It's fun to wear nice clothes and feel pretty.

We all know about the health benefits of losing weight  (lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, control or eliminate diabetes, helps joint and arthritic pain, etc.), but still one-third of people are overweight in the United States.  It must not be motivating enough, or else everyone would be thin — right?

What are the other benefits, the ones that keep you going when all you feel like doing is eating everything on your plate even though you are way past full, or you have one of those ”all-I-feel-like-doing-is-devouring-a-bacon-double-cheeseburger-and-large-order-of-fries-with-a-chocolate-shake-because-I-can’t-take-one-more-salad” kind of days?

Here are the real benefits to being thin, with enough motivation and inspiration to keep you going no matter what!

1) Fun clothes to to wear.  It’s so much more fun to show off a cute figure if you are at your happy weight.

2)  You fit nicely into an airplane seat.

3)  You can sit on any kind of furniture without fear of breaking it.

4)  You fit nicely into a movie theater seat.

5)  You can wear any necklace, bracelet, ring or watch you desire.

6)  You fit nicely into a booth in a restaurant.

7) You no longer worry about stares or comments from people about your weight; if anything they will be telling you how good you look!

Sonja, enjoying the beach in Haleiwa, Hawaii, with her son, Mackie

8)   At job interviews, you don’t have to worry if being overweight will be a factor in deciding whether or not you will get the position.

9)  If you are trying to date, being thin helps.

10)  It is easier to keep a thin body clean.

11)  It’s easier to go to the bathroom.

12)  It’s easier to have sex. Sex is better.

13) It’s easier to enjoy any kind of physical activity that is fun, like riding a bike, taking a walk, swimming, hiking a trail, etc.

15)  You can go up a flight of stairs without feeling like you are going to die.  You might even seek out the stairs, because it is good exercise and will burn calories.

16)  You eat in front of people now, not worrying what they might be thinking.

17)  You are happy to see people you haven’t seen in a long time, not worried anymore about what they might be thinking of your weight gain.  You are thin now.

18) If you have suffered from sleep apnea, it gets better now, maybe even goes away entirely, and breathing at night gets easier (OK, this is technically kind of a health one, but who doesn’t want to get a good night’s sleep?)

19) You fit into a cars nicely.

20)  You will most definitely like yourself better, and feel better about things —  everything.

What’s on your list?

Remember, nothing tastes as good as thin feels!

Sonja, summer of 2011, Utah mountains

One thing I did after losing fifty pounds ten years ago was give away all my fat clothes.  My closet used to range in clothing sizes 8-18, perfect for a person used to yo-yo dieting for most of her life.  Getting rid of the larger-sized clothing was a huge commitment – it said, “this time, I’m going to stay thin.”

After reaching your “happy weight,” just go ahead and do it.  Get some new clothes to show off that new figure, and dispose of those larger-sized clothes.  Here are some ideas:

1)  Bag them up and take them to a donation site like Goodwill, Deseret Industries, the Veterans Association, your local church or any place looking for clothing.  Many will come and pick them up at your house.

2)  Take the clothes to a consignment store, where you can receive some money, nice when you are going to be spending a bit on a new wardrobe for your new figure! (but oh so worth it!).

Buffalo Exchange consignment & thrift clothing store

3)  Invite a friend to go through your bags before they go to the donation site, if it would make you feel better if your clothes went to a good home.

4)  Alter something only if it’s worth it to you.

When you go through your closet and drawers, be ruthless.  Get rid of everything that is too big now.  Baggy clothes do not look good!  Besides, you worked hard to lose weight, and it’s time to show off. 

Only having thin clothes in your closet is a huge commitment, and can be a bit scary.  But it shows that you are now living the thin lifestyle, and that is who you are now — a thin person, now and for the rest of your life!

Read:  “Act Like a Thin Person,” and “Think Like a Thin Person.” 

For other ideas:  “Yo-Yo Dieting: Stop the Insanity!” and “Life After Dieting; What Now, That the Pounds Are Gone?”

Read the labels to know for sure

How many sneaky diet words can you think of that are designed to pull the diet-wool over our eyes so we think we are eating better?

Low Calorie.  Low Carb. Low Fat. Organic.

A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research reported that when “diet words” are used, it actually caused people to eat more, especially dieters, since they are focused on trying to eat less forbidden foods. Non-dieters were less likely to fall for the “diet words.”

Most dieters assume that if it has a healthy name, then it is.  Wrong.  There’s no way to know unless you read the label.

Recent research also suggests that organic food benefits from a “halo” effect, tricking people into thinking it’s healthier, that there is significantly less calories and fat and more fiber in organic food — also not necessarily true.

Sonja by fountain in Las Vegas

These foods can be the exact same thing:

Fruit Chews = Candy Chews

Veggie Chips = Potato Chips

Fruit Smoothie = Milkshake

Salad = Pasta

Can you think of others? 

Before you buy something because it has one of those words on it, read the label first.  Read Harvard Study Reveals “Calories In, Calories Out” because no matter what you eat, that’s what it boils down to when trying to lose or maintain weight.  Don’t let the sneaky words, designed to coax even more money out of your already diet-weary wallet, get  you.