In my experience as a professional fitness expert, I've found that my most successful clients have one thing in common: They were willing to get out of their comfort zone and change their lifestyle to get the best results possible.

Fitness isn't something that you tie on, it is a way of life that extends beyond the gym. Trying to change your body while desiring to maintain the status quo of your current lifestyle is a lot like trying to force oil and water to mix. It just won't work, no matter how hard you try.

Doing what is necessary to facilitate physical change is simple, but not easy. You're going to have to make some sacrifices that, in the beginning, are going to be uncomfortable and really be a test of your current level of discipline.

We recently ran an eight-week fitness competition. Many of the contestants said as the weeks went by, they began to see and to feel the benefits of supportive nutrition. They said they actually lost the desire to eat the crappy foods they were used to eating.

In fact, after she won the Miss Washington County crown, Mary King said she didn't even want to eat the typical celebratory foods she normally would have eaten. It just wasn't a part of her life anymore.

To achieve your fitness goals, it's going to be uncomfortable as you fight with your inner fat person (IFP) for who controls your future. The IFP is your No. 1 enemy on the path to fitness. The IFP wants to keep you comfortable because it's easier to be fat than it is to get fit.

The current Western lifestyle of convenience totally supports the IFP.

The fitness lifestyle is the counter culture to the lifestyle we've created here in the United States.

The fitness lifestyle requires belief. The IFP says it's not possible.

The fitness lifestyle says work hard. The IFP says you can't do it.

The fitness lifestyle asks you to discipline your eating. The IFP says you don't like healthful foods.

The inner fat person can be very powerful if you buy what it is saying. It all comes down to what do you really want. Do you want to live life in a healthier, more fit body? Or do you want to life a lazy life of comfort? You can't have both. Your body always seeks homeostasis or physiological balance, so it will adjust either way. The problem is that some of the adjustments to the Western lifestyle that the IFP loves aren't very nice, such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

You have to choose which direction you're going to go, and firmly commit to your decision. Don't be wishy-washy. Either choose to be fit and plant your foot in the inner fat person's backside, or choose to stay friends with the inner fat person and continue your love affair with the culture that has severely crippled the health and well-being of our country.

But you have to choose.

Stop making excuses and make your decision already. The inner fat person can be a formidable enemy, but with the right support system in place you can absolutely get it out of your life for good.

Chad Smith is co-owner of Home Team Fitness. Visit his Web site www.hometeamfitness.net