Some fitness experts will tell you that it's the big things that count when your goal is to get in shape: regular exercise, wholesale changes to your diet, changing your sleep habits. Others may suggest that it's the little things: walking to the local store instead of driving, chewing your food a specified number of times before swallowing, using stevia rather than sugar in your coffee. Both are right, but each can be more right than the other depending on a subject's goals.

The big changes are really the ones you want to focus on first and foremost. They are the ones that can lead to a 50-pound weight loss or a rippling six-pack. It's the sweat and the deprivation that will invariably lead you to see changes within the body. However, those smaller things are of value to the committed fitness enthusiast and the casual one alike.

If you're like me, then you live the fitness lifestyle, and you've probably effected some significant changes in your body by way of persistence and hard work. For you, those smaller things are like icing on the cake. When you're already making major exercise and dietary commitments, doing things such as standing on the train instead of sitting is icing on the cake.

But if you're like most people, an all-out commitment to a fitness lifestyle just isn't in the cards, whether it's because of time constraints, age, infirmity or another reason. For you, the little things take on added importance, such as opting for a small box of popcorn at the theater rather than a large one.

My personal recommendation is always to set your sights on the big things first. If you get serious about transforming yourself, the little things will take care of themselves. Fitness is self-perpetuating: The fitter you are, the fitter you will want to be, and you'll most likely look for small ways in which you can add to the benefits you're already experiencing. However, regardless of your level of health, it can never hurt to look for ways in which you can subtly improve yourself while maintaining your existing lifestyle.

In future columns I will discuss ways, both big and small, to get fitter. But for now, I have one thing any ambulatory person can do at this very moment that is as surefire a technique for improving health and fitness as any I know. Get up out of your seat, and get moving!

To find out more about Shawn Perine and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.