How can we stay fit through our adult years?

How do some people appear to stay so fit no matter what or how much they eat or how much or little they exercise. I get asked this question a lot and there really is no simple answer.

Health and fitness needs to be learned and fostered at an early age in order to achieve and maintain fitness throughout the adult years. Too many people let themselves go for far too long and then are faced with the arduous task of losing massive amount of weight and getting “back” in shape in their adult lives. These individuals may not have been overweight as children, but bad eating and exercise habits over the years led to poor health and obesity in their adult lives.

I believe people are either born with an inherent drive to be athletic and stay fit, or they are not. I had a conversation with a member of our gym (a former athlete) who told me he would rather lay on the couch than work out. He asked me what drives me to keep myself so fit? What drives me to get into the gym and workout? Why am I able to make good choices with nutrition? I had to think about it for a second. It all came down to this: It is just the way I am now and have always been. I have been this way since I was a boy. I understood and learned good eating and exercise habits when I was young and these habits just come as second nature to me as an adult. Some people are more aware of their fitness than others and they never let themselves get out of shape. It is a choice to stay healthy and a choice not to. You have to  be aware of what you eat and to be aware of how much you exercise every day or one day you may look at yourself in the mirror and ask “How did this happen?” It is much easier to lay on the couch than it is to get up and go to the gym or go outside for a run, but laying on the couch will not yield the results you may desire.

I tell people that it is so much easier once you reach the top of the mountain. However, the path to get to the top is not easy and requires commitment.