You know, when I started training, I was smoking almost two packs a day, sometimes more, drinking lots and sleeping 4 hours a night. 6 hours on Saturdays when I felt lazy.
My favorite food was "poutine", a Quebec speciality which I was quite fond of, consisting of French Fries in thick brown gravy with cheese curds - I ate a few of those every week.
I drank gallons of cola (I'm still addicted to it, but brought it down to one can a day), ate dairy products and drink milk like there was no tomorrow. And coffee, buckets full of it.
Then I'd go on controlled drinking binges, going on for days without actually eating anything - it was part of my routine not to eat a meal between friday morning and sunday evening. Because mixing food and alcohol makes you sick... lol
Needless to say, I was in a bad shape. I remember a few years back reading my pseudo-journals from that era and noticing that I was constantly sick or wounded.
Anyway, eventually, I figured I needed to do something about it. And I started training.
My goal was not to lead a healthy life - it was to increase my capacity to support my unhealthy life. I'd train for an hour, then drink a 6 pack and smoke a pack of cigarettes.
But eventually, the bad habits started to lose ground. At one point, you learn just how hard it'll be to train after a poutine, so decide to skip it. And then you back down on alcohol and smokes. And you start looking into healthier habits.
Point is that, you don't train to be the next Mr. Universe or as tough as a MMA fighter. You train to be in a better shape than you would be if you didn't. From that perspective, there's just no way you can lose. Anything you do is a step in the right direction.