If you want to be fit and healthy there are a number of things you can do. But of everything, we’ll begin with the number one factor, and the one that you  absolutely must-do  if you have a snowballs chance of actually succeeding:

#1. Have an absolutely truthful assessment of where you are and where you “realistically” expect to achieve in terms of your fitness

Why is it critical that you make a  realistic assessment of where you are now, and where you realistically expect to be. Because 99 per cent of people never take this critical step. They live in the dream world of exercise.

For example, it’s incredibly easy to pick up a men’s or women’s fitness magazine and dream about having six-pack abs. But as one financial magazine (Elite Trader)put it, around one out every 12 households become a millionaire but only around 1 out of ever 25,000 people ever achieve six-pack abs.

Furthermore, achieving 10 per cent body fat or less is unlikely to attract the man or women of your dreams, find you the ideal work, or make you that much happier than any other typically neurotic American.

Assessing yourself for where you are now is easy. Just hop on the scale, keep track of your diet for a week, and try to do a couple of pull-ups and burpees, and try to walk or run a mile.

The hard part is realistically assessing where you are going. Sure, losing 50 lbs is possible over a year or a year and a half, but it won’t happen overnight. Even if you give up all sugar and quick carbohydrates and you won’t by the way.

The 66-day shocker

According to an article determined it took on average 66 days to form a single healthful fitness habit, whether it’s to reduce sugar, drink more water, or exercise 3 or four days a week.

This means unless you take a slow and steady approach to exercise and fitness, you are likely liable to give up and return to your old habits in 5 weeks or less.

In fact, studies show that gyms bank on 95 per cent of their members rarely if ever showing up. So don’t sign up for a $700 gym membership because you are fat, don’t sign up for $1,000 or more of supplements, and don’t buy a home gym for up to $1500 until you are 100 per cent convinced you can follow through.

Instead, buy a set of trainers, and watch Richard Simmons lead “Sweating to the Oldies,” for free.

 #2. Your goal

Your goal is not to lose X amount of weight or so many inches or to live on seaweed powder and springwater smoothies. Nor is it to look good so you can attract a rich husband.

Your goal is to come as close to the government’s recommendation of exercising 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise (chances are that will come only a year or so later) and to find a dietary plan that can sustain your body without excess calories.

But move gradually towards that goal. If you can only do 5 minutes at a time of even moderate exercise, so be it. And plan on going over your calorie limit now and then. Cheating today doesn’t necessarily mean giving up your diet tomorrow.

 #3. Plan on adding strength training as well

The government guidelines also recommend strength training twice a week. But that doesn’t mean you need to go to a gym. Buy a set of exercise bands for under $20, and slowly add these to your workouts.

You might also want to add l carnitine supplements, as they eliminate lactic acid as you exercise and may help you do your strength-building exercises harder.

 #4. Make exercise fun

A big part of why people give up on exercise is that quite often it’s flat out boring. There are no big rushes that happen in your endorphin levels until you are a better athlete. And that rowing machine or treadmill isn’t going to engage you as Instagram does on your cellphone.

That’s primarily because people choose to exercise without fun. Instead of using a rowing machine, dancing, chasing a frisbee with your dog, playing hide and go seek or skipping rope with your grandchildren, or even chasing a soccer ball around the track beats most old fashioned exercise.

 #5. Keep a food diary

Changing your diet and exercising are a tandem team. If you try to get there by changing your diet alone (think of how many diet books come out each year) You will fail. Similarly, if you exercise 6 times per week but fail to change your diet, you will also fail miserably.

Keep a food journal, track the nutrition you take in your body, and slowly adjust to a healthier diet.

 #6. Quit smoking and limit alcohol

YOu smokers new this one was coming. There are dozens of good reasons why smoking is bad for you, and now is the time to quit. Heavy drinkers should also be cautious, with women limited to one drink per day and men limited to two at the max.