Help me get healthy

[derosnec]

The other day I sat frozen when I thought about my health:

I'm 31
I smoke about a pack a day
Eat unhealthy food and tons of chocolate
I 'm 5 11 and weigh 185 (so a little overweight)
I never exercise (but I'm in NYC, so I walk alot I guess)
I rarely drink though

I suppose I know what to do, but I don't know where to start. I don't know how to get motivated.

So, if anyone has been in my shoes and done a complete turnaround before, I'd like to hear how you did it.

[posnera]

Quit smoking. There is nothing else you can do that will have a bigger impact on your health. Use nicotine replacement if necessary (patch/gum/inhaler), consider seeing a doctor for a prescription for Zyban, try counselling if you want. There is a clear correlation between quit rates and the number of different interventions used, so go all out. If you gain some weight from quitting, don't worry about it now. You will be much more likely to be able to lose it later, since your ability to exercise will not be compromised by smoking.

Wholesale changes are easy to start and tough to maintain. You are still pretty young and barely overweight. I'd suggest one change at a time. Quit smoking.

[miajag]

Quitting smoking, as posnera said, should absolutely be your #1 priority. You will likely gain a little weight when you quit so you will need to start counting calories/exercising more as well.

[Don_Lapre]

ditto

[poker-penguin]

#1 = Quit smoking
#2 = Stay Quit
#3 = Everything else (start with exercise, then move on to eating right).

[SleeperHE]

Hopefully this is enough to get you motivated...