It’s funny that, when most people talk about their health and fitness, they talk about getting in shape. They usually have some event in mind: a wedding, a beach season, a vacation, or some other single event. They don’t seem to understand that what they’re saying works against their dreams of becoming lean and beautiful. A lot of people worry about being out of shape, and they say something like "I’ve got to get in shape and drop this fat!" They never say "I’m going to get in shape, get rid of all this fat and flab, and stay lean and healthy for the rest of my life."

Of course, when we set out to lose weight, we’d like to get to our goal and have it last for the rest of our life; but we always seem to be focused on the immediate goal, not the long-term goal. This mindset, the "quick-fix" mindset, makes us vulnerable to fad diets and the latest machine, gizmo or gadget that pops up on late night TV. Those ads hit you when you’re most vulnerable: it’s late, you’re tired, and the models using the item are beautiful and happy. Maybe you’ve just had a midnight snack of something you shouldn’t have: ice cream, cookies, cake, or sugary sodas. The ads get you by emotion and guilt.

Unfortunately, many baby boomers in America grew up eating too much processed food and watching too much TV. This large population is at the age where the metabolism is slowing, and the eating habits learned over a lifetime are causing obesity. There is a lot of tummy flab, abdominal fat, and loose flab, and a great deal of obesity in adult couples. Related problems are high blood pressure with all its risks, and diabetes. All this problems are avoidable!

Once we’ve admitted what bad shape we’re in, it’s natural to want to fix the problem as fast as possible, and these products always promise fast results. Why would we want to wait and work for months, when it seems each shiny new product can give us that short-cut we crave? Well, those models didn’t get their beautiful bodies by taking a shortcut and using that product. They work hard every day to look the way they do. They have to proper mindset: work every day toward lifelong fitness.

No matter how silly, ridiculous or difficult some new product or regimen may seem, we’re game to give it a try. What we never seem to acknowledge, in that first flush of enthusiasm as we whip out the credit card one more time, is that these quick-fixes never work. Then, when the disappointment hits, we feel even worse for having spent money and time, and gotten no results. A lot of us then take comfort in the worst way possible for our health – in food, and usually fattening "comfort" foods. The downward spiral progresses.

Try refocusing on a new target. Rather than looking at an event that’s coming up in a couple of weeks, focus on your health for the rest of your life. Isn’t that a better goal than dropping a few pounds and then gaining it all back, plus plenty more? You’ll be much more likely to take a calm, rational look at the item or program you’re thinking of buying, and you’ll be much less likely to fall for those hyped-up ads.

An essential step is to create in your body an environment that lets you burn your fat as fast as possible. It will take some work and dedication. It’s much easier to look good when you’re 25 than when you’re 55, so it may take a little more work as we get a little older.

If you really want to make a big change in your body for the rest of your life, you need to make it a daily habit. Not just a "diet" that you go on, which suggests you’ll go off it again at some point – but you must make this change into a lifestyle. Of course, that starts in the mind. People who are lean and healthy all their lives do it this way.

Every day you get up, brush your teeth, get dressed and do your daily routine. Staying fit and healthy needs to be on the list of things you do each day. With everything you do and every bit of food that you put into your body, you should be aware of how it will affect your long term health and fitness, and how it will affect your fat burning. Will everything you do and eat make you overweight, or lead to a fit and healthy lifestyle?

There is good news! Research shows that you can develop new habits very quickly. Eating, drinking and exercising correctly can be very simple habits that can be developed in less than a month! You don’t need to follow impossible diets, either, or live your life in the gym. There are many ways to have a healthy eating plan and a very effective exercise routine that don’t take up excessive amounts of time or cost a lot of money.

After a few months of using the proper methods, and possibly much sooner, your body will let you know that it wants to continue on the path to good health. Maybe you’ve heard stories from people quitting smoking: They don’t have a cigarette for several days or weeks, then decide to "reward" themselves with a smoke. Many times they can’t stand the taste of the cigarette, or the other sensations that the cigarette causes. The body has begun to adjust itself to the healthier lifestyle and lets the person know it doesn’t like the unhealthy habits any more! Our bodies naturally want to be healthy, active and lean.

Becoming lean and healthy is not something you can do from the outside inwards. You won’t have a lot of success if you just follow what some diet guru has said and do a few exercises because it seems like the right thing to do. You need to shift your thinking first. Get behind the idea of staying in shape for life and making your body into a lean, healthy, beautiful fat burning furnace.