Home Court Rules: How to Maintain Your Ideal Weight

I can't help it. For as long as I can remember, I've always been concerned about my weight. We live in a world where it's extremely difficult not to be. Blame living in Los Angeles, blame the media, blame celebrities with their personal chefs and trainers, blame it all! But what it all boils down to is I want to maintain a weight I'm comfortable at without feeling deprived or socially excluded. (That's why I made it a point to get Christine Bullock's advice in The Last 5.) Recently, I came across a blog by Darya Rose on Summer Tomato that made so much sense to me.

She talks about her clothes feeling a little tighter after she returned from a very indulgent trip to Dubai. Been there, done that! But rather than hop on a fad diet or extreme cleanse, she tightens up on her "Home Court Rules".

Over the years, she noticed that she could maintain her ideal weight if she stuck to a set of essential healthy habits. "If I am able to do them consistently I can pretty much eat whatever I want the rest of the time. But if I miss any of them for too many days in a row without compensating in some way my weight will start to creep upward," says Darya.

Her rules are:

1. Eat breakfast daily.

2. Shop at the farmers market, so you're forced to cook at home.

3. Eat vegetables daily.

4. Walk 10,000 steps per day.

5. Strength train 3-5 days per week.

6. Chew food thoroughly

7. Drink lots of water.

8. Limit sugary or bready meals to 1-2 times per week.

It's a simple system of checks and balances. And if you follow them, you won't really have to feel like you're depriving yourself. Really it's all the advice that any expert will give you if you want to lose weight, but most of us don't make them a habit.

So this got me thinking, what are my "home court rules"? Here's what I have so far:

1. Always eat breakfast.

2. Drink water or unsweetened tea instead of sugary drinks.

3. Workout at least four times a week--preferably in the morning.

4. Cook most meals at home.

I think I'm going to adopt a few of hers as well. Particularly, the 10,000 steps per day rule. I live a pretty sedentary life for the most part, so I think this is a good one to take on. I need to get myself a Fitbit! I also happen to live right around the corner from a farmer's market that I've shamefully only been to once, so that'll be one I adopt too!

What are your "Home Court Rules"? Tell me in the comments below.