It Takes a Great Deal of Effort to Stay "Effortlessly" Thin

With the ever-growing obesity epidemic here in the United States, did you ever wonder if the “thin” people you see are just that way naturally? Do they have to work at being thin? Or is it just that some folks have all the luck and never have to worry about what they are eating?

Well, the answer is a little of both.

We have seen many articles on websites regarding how some people never have to think about their weight. They never think about what they are eating. They never get on a scale. In fact, you won’t even find a scale in their homes! According to these sites, these people are “effortlessly thin”. The articles then share a long laundry list of “effortless” tips these thin people don’t even have to think about. But here’s what we’d like to know - if they don’t have to think about their weight, then why the need for a list? We think there is more to being “effortlessly thin” than these sites are sharing.

It does appear, however, that once you have “programmed” yourself to eat a certain way and established a fitness routine, you shouldn’t have to constantly think about your weight. Here are a few of our suggestions to help you maintain your ideal weight:

• Don’t diet. In order to lose weight and keep the weight off, you must learn to eat the appropriate amount of the appropriate foods. There is no magic plan out there that will transform you overnight or in a week or two. Even if there was, if you continued to eat the way you did prior to the magic plan, you would put the weight right back on anyway. You need to make a permanent lifestyle change.

• Start the day off with a healthy breakfast. This is the most important meal of the day. It replenishes your glucose level, giving you the energy to face the day. Don’t skip meals, either. That just messes with your metabolism.

• Devise a fitness plan. Do you need to belong to a gym to achieve this? Absolutely not. Your schedule should include a cardiovascular workout at least 3 times a week, lasting 30 minutes each. This can include walking (kick up the pace, though, strolling doesn’t increase the heart rate enough), riding a bike, jogging on a track, etc. No need for an expensive elliptical or treadmill. At least twice a week, do some strength-training activity. There are load of DVDs out there from yoga to Pilates to free-weight lifting. Again…no excuses- we all have TVs and DVD players, so enough procrastinating!

• Keep a food journal- at least for a little while. Now this is a colossal pain in the neck, no doubt about it. But it helps you keep track of the food you are eating. You might be surprised at what you’re shoveling in without even thinking about it! If you are accounting for everything you eat, you’ll find yourself being a whole lot more careful. No kidding.

• Eat smart. Don’t buy loads of foods that you love but shouldn’t eat. Stock up on fruits and veggies, whole grain breads, and lean proteins. You can buy favorite snacks. But instead of getting that 55-gallon drum of salsa and the carton of chips at the warehouse club, try buying a single snack size. That way, you satisfy your craving for the particular food but can’t overeat. However, limit this to a weekly reward. Snacking like this 2-3 times a day is kind of self-defeating.

Now, let’s address the original question again here. Are thin people “effortlessly thin”? Nope. The majority of people without a weight problem pay close attention to what’s going on. They conscientiously watch what they eat and drink, and they exercise. With time, however, they don’t have to think about it so much, and the routine becomes effortless and feels natural. Now that makes sense.