People
have much more control over their health than most of
them realize. If you want to take more personal
responsibility for your health, forget your New Year's
"Resolutions" (if you're like most, you probably
already have!), and make some real goals to improve your
health and prevent future degeneration.
You
Have the Power
The
first step in the journey towards optimum health is to
realize that you, indeed, do have the power to influence
your health as you age. While the genes you inherited
from your parents do affect your risks, for most diseases
this influence is tiny compared to the role your lifestyle
plays.
Here's
the way it plays out for the average American: by the
time they are in their 30's or 40's, most are on at least
one regular prescription drug - typically cholesterol
medication, blood pressure medication, and/or Viagra.
By their 60's, most people are basically falling apart,
on 2 or 3 medications, and suffering from arthritis pain,
obesity, depression, insulin resistance, and a host of
other complaints. Within 10 years, many are dropping like
flies.
But
of course it doesn't have to be this way.
Imagine
the Future
How
do you imagine your life playing out? Pour yourself
a beer (do it now, before we get to the part where we
actually write out lifestyle goals), kick back, relax,
and dream. Imagine that you're 70 years old.
Are you still in vibrant health, playing tennis, running
on the beach? Or are you old and fat, with just
enough energy to get off the couch and make it to the
refrigerator and back during the Wheel of Fortune commercial?
Then
imagine checking your HSA balance. Does it have
$350,000 in it, or $350? If you're not in the best
health, chances are your HSA won't be either.
If
that's too far in the future, just imagine January 2009,
and where you'd like to be. It's mostly your choice.
How
Are You Going To Get There?
Once
you've imagined the perfect future, it's time to get serious
about getting there. And the key here is to focus
on lifestyle habits, not end results.
Diet
Nothing
is more important to your long-term health than eating
a healthy diet. So your focus, as much as possible,
should be the quality of your diet.
Base
your diet on real, whole, unprocessed foods. Fruits,
vegetables, fish, lean meat, nuts. Until 10,000
years ago, humans did not have access to bread and potatoes.
It is only in the past 100 years that we've begun eating
high quantities of sugar, corn syrup, white flour, and
other modern foods.
If
losing weight is one of your objectives, going on a diet
is NOT the answer. Chances are you've tried that
before, and you know it doesn't work. But what does
work is permanently changing your eating habits,
and where most people get stuck is they start out with
a feeling of denial. Whether it's wings and beer,
or Twinkies and root beer, whatever you eat that's gotten
you to this point is probably what you feel like you "deserve"
to eat, and you may feel that it's not "fair"
that you won't get to eat this way anymore.
Get
over it. The fact is that no one eats that way without
consequences. Instead, choose to eat good food.
Not temporarily, or just until you lose the weight.
Don't tell anyone that you are "on a diet".
Tell them that this is the way you eat, period.
Exercise
We
are built to move, and anyone can improve their body's
functioning by moving more.
The basics: muscle strength, cardiovascular fitness, and
flexibility.
Here's
my prescription:
-
Lift weights 3 times per week. Join a gym, or simply
buy some 20 and 30 lb dumbbells. Each week make
sure you work out your arms and shoulders, chest and
back, and legs.
-
Do something aerobic 3 times per week, for 20 minutes
or more. Don't just go for a stroll, but actually
do something that makes you breathe hard - whether it's
jogging, rollerblading, basketball, or whatever.
- Stretch
every night. Five minutes or less ought to do
it.
The
Power of Written Goals
So
at this point you should have two ideas in your head.
One is a picture of you at some point in the future.
How will you look, how will you feel, and how will you
function? The other is the permanent lifestyle changes
you plan to implement to get you there.
Now
is the time to put it on paper. This is a powerful
exercise that will make your thoughts more "real,"
and more likely to come to fruition.
First,
write out a detailed description of your future, exactly
as you would like it to be.
Then
write out your lifestyle habits in positive wording.
What kind of food are you going to eat? What kind
of food are you going to have around the house?
Where and when will you eat out, and what kind of food
will you order?
Remember,
it is very difficult to make changes if you have feelings
of denial. Fighting hunger is virtually impossible.
Instead of focusing on what you won't eat, focus on what
you will eat, and on the end result. And if you
want to splurge on some Ben and Jerry's occasionally,
go ahead.
How
Much Will You Have In Your HSA When You Retire?
In
2008 the maximum annual HSA contribution is $5800 for
families. If a family makes the maximum contribution
each year, gets an 8% return on their money, and has $500/year
in medical expenses, they'll have $261,885 in their HSA
after 20 years. If they have $3000/year in medical
expenses, they'll only have $138,354 after 20 years.
Stay
healthy, get wealthy. They certainly go together.
And with looming Medicare insolvency, you will certainly
want to have as much of your own money available to pay
future medical expenses when they do happen.
At
one time it wasn't uncommon for me to have wings and fries
for dinner, washed down by a few beers. At other
times it was beer for dinner, supplemented by a few wings.
Amazingly, the human body is able to take these raw ingredients,
and produce eyes, lungs, heart, and everything else that
keeps us going. But if we were able to look more
closely, we'd see poor ingredients produce a poorly functioning
body.
If
optimum health hasn't been a focus in your past, make
2008 a year of change. You'll be glad you did.
