What does a Healthy Person do?
 

It helps me to stay on plan when I think I already am a healthy person.

So what does a healthy person do:

- A healthy person takes the stairs.
- A healthy person stops eating when they are full... even before being full.
- A healthy person eats fruit as a snack.
- A healthy person makes exercise a priority.
- A healthy person doesn't spend the whole evening watching TV or on the internet.
- A healthy person balances out a big meal out by eating smaller meals the rest of the day.
- A healthy person can stick to 2 drinks on a night out.
- A healthy person is as equally concerned with nutrients as they are calories.
- A healthy person's indulgences can be limited to a few bites.
- A healthy person sips on water all day long.

What else do you think a healthy person does?

I tell myself these things when I miss the green light at the crosswalk and know I could cross underground by taking a flight of 50 stairs down and up. Also when I'm looking in the cupboard for snacks instead of the fruit bowl or tempted to buy some soda or making breakfast when I'm going out that night or contemplating my 3rd, 4th, 5th drink of the night.

I'm not a healthy person yet but I'm ACTING like one and eventually that health part will be real. But I could use a few more ideas to tell myself when I'm tempted to make UNhealthy choices.

I've adopted this same attitude. For a long time I didn't feel like a normal person, much less a healthy one. Being obsessed with food however does have its advantages - I pay very close attention to how and what other people eat, particularly people I consider healthy and fit. These things you've listed were hard for me to do in the beginning, and it started off as pretending to be healthy. Eventually only 2 months down the road I'm starting to FEEL that these healthy habits are my true self!

- A healthy person does not finish everything on their plate just cause it's there.

- A healthy person does not want appetizers or dessert every time they go out.

- A healthy person does not head to the buffet immediately and when they do they head straight for the fruit and veggies.

- A healthy person does not panic when hunger hits.

- A healthy person does not say terrible things to themselves about how they look.

- A healthy person compensates a heavy meal by eating light the next day, and does not tumble into a binge-a-thon.

- A healthy person eats when they're hungry, and stops when they're full.

- A healthy person does not have to have chips alongside their sandwich.

A healthy person puts on their shoes and socks and takes the dog for a walk in the morning even when they are so tired they only have one eye open.

A healthy person rolls out the yoga mat and starts practicing even when they are feeling uninspired.

A healthy person rewards herself with cute new workout clothes from lululemon (on sale!) and not with a food treat.

And what I learned from watching my thin (and healthy) sister:
A healthy person drinks a lot of water.

A healthy person mounds her plate with veggies, and puts the rest of the food on top of it as accents rather than the other way around (I love putting salad greens all over my plate, and then putting my meal over the greens because the meal turns into the dressing and you get greens in every bite.)

A healthy person makes time for exercise even when she has 2 small children.

A healthy person doesn't make excuses about why they can't exercise.

What a great idea! I am stealing it.

Great posts!!! I do this too - the imagining I'm a healthy person thing. I think it's really the only way I will be able to break bad habits & I will surely be more than ready for maintenance when I get there!

I would add:

A healthy person knows that he/she has to put themselves first sometimes in regard to food and exercise.

I am a mom of 2 young kids, and I have a habit of always putting the kids & DH before my own needs - no matter what it is. Sometimes this leaves little time for me. When it comes to something like exercise - I have to be number one. :) (still really hard to think that way!)

A healthy person doesn't fall into new diet fads and miracle books.

I love this idea and am really enjoying all the points being made here.

A healthy person establishes a sleeping and activity routine optimal for her body.

well, I'm not sure how "healthy" he is. But I wanted to post some things I see naturally thin people doing.

My SO is naturally thin, when I mean thin, I mean the perfect combination of muscle and fat for his small body frame. He is strong, has high endurance. He has very nice tone and almost NO FAT whatsoever.

despite that he smokes
drinks beer every night
He is much healthier than most guys with those habits

Here's some of his eating habits--I have tried to pick up on. They are NOTHING like what I've been told to be thin.

He RARELY eats breakfast
Sometimes HE DOES NOT EAT lunch--usually it's very late about 2pm if he does.
He eats dinner, and that's his biggest meal.
He does not always go for seconds
He does not clean his plate
He NEVER wants dessert after dinner
He only snacks about 4 hours after dinner
He eats pickles with his meal (vinegar stabilizes blood sugar--he doesn't know that though)
He eats peppers and onions straight from the garden (very heart healthy)
He always eats peppers with dinner. (capascin raises metabolism)

It's funny because my dad who ate like a horse, but was very thin and muscular had much of the same eating patterns. However, my dad ate alot more junk food than my SO. He also was a moving man and carried furniture on his back. I saw him do it! Like his legendary ancestor Acre Foot Johnson. So he was most definitely always busy and working it off.

My dad ate breakfast at noon, if he did. Most of the time he would have a cup of coffee with milk-no sugar. Then he would have his biggest meal at dinner. My dad also ate pickles with his meal and LOVED peppers and tabasco sauce on everything.

This requires pics, I think.

I agree! :D

A variation on this, lately when I find myself in some situations I ask myself, what would a beautiful woman (or, person) do in this situation? And it has helped me change my behavior a bit not only health-wise but also self esteem-wise.

A healthy person doesn't use food for comfort.
This thread was a great idea!:)

Yeah this is good too. I think--I don't want to buy nice clothes til I'm thin. I don't what to do (whatever) til I'm thin... so years goes by with me feeling not the right size to do almost anything!

I thought of a few more:

- A healthy person does not freak out over food. If they eat too much or too little one day, no big deal! If they eat overeat, they might eat less later or exercise a little more, but they don't act like it's the end of the world or they are a failure.

- A healthy person can say NO. To food they don't want, to time-stealers, to just about anything that they can't or don't want to do.

Sometimes I think I'm fat because saying no is so hard for me.

I love the responses so far. Add more or share your agreement with some of them.

I'd caution you with following some of the habits of naturally thin people.. my bf is naturally thin and not all that healthy. He never works out, his four food groups are meat, bread, peanut butter and mayonnaise, and drinks like a fish on the weekends... he weighs 15 lbs less than me and that's AFTER I lost 20!

I could learn some things from him... he understands being full more than I do and doesn't have my sweet tooth. He also decides, hmm, this is too high in sodium, I should stop eating it, and he DOES... me, I think, this is bad for me and I continue to think that AND eat it for months. But when we first got together, I start to eat like him and he stayed the same weight and I gained 25 lbs.

I'm confused - I thought it was bad to skip meals, particularly breakfast?

yeah, it confuses me too! heh! I don't understand it but THEY do it. I've been skipping breakfast for 3 weeks and I've lost almost 10 lbs.

SO doesn't like his body because he thinks he's not buff, he's not muscle bound, but he's definitely muscular. He didn't like the idea so sorry.