As part of my company's health benefits website we have a tool called the Health Risk Assessment (
HRA) that
asks you a series of lifestyle questions to determine your overall health score. I took it for the first time in 2007 and just retook it today and my score improved 10 points from the last time I took it. The only thing I scored really low on was my nutrition, so I need to take greater steps here to improve. Mostly in increasing fiber consumption and maybe cutting some fat intake according to the detailed report. And it looks like I can do a little work on my stress level and life load, but according to the detailed assessment these I don't need to worry about too much just need to be aware of them so they don't get out of control.
Here is the overview of my score:
The change column is the number change since the last time I took
the assessment for that category. Weight score is based on
BMI. The last time I took it I was at 170, but this time I was at 169 (according to the scale this morning), so you can tell I float that cut off way too close. I think if I can keep staying away from junk food and high fat foods and keep the
exercise up and keep getting the same amount of sleep I could really be a whole new person in the next few months! I think I am going to take a closer look at the foods we buy and see if there is any way to revamp that. If we get in the habit of looking ahead to meals it could help from just eating fast and easy (pizza, carry-out, etc). I think we could find healthy foods that we still like too.
Oh, and another great thing about this HRA tool is that my company gives us a $100 credit towards fitness related purchases for taking the test once each year. I think I am going to use the money to get some new running shoes this year. I will need them later this summer!
Labels: exercise, fitness, life
Committing to a Healtier Longer Life
Lately, I have been thinking more about my health and energy level and how I want to someday be able to actively enjoy my retirement years with minimal health issues. The only way that I can make this a reality is to take control of my life and not always give in to the temptation to eat the junk food or over eat just because a bigger portion is in front of me or extra food is available. I grew up in a family of farmers and big strong men where eating big meals was expected if you wanted to be big and strong. That may have made sense to someone who is constantly physically active and needed a lot of calories to make it through a day but these days I spend a lot of time at a desk and even if I were farming, modern technology has taken a lot of the physical
exertion out of the typical farmer's day. Yet, it's this notion of big meals and cleaning your plate that has been ingrained in me for more than 20 years and I find myself slipping into that mode from time to time. It is tough to overcome, but in all honesty, I am in control here and being aware of this habit should make it easier to recognize and overcome!
These days I get my physical activity through running, push-ups, sit-ups, etc. Unfortunately, I have been horribly inconsistent and just as I start to make progress I slip into making excuses for not going to the gym today (which often leads to several straight days) or telling myself I "deserve" a break. Seriously, what does that mean? What I deserve is to have a healthy life where I have lots of
energy and I am not constantly wrestling with digestion issues! The last 2-3 weeks I have pushed hard to get to the gym or get some exercise at least 4 or 5 days each week and I feel awesome! It took time and lot of internal arguments with myself to push through the apathy and make myself do what is necessary and now I can't stand it if I don't get some
exercise in each day. This is a feeling I want to hold on to going forward. That's one of the reasons I am writing this post because I am hoping that it keeps me honest and serves as a reminder of what I really want for myself. Also, feel free if you see me to ask me how the
exercising is going because my friends and family can also help keep me honest! ;) Another thing that I have had to overcome is making the excuse that I am too busy to exercise. I have decided that this is not an excuse I can use anymore! There is always a lot that needs to be done in a day, but one of the highest priorities should be to take care of myself, because if I don't do that then how can I take care of anyone else? I have found that if I carve out time in the morning before work, that is more than enough to get some good activity in. Sure I have to wake up a little earlier, but as long as I am responsible and get myself to bed by 10 PM I still get 7-8 hrs of sleep. Yes, I am tired when I first get up, that will never change. But what I have found is that once I get moving I am fine and after my workout I feel 100 times better than if I just roll out of bed and go to work!
If you do any reading on
nutrition or health and wellness you find that most of the literature will tell you that there are no "quick fixes" its a lifestyle change, which is a hard thing for most people to overcome. You really do have to make significant changes to not only your patterns but also the way you think about and approach things like schedules, diet, etc. I really believe that one of the major reasons we have such high health care costs in the U.S. is because people don't take care of themselves. We eat unbalanced diets, spend more time making excuses for not getting exercise and then want access to cheap health care when we get diabetes for being over weight or have heart problems because its too weak. Trust me there are other problems than this with our health care system, but like Obama has said, everyone has to do their part to fix a problem like this, including individuals! But enough of my soap box on that issue. :)
What this boils down to for me is that I want to start living a longer, healthier life. I am 33 years old and would like to have children someday. What that means is by the time they are in their teens I will most likely be
pushing 50. I want to be able to be active with them even when they are in high school and beyond. I don't want be complaining about chronic pain or what have you. When I retire, I want to be able to travel and hike, and do many of the things I do today. The only way I can help make that happen is to take a serious look at how I take care of myself today and be willing to make some changes. I am not saying I am going to turn into one these over the top granola crunchers that tries to impose their lifestyle on others. I will still have a piece of cake or the occasional cookie, but there is no reason I can't make the majority of my diet healthy with a good balance of the food groups. There is no reason that I can't make at least some time to
exercise. That includes when I am on vacation, where it can be easy to say, "I'm on vacation. Why should I
exercise? I will do it when I get home." Again, its a lifestyle change, and its one I am going to try to make!
Labels: exercise, fitness, health, life
New Blog Feature
Just wanted to point out a quick note that I added a section on the right hand side of the page that lists the other blogs I read fairly
regularly unless any of you are interested. The links include:
- My fiancee Kelly's personal blog
- Kelly's sister Mindy's personal blog
- Mine and Kelly's Wedding blog
- Sport's Columnist, Mark Tupper's blog
- My fiancee Kelly's triathlon blog
Hope you enjoy some of these blogs as much as I do!
Every now and again I come across a piece of commentary that really hits home and connects with me 100%. At those times, I get so excited that I just want to find the first person I can and share this new piece of information that I have just ingested. It is usually a topic that is extremely important to me or does an exceptional job of articulating my personal feelings on a topic that I could never quite communicate clearly on my own. Today, I came across one of those topics.
Roland Martin, is a nationally syndicated columnist, and is often seen on CNN. He had some very interesting thoughts during the election that also got me thinking. He is a great commentator even if you don't 100% agree with his stance. His most recent article "
Commentary: Don't Be My Valentine" covers the topic of the over commercialization of Valentine's Day and all the expectations that come with the holiday. He discusses how the retail industry has blown the holiday into a commercial affair just to fill the space between Christmas and Easter. He points out how the social pressure to spend loads of money on this holiday has gotten out of control. It is now expected that expensive flowers, jewelry, fancy dinners, and
spicy romance are all now required on this day. He also points out that men have become pawns in this commercial
initiative and that we are lead to feel that if we don't
fulfill all these expectations for gifts and romance then we do not care about our significant others. Or if a woman doesn't have as many flowers on her desk at work as another woman in the same office then something must be wrong with her relationship. Nothing like keeping up with the Jones on yet another "holiday."
The point he makes is something I have agreed with for years. People seem to get all caught up in spending tons of money to profess our love on this one day of the year, but what about the rest of the year? Wouldn't it be better if we could shower our loved one with affection 365 days out of the year, rather than just 1? And who says it has to be expensive gifts or a specific type of flower or repeated expensive dinners? Or that it always has to be the guy? Personally, I think we can thank De Beers for putting a price tag on love, but that is a commentary for another time. I will admit that I sometimes don't show my love and appreciation enough throughout the year and it can be easy to get caught in the trap of buying shiny gifts to make up for that and I need to be better about expressing my feelings of love more often. It could be as simple as helping do some of your significant other's work when they seem overloaded, just giving them a back rub out of the blue (without being asked), or leaving them a nice note as surprise. But as Roland says if we just wait and do all this on one day of the year then we should all (men and women) be ashamed that we don't do more to make our relationships stronger and more loving every day of the year. I am guilty and I agree with him!
The other problem is, how do you overcome the expectations that come around every February 14? Do you want your significant other to feel like they are the only one not getting a bunch of flowers or gifts on Valentine's Day when
everyone around them is? I guess the reality is that if you are doing things to show your love through out the year, whether it's gifts, kind actions, quality time together, etc, then how much that person gets on
VDay will be irrelevant, because deep down they will already know that you love them and show it everyday, and you can look at those other people and realize that they may not get this same attention 99.99% of the rest of the year, which is kind of sad!
I love you Kelly!
Labels: Holidays
I came across an
article this morning on CNN that got me thinking. The article was about how many parents are facing ethically dilemmas on whether they should be helping their daughters sell their Girl Scout cookies. The main thrust of the article centered around is it right for parents to help their kids to their work so they can win prizes and is it right for these same parents to be peddling them in their work places? I had never really thought about this much before. In fact, I have even been known to cave and purchase these cookies from coworkers in the past. But this article really got me thinking about several things.
For one, what kind lesson is someone teaching their child by doing their work for them? In this example, their daughter voluntarily signed up for the Girl Scouts and along with that takes on the responsibility to periodically sell cookies. Now, its not like the Girl Scouts kick the girl out if she doesn't make a quota, but she may miss out on some small prizes. At the end of the day the money goes to a good cause funding a well respected organization. These days though, I see more adults peddling the wonderfully evil little cookies more than I see young Girl Scouts. To me this seems like cheating. Not only in trying to win a prize, but cheating your child out of learning some good life lessons, like how to interact with people professionally, how to build confidence, how to keep track of money and how hard you have to work to earn certain incentives (e.g. prizes, money, etc). I can't remember the last time I saw girl scouts going door to door, but just yesterday, a guy in our department was making the rounds asking if people wanted to buy Girl Scout cookies. Now, I know that its not always safe to have your kid just wandering door to door, unless you know your neighborhood well, but why can't the parents go with them, but let them handle the sale?
Some argued in the article that their kids just don't have time to do the sales because they are involved in other activities like sports, and other clubs. Well, this sounds like a great opportunity to teach your kid time management and that sometimes you just don't get to do everything that you want too. How are these kids ever going to learn that resources are finite and you have to work hard to get things sometimes? Not everything is going to be a hand out. When I was a kid, I signed up for Boy Scouts. After a few months my parents told me to drop out because I was not keeping up with my obligations and was overloaded with that, helping my dad on the farm, basketball, and school. They could have easily just picked up my projects for me and finished so I could stay in the Scouts but instead they taught me a lesson on making sure I effectively managed my committments.
Another good point I saw in the article was that, maybe the Girl Scouts should stop
incenting the girls with prizes and have them raise money for charitable organizations? This would also teach them about helping others.
I thought this article was a good example about how too many parents are sheltering their kids from life's realities and then wonder why these same kids don't understand why things aren't just handed to them when they head out on their own. Or why they can't seem to get their kids to move out on their own! I am not saying kids shouldn't be allowed to have fun, but there should still be room to learn about such things as work ethic, time management, and how to earn the things you want. I would be interested to hear your thoughts! Maybe there is something I am missing?
