When we are young it is easy to ignore the future and to live for the moment, but in those moments did you ever wonder whether or not it was that one missed workout or that one big meal that was going to set you on the path to weight gain and the associated diseases that come with excessive weight?

For those of you who smoke, did you ever think that the cigarette you just finished smoking might be the one that guarantees lung cancer, COPD and early death?

Given everything that we now know about healthy living, what takes us down the path of unhealthy living? Is it an accidental moment that teaches our brain to pursue a sedentary life and a bad diet or is it a lifestyle choice that is knowingly made? With respect to cigarettes, it is unfathomable as to why on earth any human being, born after 1960 would even consider such a terrible habit, yet there are new smokers every day. Why do so many Americans seemingly choose the unhealthy path? Or why is it that taking the healthy path is so difficult?

We have all heard that the good things in life take work and that success does not happen by accident alone. In sport, there is the phrase that luck happens for those who are already prepared and ready to take advantage of a lucky situation. Is it possible that preparing our body to have a healthy life is more work than to take the unhealthy path?

The good news about regular exercise and a balanced diet is that your body will feel better. Also, with some effort you can retrain your body to want to move more and to reduce the dietary excesses and bad choices that make you feel poorly. Once you are able to break the bad habits, exercising and eating better become the easy part. Once you are able to break the extremely powerful habit of inhaling poison into your lungs, you will wonder why you ever started smoking. Suddenly the air will become fresher and your body will have more energy.

It s never too late to change a habit that causes your body harm and negatively impacts your longevity.