Number 9 of 10 tips to transition to a healthy lifestyle and weight

1. Make New Habits. I've heard it takes 21 days to make a habit. I have found that getting rid of bad habits takes creating good ones. There is a really good quote by Henry Hancock that says "Out of our beliefs are born deeds, out of deeds we form habits, out of habits, we grow our character, and on our character we build our destiny." I thought that was profound. What type of destiny are you building with your habits?

Here are some healthy habits that you can exchange for unhealthy ones, that will prolong and increase the quality of your life as well as enhance your energy so you can accomplish all the dreams and desires of your heart.

• Train yourself to enjoy real foods such as lean meats, dairy, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables (preferably organic when possible) and exchange it for the poor habits of eating processed foods and drinks. This will require shopping in the perimeters of the grocery store and avoiding fast food restaurants like the plague.

• Get cardiovascular exercise and strength training in your schedule daily and exchange them for inactivity and excuses in your life of why you are not exercising.

• Reduce the toxins in your life through changing the foods you eat, the products you use on your body and hair and the chemicals used in cleaning products and pesticides instead of blindly using products that may be full of degenerative disease causing poisons.

• This one may require help: Develop the habit of being free from addictions; Exchange this for the habit of using substances such as tobacco, drugs, or excessive alcohol.

A few quick facts on what tobacco really does to the body.

• The leading cause death in smokers is heart disease. Smoking is terrible for the heart. Cigarettes have over 4000 chemicals and 200 of those are poisonous.
• Increases the chance of stroke
• Loss of smell (makes a person smell bad too, I know, I used to smoke and I am appalled at how bad I smelled during that time and didn't know it).
• You look like a Shar Pei Dog: serious premature wrinkles. 
• Alters Brain Chemistry: Smokers are more likely to be diagnosed with depression.
• Damages Thyroid: Your thyroid regulates your metabolism. When your metabolism is sluggish you will find it's much easier to put on weight and harder to take it off.
• Stained Teeth
• Cancer of the mouth, esophagus, lung, liver, kidney, bladder, cervix, throat, larynx and other. 
• Pregnancy risks: miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, smaller infant, a nicotine addicted baby, premature baby and stillborns, baby prone to asthma.
• A plethora of lung issues too long to go into here.

Exchange this habit by changing your core belief. If you believe you are a smoker you will struggle more than if you can see yourself as a non smoker.

I found my initial freedom from smoking through serious prayer and have sustained this freedom because I honestly consider myself a non-smoker. When I quit smoking cigarettes I started taking non smoking breaks where I would take deep breaths (which by the way has been scientifically proven to release relaxation hormones) suck on lollipops or chew gum. Call a tobacco cessation program or find a buddy who will quit with you. Do whatever it takes. You are looking at two drastically different destinies depending on which habit you choose.

• Quick thought: 2 packs of cigarettes a day could cost around $10 bucks. In one year you could spend 3650 dollars on smoking, that's a killer vacation. In five years 2 packs could equal a down payment on a house. In ten years 2 packs could pay for college tuition for a child.

Substance abuse can effect the body this way:

• Short Term: Headaches, Nausea, Body Aches, High Blood Pressure, Depressed Immune System, Poor Decision Making, More Prone to Violent Acts, More Chance of Arrest by Law Enforcement, Alcohol Poisoning, Drug overdose, Heart or Respiratory Failure.

• Long Term: Heart Disease, Liver Disease, Throat Cancer, Upper Digestive Tract Cancer, Breast Cancer, Skin Caner, Lung Cancer, Liver Cancer, Weight Gain, Emotional Problems, Relational Problems, Social Problems, Sexual Impotence, and Memory Loss.

There are therapist, pastors, 12 step programs, Celebrate Recovery groups, detoxes and rehabs to help you exchange this habit. Maybe you think you don't have anyone who believes in you to change. That's not true. I believe in you and I'm not the only one. Make the wise decision to do something about life-sabotaging behavior and build a great destiny. 

This by speaker John Di Lemme sums it all up:

I am your constant companion.

I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.

I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.

I am completely at your command.

Half the things you do, you might just as well turn over to me,

and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.

I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me.

Show me exactly how you want something done, and after a few lessons I will do it automatically.

I am the servant of all great men.

And, alas, of all failures as well.

Those who are great, I have made great.

Those who are failures, I have made failures.

I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine.

Plus, the intelligence of a man.

You may run me for profit, or run me for ruin; it makes no difference to me.

Take me, train me, be firm with me and I will put the world at your feet.

Be easy with me, and I will destroy you.

Who am I?

I am a HABIT!

Reference
http://www.getmotivation.com/articlelib/articles/habits_jdilemme.htm
http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/tobaccorelateddiseases/a/smokingrisks.htm