Lean habits
Commonalities among people who manage their weight successfully
It’s decidedly unhealthy to overly fixate on weight, but people who stay lean generally are healthier than their overweight and obese counterparts. What’s their secret? It so happens that the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) and the Global Healthy Weight Registry (GHWR) track the habits of people who’ve lost weight and kept it off, and people who’ve always been thin. Copy their common habits.
• Eat breakfast: GHWR reports that 90 percent of lean people eat breakfast, which helps control appetite and cravings throughout the day.
• Weigh yourself: Stepping on a scale once a week, as do 75 percent of NWCR registrants, helps you monitor fluctuations and act accordingly.
• Exercise—a lot: About 90 percent of lean people exercise for about an hour nearly every day, according to the NWCR.
• Don’t diet: Focus rather on quality of food (fruits and veggies, lean proteins and whole grains), listen to your hunger cues, and cook at home frequently. About 75 percent of those in the GHWR say they rarely or never diet.
Source: WebMD.com
