and save calories.?

 

  come on sit down - eat breakfast - then you won't snack all morning long consuming 100's of calories more than the breakfast that "skipped". 

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 6:28:00 PM
I did the yo-yo diet thing in my 20's and 30's.  Then I just decided to stop obsessing over my weight.  I am in my 50's now and my BMI is 29 and although I want to weigh less, I focus more on being as physically fit as possible than on what the actual scale number is.  I do an hour of cardio workout and stretching exercises at least five days per week and I always park way out and walk to the store and use stairs rather than an elevator.  The scale number has not gone down much but I am wearing clothing two sizes smaller than what I wore a year ago.  Many people think I am 10 years younger than I am even though I could really stand to lose 25 pounds.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 6:25:21 PM
Sad to say that many people I see begin their weight problems as children. Some have over weight parents which no doubt have problems of their own and tend to lead the kids down that same road. Some of it can be cultural. Hispanics tend to look at chubby children as healthy children.....later they become fat children  and then fat adults with diabetes. I fall into the older adult class. I have to watch my portion size, but my real downfall are carbohydrates from snacks; even snacks in moderation.
As we get older we lose muscle mass, as can be seen quite readily with our clothes off and looking in a mirror. Muscles burn calories; it's simple as that. Weight bearing, or resistance,  exercises will improve our fat burning ability to some degree; however, we will never have a thirty something body again. Walking is one of the best and easiest exercises for any of us to do. Cold outside....that's good news....you burn more calories walking in the cold because some of them are used to keep you warm. Some people might be warm for a long long time if their weight is any indication of energy conversion. Forget scales.....measure your waist at your belly button and double it. If it's 80" inches you better be 6.63 feet tall! Your waist size x 2 should be equal to your height or you are overweight. Smile

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 5:14:54 PM

The most important rule to follow (and it's difficult with food makers constantly throwing goodies at you in television, radio, newspapers, we are bombarded with eat! eat! eat!) is this:

 

Eat to live, don't live to eat.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 5:11:22 PM
Yes, this is all true in my opinion.  If you sit at a desk all day (like most of us do), then you NEED to get your butt to the gym 3-5 times a week to burn some calories.  Then, when you're at work, you need to eat meals and snacks that you bring from home.  I eat my breakfast, lunch and late afternoon snacks at my desk every day--made with things I made in my own kitchen.  I can't stress how important this is.  If you don't like to cook, you should at least be capable of whipping up a few staple dishes.  Cook enough at night so you have leftovers to bring the next day.  Buy Greek yogurt, nuts, apples, multigrain crackers, make hard-boiled eggs--these are all good snacks.  Sometimes I think people are just really lazy.  You have to put at least a little thought into what you're going to eat each day.  If you skip breakfast, wait till you're starving, and then head to the local drive-through, what do you think is going to happen?  You will overeat and feel very sluggish afterwards.  The other thing is despite what restaurants advertise as "healthy options", you are still eating more calories than you realize. If you make it yourself, you know exactly what's in it.  Finally, don't drink your calories.  Stick with water, or unsweetened tea.  All the sodas, lattes and juice drinks don't really do anything to satiate, but they are chock full of calories!!!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 4:53:41 PM
I agree with 2sillyferrets. You also have to consider your natural body built. Women particularly, have to embrace their shape the way it is, if they've got child bearing hips or big boobs it is natural for them to look "fuller."
I have a natural skinny body built, I don't do half of the stuff this article says. I sit most of the time, I exercise very little ( a big part of me just hates sports), I clean my plate when I go to a nice restaurant ( I'm like Joey Tribbiani, I just hate wasting food) , I don't weigh myself regularly, I sometimes skip breakfast and then have a huge lunch, I will eat a whole pint of ice cream or a full bag of chips at once and I am still so skinny that I could be gone with the wind... Then all along, I do agree we skinny don't think about diets, we drink lots of water and eat more homemade food. And yes, lots of us are fidgety, I suppose, even if that doesn't necessarily mean exercising.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 4:24:26 PM
Finally an article that is about skinny people and not about obese people and how to lose weight.  Didn't think I'd ever see it.
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