He broke the record at 2131 games played...that's consistency. Successful people like Cal Ripken know that yesterday's efforts will make you better tomorrow. Changing your lifestyle is much the same way. You should think long term. Realize that the effects of a healthy lifestyle may not be apparent today, or even next month, but over the long term, you will see and feel a difference in your life. Living healthy works like this: you may not realize that changes are taking place, but when you look back after your hard work, you know that you really made a difference.

Quick Tip #1: Think long-term and pace yourself. Expect results after you have worked at it!

Evolution, not Revolution

The idea behind healthy living is to change your current lifestyle slowly, not all at once. As you begin to learn new ideas about healthy living, integrate these ideas into your current lifestyle. Try a new low-fat food or a new exercise. But don't try too much, too soon. Changing your lifestyle takes time and changes that make a difference should be slowly introduced into your current lifestyle.

Quick Tip #2: Slowly evolve into your new lifestyle. Be patient and expect to change your lifestyle over time.

Lifestyle, Not Diet

The word diet should be removed from your vocabulary, and replaced with "healthy lifestyle." A dictionary describes diet as "the usual food and drink of a person." Unfortunately, most people's usual food and drink are not particularly healthy. What is a healthy diet? In "What you eat," the next section, we'll discuss just that.

Diet has also taken on another meaning in America: a way of losing weight. Everyday you hear of people going on "diets" to lose weight.

There is always a miracle fad diet of the month around the corner. It's sad but true, there are no quick fixes, no matter how good they sound. Diet means what you eat, not what you don't eat. And what you eat should be healthy! The second warning about diets pertains to the false claims you hear when searching for magic potions, pills or creams. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it generally is. There are no miracles in a bottle or quick fixes. Don't be fooled by the deceptive information from companies that want to make a quick buck off your willingness to desperately try anything for weight loss. You need to work for better health. Nothing is free and changing your lifestyle takes work and dedication.