One Thing #Healthydad

One thing at a time. It’s the way life works. When you try to do more, things suffer.
If you could make one change in your life and reap a huge benefit from it, would you do it? It seems like a no-brainer, right? It wouldn’t have to be something big, but just something. Even if it was something small, something tiny, and it could make a huge difference in your health and the welfare of your family wouldn’t you jump at the chance?
But for some it could be something big, like quitting smoking. Quitting smoking immediately reduces your chance of heart attack or stroke. You’ve heard that nobody likes a quitter, but not in this case. Maybe the guy you have your smoke break with at work, but do you really like him or was it just convenient to have someone to talk to while puffing away. I quit about fifteen years ago, it was incredibly hard but when someone I had known when I was young was dying from emphysema at the age of sixty, it seemed like a good time.
For others, your one thing might be to drink more water. About half of our body is water. Hydration is key to brain and heart function and keeps the system running smoothly… we are designed to drink. So drink.
About a year ago I buckled down and decided to make some dietary changes, while it seems like lots of things I made it just one thing. Eat clean. I chose to eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, almost no meat, and almost no dairy. Lots of beans. Maybe the family isn’t so happy about that last thing, but it’s a good source of protein. Not surprisingly I felt better almost immediately and lost weight at a pretty good clip. I didn’t view it as a bunch of changes, I just saw it as one… eat clean. Nothing else wasn’t part of the plan, so it was avoided. Now I’m at a much healthier weight and eat clean much of the time, but sometimes partake of things off that list. Especially french fries, I do loves me some fries.
Any of these One Things… will eventually become a habit and that’s nothing but good.
When I was thinking of writing this post, I didn’t want to sound preachy. I’m not a doctor, I have no medical training, I only try to use common sense. So take this for what it’s worth, keep it simple and just do One Thing.
Being healthy is big. It’s kind of everything. If you don’t have that then everything else takes a hit. When was the last time you had the flu? Laid out in bed or on the couch, tissues piling up because you don’t have the strength to get to the trash, knowing you should eat but either you don’t have an appetite or you’re too weak to even move. There’s that ache so deep in your bones that it feels like it’ll never go away. You’re shivering as if you’re at the North Pole like it’s 50 below zero and the thermostat shows a comfortable 72. So if you had the chance to avoid this, wouldn’t you?
So this year, try a Flu Shot for your One Thing.
Obviously, I’m not someone that’s scared to immunize. I have my kids immunized because I’ve weighed the pros and cons and to me, it makes the most sense.
As an adult we can usually eek our way through a bout with the flu. Some aren’t so lucky, on average about 40,00o people in the US die of the flu annually. Mostly of those folks have compromised immune systems, the elderly or young children. But it happens. Even the simple things become almost impossible, your body just shuts down. You’re unable to care for yourself let alone another human. How will you take care of your infant, change a diaper or feed them? How will you get your 3 year old to preschool, or deal with the emotional rants of your twelve year old daughter from bed with a 102 fever?
You’re not. And trust me, they have no sympathy!
Above all else, while you can probably make it through, that last thing you want to do is get your child sick. The flu doesn’t discriminate, it likes to be shared.
It’s been a few years for me since I have had the flu, the last time was the year before I started getting the flu shot. My insurance carrier provides it at no charge. I just stop into a pharmacy, show my card, and short while later some girl is smiling as she sticks a needle in my arm and I’m off on my day. No appointments, no waiting around, no copay. My arm hurts for a day or three and I’m good for the season. Sometimes they get it wrong and choose the wrong strain, but it’s cheap insurance.
Health Insurance is a great way to help protect you and your family. There are so many ways to have it work for you and many options you might not even be aware of, to help get the job done. Much of those things go unused, so learn what’s available to you. You will be surprised.
Anthem Blue Cross here in California has a lot of cool programs to keep you healthy and help when things get funky. If you have a question and need to bend someone’s ear, but for whatever reason don’t want to reach out to your doctor, they have LiveHealth. You can use your computer or mobile device to get some advice, it’s like a housecall for the internet age. You can reach a board-certified physician without the hefty cost that can come with office visits. It’s clinical facetime for when your doctor’s office is closed or too far to get to. With LiveHealth Online, you can connect with U.S.-based, board certified doctors within minutes by two-way video chat in the privacy of your own home. Available 24/7, 365 days a year.
So that’s my One Thing. If you think about it everything is really just one thing at a time, string a few of those together, eat better, drink more water, get that doctor visit over with that you’ve been avoiding, and you’ll be better off too.
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Thanks to Anthem Blue Cross, California Inc., which compensated me for this post and for including dads in this important discussion about family health care. My views are based solely on my experience as a parent, and not as a medical professional.”