This tip is for the guys (gals- you can read on if you wish). O.K. men,
we've all heard the phrase "battle of the sexes". Well, guess what? When it
comes to health, we are losing. In fact we are literally getting killed.
Take a look at these statistics from 2002:
1. The life expectancy for males 74.5; female: 79.9 years.
2. Men had a cardiovascular disease (CVD) death rate that was 1.5 times
higher than women
3. The HIV/AIDS death rate was 3.0 times higher for men than for women
4. Men had a total cancer death rate that was 1.5 times higher than women
(men: 238.9 per 100,000; women: 163.1).
5. Men were 4.4 times more likely to die from suicide as women
6. Men were 2.3 times more likely to die from motor vehicle injuries than
women (men: 22.1 per 100,000; women: 9.6)
(Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Here is the ironic thing. We can play any sport, we can hunt and fish, we
can fix a car or build a house but we can't seem to take care of our own
bodies. That's simply not acceptable.
Guys- the top killers are largely preventable through daily choices such as
eating right, exercising, not smoking and going to the doctor.
We live in a world that is full of elite male athletes who most of us can't
relate to and diet and exercise tips that are geared towards women. That
means that you have to take it into your hands, it's not going to be given
to you on a silver platter.
But here's the secret. You are already well equipped to make changes in your
health. Your body is a machine that needs to be well oiled and fine tuned.
Taking care of your health is a cross between reading an owner's manual and
learning a new sport.
To make the changes you need to make takes only 3 things. You need some
information, you need to want to do this and you need to know how to change
your habits.
The information part is pretty simple. Start by talking with your doctor
about your health needs. The Agency for Health Care Quality and Research has
a great checklist of health concerns to discuss with your doctor
(a href="http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthymen.htm" target="blank">www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthymen.htm).
Motivation- you need to suck it up and do this. Think about this, if you
don't take care of your health how will you look five years from now, what
will your health be like?, will you be able to play sports, or do other
hobbies? How will your bad health affect your family and friends? Think
about these things and see if your motivation gets a boost.
Now, information and motivation are not quite enough -You need to change
your habits- I have a very simple training strategy that will help you do
this. It's called SMARTTM - 5 things you need to do:
1. Set a goal.
2. Monitor your progress. Keeping track of what you are doing is going to
help you actually do it.
3. Arrange for success. Make things easier to get done.
4. Recruit a support team. Chances are your buddies need to be healthier as
well. The research clearly shows having others support you in your efforts
will help you be a success.
5. Treat your actions. You need an incentive program. Remember actions that
that are rewarded are more likely to occur. So plan out how you are going to
treat yourself for sticking with your new exercise goals.
Making lifestyle changes can be challenging and overwhelming. But guys.
This is like anything else you do. You've done it with sports, and you've
done it with cars and you've done it with virtually everything around your
house that needed to be fixed.
So men, I'm giving you a challenge. This week pick one aspect of your life
that you want to change to improve your health. Maybe it's your diet, maybe
it's to exercise, and maybe to stop smoking maybe it's getting that blood
pressure under control. Don't bite off more than you can chew- choose just
one thing.
Take that one thing and make sure you know what to do (get information from
your doctor), and then apply my SMARTTM system to make it happen.
This is serious stuff men. It is a matter of life and death. Your actions,
what you do or don't do every day that impacts your health more than
anything else. You can do this, so dig down and muster up what it takes to
be a success. I'm on your team and I'm pulling for you.