Keeping the Upper Hand on Health Issues

I have occasionally written and spoken of the need to he healthy when you get sick or injured... I hope this doesn't sound like an oxymoron type thought... I would hope it is reasonably intuitive... but let me explain...

We are all going to get sick, it is a matter of when, and what it will be. It is not so certain that we will all have an accident, but there is a chance, and it could be significant. Either way, if our bodies go through a trauma that taxes anything from the spirit to the bones and flesh, it will have to survive and then go through a recovery period.

My point about being healthy when "stuff" happens is that the body, when healthy is more resilient and better capable of a successful recovery. This leads to faster recovery, lower costs of care, earlier return to income generating activities, and to having some fun.

So if we are to be healthy when we are sick or injured, what do we need to do to achieve it. Well, there are the obvious things that the government and social agents harp on... non-tobacco and good nutritional habits; good dental and general hygiene; regular exercise and relaxation; and social interaction. Keeping these things in perspective will help keep us in general good health. Most of them are natural, but when they get out of sync... some really bad things can happen... again, for another blog.

I have been thinking about my own health goals, which was the genesis of my starting to write this post. I was just diagnosed with hypo-thyroid disease. The cause of it was likely associated with the radiation treatments for my cancer... so it is a sequel to my cancer. Among the symptoms of it are things like being emotionally drained, lacking energy and so on. As a result, for some time, I was spiralling down, not getting exercise, not eating correctly, not sleeping properly and so on... so I not only didn't recover fully from my cancer treatments, I actually continued to get further away from my goal of good general health.

(Note: since being diagnosed with hypo-thyroid (too little thyroid output) I have met about ten friends who also take Synthroid... so if you are having symptoms like the ones I mentioned... have your physician check your T4, T3 and TSH levels, it is an easy blood test, and the treatment... Synthroid... is really benign)

So, what do I do... I have to pick myself up, and get back on the saddle of life again... and work to get healthy. No matter that I have had my share of health challenges... I will bet another shoe will fall and I need to be ready! I am a list person... especially listing the goals I want to achieve.

1. ensure cardio-pulmonary health
2. maximize physical endurance
3. focus on my flexibility
4. attend to my mental health and acuity
5. work on my strength points... legs, arms, neck and back

So what's my point... simply, it is that without thinking through our health needs, and setting goals, we will just let life happen to us. To my mind, setting aside at least an hour a day, whether we are working or not, is little price to pay for being healthy and prepared for when the inevitable hits.

One doesn't need to be a member of a club to achieve these goals... working with a towel, a big book, and a pair of walking shoes could get us through to healthy living. Add a bicycle and a helmet and you can even see more of the surrounding world while achieving several of the goals.

I hope I can get to this today... I am setting my baselines... Blood Pressure; Heart Rate (resting and maximum); breath h old time; # of push-ups to max; # of sit-ups to exhaustion; straight leg to touch (to go); and so on. We can't achieve goals if we don't know where we are at the beginning.