Fake it ‘til You Make it: How to Think Like a Thin Person.

OK, you might not currently be classified as a thin person, but that should, in no way, preclude you from thinking like one.  In fact, research has shown that it will assist you in becoming one with a little patience and re-configuring how you think about food, exercise and sleep.

Act and think thin now and eventually you will become what you envision, a thinner version of yourself.  In other words, fake it (pretend you’re thin) until you make it (you become thin).

But how do thin people think when it comes to food?  While everyone is different, researchers have found some commonalities regarding thin people’s relationship with food…

• Change how you think about food.  What is the primary purpose of food?  Let’s start with what food is not.  Food is NOTmeant to provide comfort when we’re feeling depressed, lonely, angry or tired.  Food’s primary purpose for all living things is to provide us with the energy necessary for life.  It’s that simple.  Thin people tend to think of food in that simplistic manner.It’s not that they don’t ever use food as comfort, but they recognize the triggers and thus, recognize when it occurs and then either avoid or limit their emotional eating.  Some also substitute other activities for emotional eating, such as exercising, getting in touch with friends and/or family or reading.  Find your substitute.
• Recognize the difference between full and satisfied.Research has shown that thin people tend to know the difference even if not consciously aware of it.  In other words, during a meal they don’t specifically stop and think, “I’m pleasantly satisfied and should stop eating.”  That thought pattern has become engrained and no longer needs to be contemplated every meal.  They just know.However, for some of us, we do need to stop during a meal and assess our “fullness level.”  If necessary, stop multiple times during meals to make that assessment.  Simply assess you fulness level on a 1-10 scale with 1 being starving and 10 being stuffed.  The “satisfied” level usually occurs somewhere between 5 and 7.  Do this often enough, and it will occur without thought.
• Hunger doesn’t need to be “cured” immediately.Hunger isn’t a disease that needs to be feared, unless you’re Leo Dicaprio in The Revenant.  For the rest of us, hunger is a very temporary thing.  Thin people know and accept this fact.  They also, if they miss a meal for whatever reason, do not “make up” for missing that meal by consuming two meals in one when they next sit down to eat.
• Exercise is inexorably linked to diet and a healthy lifestyle.Maybe I should use the term “physical activity” rather than exercise.  If you’re not physically active, you require less food to meet your energy requirements as discussed in the first bullet.  That being the case, most people who are not physically active consume more calories (in the form of food) than they require, which is the primary reason people become overweight.Again, thin people tend to be physically active without thinking about it.  Physical activity is part of their lifestyle, not separate from it.  Assess your activity level.  If exercise isn’t part of your daily routine, are you at least taking 10,000 steps per day as recommended by most doctors?  A pedometer will let you know…there’s an app for that, by the way.  Over time, those 10,000 steps will come without conscious thought.
• Have a casual relationship with food.  Thin people tend not to obsess about their diets.  Once again, this is a lifestyle thing.  They generally eat healthy without actually thinking much about it.  Yes, they do eat some junk food, but they then do not beat themselves up about it.  Studies have shown that thin people eat, on average, two more servings of fruit and/or vegetables per day than their heavier counterparts.  And it’s not because that’s their plan.It just happens because it has happened for most of their lives.  Patience here is essential.  Rather than attempting to eliminate ALL unhealthy items from your diet all at once, just remove one for a few weeks and then move on to the next and so on and so forth.  Remember, this isn’t a temporary change to your diet, but a permanent change to your lifestyle.

So, to sum up, rather than waiting to think thin until you’re thin, start immediately and begin by adopting their habits and, dare I say, lifestyle.  It’s just like becoming an athlete in a new sport.  If you start thinking and acting like a good baseball player, before you know it, you are.