Secret Habits Of Thin People

Lorie Parch at Real Simple has the scoop on some healthy habits we can all start practicing this year. She's sure that if we can pick up these 20 secret habits of thin people, we can get thin too.

Here are some of my favorites from the list:

Thin people favor bulky foods.  Whether consciously or not, many thin people follow the strategy of starting out with a sizable soup or salad, which leads them to eat less for the rest of the meal.

Thin people watch portion sizes.
No, most thin individuals don’t travel with a food scale and measuring cups or demand fat-gram counts from waiters. But to keep an eye on what they eat without being obsessive, many focus on filling their plates with mostly fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), an ongoing study of how more than 5,000 people keep off the weight they’ve lost long-term, has found that successful weight maintainers tend to eat five small meals a day rather than three squares, which may make it easier to scale down portions.

Thin people don’t skip meals.
Slender people don’t drop everything to eat the minute their stomach starts to rumble, but they don’t let themselves get famished, either.

Thin people limit their options.
While everyone needs a variety of foods for optimal nutrition, professor of nutrition Barbara Rolls's research shows that the more types of food we have available, the more we tend to eat. It’s related to what’s called “sensory-specific satiety”―meaning our stomachs and appetites will cry “Uncle!” after we eat a lot of pasta, but if dessert is pie à la mode, suddenly we’ll find just enough room to partake.

Thin people weigh themselves.
For years diet experts discouraged stepping on the scale to keep weight in check. Yet one of the findings of the NWCR is that slim people do weigh themselves regularly. Not obsessively, not agonizing down to the ounce, but at least a couple of times a week. “At the first sign of weight gain, they go right back to their weight-loss plan,” says registered dietitian Elizabeth Somer. Anne Fletcher, also a registered dietitian, says of the weight maintainers she’s interviewed over the years, “Most have found that it’s easier to manage their weight if they don’t allow themselves to go over their goal.”

Thin people don’t skip breakfast.
You’ve heard it ad nauseam: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It’s also a way to stay svelte. A 2002 study of nearly 3,000 NWCR participants found that 78 percent ate breakfast every day; just 4 percent said they never ate breakfast. (The registry also found that people who don’t eat breakfast have caloric intakes similar to those who do, meaning the skippers make up the calories later.) A recent study of breakfast eaters in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association backed up other findings that people who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight than those who don’t.

Maybe these habits alone won't make you thin, but it's a start! So, if you're trying to get thin in 2016, be sure to check out the rest of the skinny secrets at Real Simple and share your own secret weight loss tips in the comments.