I read various articles confusing the terms healthcare and health plan. I consider healthcare those things we do daily to support our health. It is our lifestyle – eating, exercising, stress relief, etc. Health planning is different. It is the plan we have each day to maintain or improve our health and wellness.
I enjoy watching the television show, Naked & Afraid. Two people, one male and one female, are taken to a remote part of the world. They must survive using their skills and training with no clothes, no water and no food.
They do have a survival tool of their choosing. It might be a knife, a fire starter, or something like duct tape. By the way, these survivalists do not get paid for the twenty-one days that they are surviving in the wilderness.
Having been through several survival courses in the military, I see many things they do right and wrong. However, the biggest dilemma I see is the drama that creeps up after the stress of no food, no, water, no clothes, cold weather, flimsy shelter, no sleep and lots of bugs attacking 24/7. The stress detracts from their initial plans.
We experience similar changes in our plans while wearing clothes, having food, having water and a good shelter at our disposal. We get caught up in the drama of family, work, traffic, bills, and other relationships. We may have had a good health plan for that day, but that plan gets overridden by events.
I’ve found if something isn’t written down it doesn’t happen. When things are written down, they still might not happen. But, the plan has them written down. There was a purpose in putting an item in writing. There was a purpose in assigning a priority and thinking about how and when it will be accomplished. When people have a plan to lose weight. They count calories. They determine what to eat each day. They have a plan for their day. The plan might not be written down. But, they have a focus for each day.
We generally focus on the small things – weight, for example. We plan to eat so many calories or such and such foods. The end goal is weight loss. But, wouldn’t it be better to eat for health reasons rather than weight loss. It might accomplish the same goal – weight loss.
I am an advocate of balanced nutrition, caloric restriction, and intermittent fasting. These are the keys to a successful, long and healthy life. These daily action reduce the risks of age-related diseases. The survivalists on Naked & Afraid experience caloric restriction and intermittent fasting daily.
They do not have the option of balanced nutrition. Plan your health wisely – with or without clothes, but knowing you are unafraid.
