| Weight maintenance is much like weight loss.The | | | | playground or park. |
| principles are essentially the same: Eat healthy foods, | | | | 10. Sit down together for family meals. Avoid eating in |
| control your portion sizes and exercise regularly. And | | | | front of the television. TV viewing strongly affects |
| to keep the pounds off permanently, you need to | | | | how much and what people eat. |
| incorporate the new, healthy behaviors into your | | | | 11. See what you eat. Eating directly from a container |
| routine so that they become a natural part of your | | | | gives you no sense of how much you're eating. Seeing |
| daily life. And no, pork rinds and beer twice a week | | | | food on a plate or in a bowl keeps you aware of how |
| are not on the list. | | | | much you're eating. |
| Here are 20 ideas to reinforce your healthy lifestyle | | | | 12. Vary your activities. Regularly change your activity |
| and to keep you committed to permanent weight loss, | | | | routine to avoid exercise burnout. Walk a couple of |
| which seems healthier than our previous commitment | | | | days, swim another and go for a bike ride on the |
| to gradual weight gain. | | | | weekend. Seek out new activities karate, ballroom |
| 1. Exercise 30 to 60 minutes each day. If time is limited, | | | | dancing, cross-country skiing, tennis or Pilates. |
| exercise for several brief periods throughout the day | | | | 13. De-stress your day. Stress can cause you to eat |
| for example, three 10-minute sessions rather than one | | | | more. Develop strategies that can help you relax when |
| 30-minute session. | | | | you find yourself becoming stressed. Exercise, deep |
| 2. Eat three healthy meals during the day, including a | | | | breathing, muscle relaxation techniques and even a |
| good breakfast. Skipping meals causes increased | | | | good laugh can ease stress. |
| hunger and may lead to excessive snacking. | | | | 14. Eat at home. People eat more food in restaurants |
| 3. Focus on fruits and vegetables. Top off your | | | | than at home. Limit how often you eat at restaurants. |
| morning cereal with sliced strawberries or bananas. Stir | | | | If you do eat out, decide what and how much you're |
| berries or peaches in yogurt or cottage cheese. Liven | | | | going to eat before you start and have the rest boxed |
| up your sandwiches with vegetables, such as tomato, | | | | to go. |
| lettuce, onion, peppers and cucumber. | | | | 15. Plan healthy snacks. The best snacks include fruits, |
| 4. Weigh yourself regularly. Monitoring your weight can | | | | vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. |
| tell you whether your efforts are working and can help | | | | Fruit smoothies, sliced fresh fruit and yogurt, |
| you detect small weight gains before they become | | | | whole-grain crackers, and carrot and celery sticks with |
| even larger. | | | | peanut butter are all good choices. |
| 5. Don't keep comfort foods in the house. If you tend | | | | 16. Start your day with a high-fiber breakfast cereal, |
| to eat high-fat, high-calorie foods when you're upset or | | | | such as bran flakes, shredded wheat or oatmeal. Opt |
| depressed or bored, don't keep them around. | | | | for cereals with "bran" or "fiber" in the name. Or add a |
| Availability of food is one of the strongest factors in | | | | few tablespoons of unprocessed wheat bran to your |
| determining how much a person eats. | | | | favorite cereal. |
| 6. Plan a family activity. Get the family together to go | | | | 17. Walk for 10 minutes over your lunch hour or get up |
| for a bike ride, play disc golf or kick the ball around in | | | | a few minutes earlier in the morning and go for a short |
| the yard. | | | | walk. |
| 7. Eat healthy foods first. Eat foods that are healthy | | | | 18. Plan a week's worth of meals at a time. Make a |
| and low in calories first so that when it comes time to | | | | detailed grocery list to eliminate last-minute trips to the |
| enjoy your favorites sweets or junk food, for example | | | | grocery store and impulse buys. |
| you won't be so hungry. | | | | 19. Look for a distraction when you're fighting a craving. |
| 8. Pay attention to portions. Serve meals already | | | | Call a friend, put on music and dance or exercise, clean |
| dished onto plates instead of placing serving bowls on | | | | the house, pull weeds in your garden, or run an errand. |
| the table. Take slightly less than what you think you'll | | | | When your mind is occupied with something else, the |
| eat. You can always have seconds, if really | | | | cravings quickly go away. |
| necessary. | | | | 20. Reward yourself. Losing weight and keeping the |
| 9. Create opportunities to be active. Wash your car at | | | | pounds off is a major accomplishment. Celebrate your |
| home instead of going to the car wash. Bike or walk | | | | success with nonfood rewards, such as new clothes |
| to the store. Participate in your kid's activities at the | | | | or an outing with friends. |