Everyone has that one friend who manages to stay perfectly thin without ever going on a diet or going to the gym. They somehow look like some sort of model, but do not have to undertake the vigorous exercise routine and carefully monitored diet of an actual model. Your friend might be one of those people who happened to win the genetic lottery, but it is more likely that they live a life that is conducive to staying thin. They may not be someone who is on their feet a lot or lives off kale and vegetable smoothies, but they likely have habits that help them stay thin. Those habits require little to no lifestyle change and may end up helping your wallet as much as your waistline.

Never Eat Just to Eat

How many times have you kept eating after you were no longer hungry? The odds are that you have done that repeatedly. You may have felt the need to clean your plate in order to be polite to your host, or you may hate the idea of wasted food. You might also have had that extra helping of pasta or extra cookie simply because it tasted too good to pass up on. Eating just to eat is a terrible habit to have if you are trying to stay thin. Your body tells you when you have eaten enough to keep it satisfied and functioning. Continuing to eat after that tends to just send those calories straight to your waist.

Cook Your Own Meals

Some people love to cook and find it very relaxing. Others loath chopping up fiddly pieces of garlic or trying to untangle clusters of herbs. Whether you find it relaxing or aneurism inducing, cooking for yourself is a good way to keep off the pounds while keeping off a diet. When you eat takeout or at a restaurant, you have no idea what is actually in your food. How much oil did they use? How much butter? Did they use heavy cream or evaporated milk to make the sauce?

Cook your own meals so that you can use low fat ingredients and fresh produce. Do not fall for the trap of thinking that you can get away with always eating prepackaged meals simply because they have the nutritional information listed on the back. Prepacked food is almost always high in sodium which can lead to water retention and bloating.

Fill Up on Fruits and Veggies

When you were little, your parents probably told you to make sure you always ate your vegetables. This is still a good habit to follow when you are trying to stay thin without going on a diet. Fruits and vegetables take up a lot of room in your stomach while containing very few calories. You can eat six zucchini squashes or four peaches for the same amount of calories as a single cup of plain spaghetti. If you fill up on fruits and vegetables, you will still feel full but you will not have taken in so many calories. You will also be consuming vitamins and minerals that are vital for keeping your body functioning correctly.

Focus on Fiber and Protein

Your diet should be filled with fruits and veggies if you want to stay naturally thin. The rest of what you eat should be high protein or high in fiber. Both fiber and protein are known to keep you feeling full for longer. This means that you will not want to eat for a noticeably longer time if you fill up on protein and veggies than if you ate a meal composed largely of carbohydrates. Eggs, nuts, fish and yogurt are all high in protein. High fiber foods include beans, lentils, blackberries, peas, sweet potatoes and coconuts. 

Eat Away From the TV

When you eat in front of the TV, what do you normally sit down with on your plate? The odds are that the answer is something like pizza, popcorn or pasta. As a general rule, when you eat distracted by the TV or Netflix on your computer, you make poorer food choices due, in part, to the fact that you are distracted. You also tend to eat more because you are paying attention to the television instead of your body’s signals. You do not notice when you are no longer hungry and continue to eat long past when you should have stopped eating. 

Never Skip Meals

If you talk to someone who claims that the key to their thin form is that they never eat breakfast, do not listen to them. Skipping meals is a terrible idea for anyone who is trying to lose weight or keep off weight. When you skip a meal, you are far hungrier at the next meal and overwhelmingly more likely to overeat. You also tend to make worse choices when it comes to food selection if you have skipped meals earlier in the day. 

Skipping meals means that you ignore your body’s hunger at mealtime. If you are simply not hungry at lunch, however, you do not need to force yourself to eat. Instead, wait to eat until you are hungry. If you are not hungry until dinner, that is fine, but do not force it. Eat when you are hungry instead of forcing yourself to wait.

Staying thin does not mean that you have to go on a diet or start spending hours at the gym every day. All you need to do is pay attention to what you are eating and how much you consume. Thin, of course, is not the only measure of health. If you want to be toned and thin, you will need to add exercise to your routine. If your only goal is to make sure your jeans continue to fit, a few simple habits are all you need.