A lifestyle of quarter-pound curls, French-fried cuisine and 12-step cardio - walking to the condiment station and back - may not be the workout most personal trainers would advocate for a Monday-Wednesday-Friday-routine.

But, if that individual used to be consuming half-pound super-sized meals, six days a week, it's still a personal step toward fitness.

I was thinking about including a statistic examining the nation's laziness here, but I didn't have the energy to locate one. The truth of it is: Even the laziest of people can burn calories while reading this article - no gym needed.

As an appetizer; try sitting on the couch but keeping your feet hovering slightly off the floor. Or, if you're brazen, continue reading this while standing on one foot. As with any physical exertion, contact your primary-care physician before starting any type of routine.

"People come in all the time saying 'I'm going to come in six days a week,' " Flex Fitness Center owner Rick Schue said about setting a workout pace.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Your membership is unlimited, but let's try like three to start off. They come in and they kill themselves and a month later they're so sore and beat up, and they're looking in the mirror going, 'I don't look like I lost a lot.' And I tell them the theory 'you didn't put the weight on yesterday; it's not coming of tomorrow.' It's not a one-day movement here … give it a fair chance."

The change from lazy to … less lazy is not one that takes much effort (are your feet still hovering?).

Small steps in the right direction are what most fitness experts preach.

"The best thing is to get a book, magazine or video if they are going to workout at home," Racine Athletic Club Fitness Director Michel Clark said.

"That is probably the safest (thing to do)."

While safety comes first, change comes second.

Motivating yourself to make the right decisions is the biggest facet of physical fitness.

Set goals; achieve goals; set new goals.

It's not a new life; it's a lifestyle change.

Talking with health professionals, it's evident that one of their biggest hurdles is allowing people to realize that fitness is an evolution.

You're not going to a car lot to pick out the new you; you're trying to refurbish that '66 Mustang so that it will run for decades to come.

The eat-dirt diet

No flour, high protein, no carbohydrates; "If I told you to eat dirt, would you do it?" for Schue, fad diets are about as necessary as a spoon when peeling a banana.

When dieting, food variety may be as important to staying healthy, as daily exercise.

It's variety that makes weight-loss possible for the truly unmotivated.

Can you really count on eating proportioned servings of chicken and rice for 16 meals a week?

Schue doesn't think so.

And that's the reason when the winter holiday season rolls around, the latest-greatest stomach crunch Abtacular 5000 hits late-night television. Or better (read worse) yet; a weight-loss pill that "guarantees" results.

Everyone comes in looking for that magic pill, Schue said.

He explained that fat burners basically affect your nervous system; kicking in your basic flight-or-fight reactions. Your body goes into overdrive and you burn calories. If you're taking a weight-loss pill and your body starts shaking, now you know why.

Fad diets typically fail because they are short-term fixes. Healthy weight loss isn't about losing 10 pounds overnight; it's about being 10 pounds lighter at the end of the month, and keeping the weight off permanently.

Simply making drastic diet changes is typically a short-lived and unhealthy solution.

"It's like getting your first job as a high school kid. You go out and buy Dockers and dress pants; you're going to work at a store selling clothes, right? And you're all excited buying new clothes. Two months later ask that kid if he's still excited with the job," Schue said.

It's the same with food and dieting. After the first trip to the grocery store to buy a new diet of food, most people get tired of eating it, either reverting back to old habits, or moving on to the next fad, he said.

For most Americans, it's not about what to eat when trying to get healthy, it's how much, Schue explained.

"We're a meat and potatoes society; it's the proportions we have to learn."

How lazy can we be?

It's not possible to lose weight healthily by sitting on your couch. But when it comes to "lazy" workouts there are plenty of options.

"Can you get a good workout without sweating? Probably not, but it's genetics," Schue said. The bigger you are the more energy you're likely to exert, but different people produce sweat in different ways.

For him, sweating is definitely a good sign, but you don't need to be dripping sweat to prove that you've been working out. You can tell when you're body is exhausted from doing a specific activity, and that's what really counts.

Your first workout could begin harmlessly enough by turning on the TV.

"They really are easy. Nowadays with cable; it is perfect," RAC's Clark said of video workouts.

If there is a TV, there is a possible workout in the works.

Although results may be limited and poor form may go unnoticed, Clark said there is no need to go outside if a person doesn't want to.

No need to go to a gym; no need to purchase a home gym; no need to make a single purchase.

Going back to the basics can bring results.

Think sixth-grade phys-ed. The push-up, squat, leg lift or crunch can be done just about anywhere.

Another thing to do is buy the magazines, Clark said. "They can read through, and they all have exercises from home."

"The same exercises that you do in the gym, you can do at home. Legitimately it's true," Schue said. "You can buy a set of rubber dumbells, a couple bands and a ball. It's motivation; you have to want to do it. If working out isn't their thing, they have to find their thing then."

One step forward, two steps forward

Going from nothing to something is the first step to succeeding at being lazy while becoming healthier.

Whether that means walking around the house 15 times a day, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator; the motivation to improve has to start with each individual.

"Going out and going for a good walk at a nice brisk pace. A lot of people exercise that way and we see them a bit later," Clark said of some people's progression into fitness programs and gym memberships.

"If it's going to be fitness, its got to be something you enjoy," Schue said. "You got to want to do it … I'm not making you anything better than you want to be."