January - April :

Start exercising and drinking water NOW! You may find that you do not have to alter your diet at all as long as you are burning calories by exercise. By drinking anywhere from two quarts to a gallon of water a day and cutting back on soft drinks. You can lose up to 25-50 pounds this year!

- I have proof and living examples -
The type of exercise you need to start doing is either walking, biking or swimming for 20-30 minutes 4-5 times a week. May - September 2001:

Now you can pick up the physical fitness training a bit by lifting weights or starting a good calisthenics program. Exercises like pushups, pull-ups, crunches, and squats mixed with more walking or occasional running can boost your fitness level to new heights.

If your fitness program is not working for you at this time, you need to take a look at your diet and what you are consuming daily. If you are not losing weight by walking 4-5 times a week and drinking nearly a gallon of water a day, you need to consume fewer calories. This does not mean starve yourself - it simply means eating foods with fewer calories. More nutrients like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats cooked by methods other than frying would be a good start to changing your diet.

October - December :

By this time, you should feel great about your physical progress and have more energy than you have had in years. Running, biking and swimming several times a week should be habit by now and feel refreshing and stress relieving after each workout. If you have not quit smoking cigarettes by now or at least tapered off, it is time to start trying a little more aggressively. Usually, however, if you have maintained a fitness program this long, quitting has already occurred. But if you have not quit, now is the time to try either the "cold turkey" method or some type of patch method.

So in summary - start exercising now! Do not change your diet too much but with the addition of water and decrease of soda. Try to taper the smoking when you get into the groove of the exercising regularly - do not try all three at once!

Thanks for the e-mails. Keep them coming at stew@stewsmith.com.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you are interested in starting a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle - check out the StewSmith.com Fitness eBook store and the
 Stew Smith article archive at StewSmith.com. To contact Stew with your comments and questions, e-mail him at stew@stewsmith.com.