One of the biggest concerns with most diets and other types of programs out there is that many of them are very hard if not almost impossible to maintain over a very long period of time. Many people worry about the bounce back effect that they experience after being on an especially restrictive diet. Others start a new workout program with all of the best intentions, but find themselves back to the way they were within a few weeks. So it would seem that the secret to lifetime fitness is not in small cycles of effectiveness and then longer periods of no progress. Instead, we need to focus our time and efforts on lifestyle changes, variety, and constant intensity to achieve lifetime fitness.

It seems that every other week or so a new “beat-all” program comes on the market, whether its purpose is to help you build muscle like never before or the new secret to true natural weight loss. So does that mean that all of the information that has come out before this new revolutionary program is pointless and has now been proven to be obsolete? Not likely! So what does this tell us? It tells us that people are drawn to things that promise quick results, or maybe people are just looking for change. The reality of the fact is that yes, some people have proven that it is possible to lose a significant amount of weight or gain a great deal of muscle in a short period of time. But the more and more that I hear stories and talk to people about this, many of those people seem to be the exceptions to the rule rather than the norm. What we have to realize is that in most cases it will take some time to see really life changing results. And the best way to achieve that is through a complete lifestyle change rather than just saying to yourself: “Wow, if I follow this or that program to the letter, I’ll have the body I always dreamed of in only 2 weeks and I only have to workout 10 minutes 3 days a week!” Instead of looking at just the short term, let’s start looking at the long term things that we have to do if we really want to improve our physiques and truly achieve lifetime fitness.

Change Your Eating Habits!

One of the first and most important things that has to change to achieve lifetime fitness is diet and nutrition. We all know that fast food and extra processed foods are not very good if not outright bad for us, but how many of us continue to eat them everyday? This is one of the first areas that need to change if we are to achieve lifetime fitness. Don’t try to change everything all at once. The first thing to do is to remove temptation: in other words, clear out all of the junk food from your cupboards so you aren’t tempted to just take one more bite. This is also a good sign of your commitment. Then, little by little, start to make changes in the way you eat. There is not need to go into too much detail here about the exact things you should be eating. You can find plenty of information about that online or at a local bookstore. Most of it is common sense anyway. So start by making small changes and gradually move into a healthier, more permanent eating style. If you try to tackle the whole project at once, you’re more likely to be completely overwhelmed and give up. Think instead of your long term goal of complete lifetime fitness, and work gradually towards that instead of get-fit-quick goals.

Get Up and Start Moving!

If you have ever been a member of a gym around New Year’s, its very interesting to watch what happens. Right around the New Year, the gym is packed to the brim with all the people that made the resolution to lose unwanted weight this year. “This is the year!” they claim. Usually by February things are back to normal. Why is this so common? For the same reason that people quit diets after one or two weeks, they tried to take on too much at once. If you have never or rarely worked out for the last couple of years, what makes you really think that you can just jump right in and start working out every single day for 45 to 60 minutes each day? Most people can maintain it for a few weeks, but burn out after that. So, just like changing your eating habits, to achieve lifetime fitness you need to start small and work your way into it. Start by going to the gym twice a week. Then three, then four, and so on until you feel that you are going to the gym enough to be making a large difference. By doing things this way, you are much more likely to stick to working out over a longer period of time.

These are some basic ideas to help you get started and stay motivated to make some lifestyle changes to achieve lifetime fitness. Just to recap, to really make long term changes you need to think long term. Start out small, and gradually work up to eating healthy every day (with maybe a few cheat days and meals here and there) and consistently working out. If you’re the type of person that has started and stopped countless diets and workout programs over the years, you’ll most likely find that by taking it slow you end up sticking with your program or routine for a much longer time. Here’s to the new you!

About the Author: Dan Patterson is an editor of BodyFitnessInfo.com, which provides free information to help people achieve lifetime fitness and natural weight loss .