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Exercise tip for busy people

Being too busy is one reason why people don’t exercise. In a world where people are not getting less busy, you have to put exercise in your calendar. This is one less decision you have to make everyday. The act of deciding whether or not to exercise actually takes up energy and mental space.

If exercise is important to you, then put it on your calendar. Schedule time to exercise. Share it with your family on google calendar so everyone knows where you are and what you are doing. This way you don’t have to think about it, and you don’t have to worry about people scheduling things for you that might conflict with your time to exercise. The decision is already made. It’s in your calendar. Time is already set aside for exercise. During that set period of time everyday, all you have to do is exercise.

Scheduling exercise makes exercise a priority. When it shows up on your calendar, that means it’s important to you. If exercise is something that you want to start doing, don’t leave things to chance. Don’t hope that you will find the time. The funny thing about trying to find the time for something is that you never do. We are all too busy. Life will get in the way. You have to make the time.

If you want to exercise, block out time for it in your calendar. Once you do this, the decision has already been made for you everyday. This is the first step to making exercise something you just do.

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Your body at its best

What is your body at its best? For one, it’s holding yourself to a different standard. We say different, because normal is based on an already sick population. Also, everyone is in fact different. Your body at ITS best might look and feel different than the person next to you. It’s personal.

Your body responds to things in its own unique way. Your body at its best is that journey to figuring out what works for you, as opposed to against you. It’s taking the time to write things down. 

Our motives are different. What motivates you might not motivate someone else. It’s learning why health is important to you, and then using that.

Its loving yourself. Getting healthy is more inward than outward. It’s not a certain look. It’s a certain feeling. Your body at its best looks and feels different for everyone. It’s about being a good steward of the one you have been given.

It’s a lifestyle, and the energy that comes with it. It’s energy, and designing a lifestyle around what provides it.

Your body at its best is about hope.

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Healthy eating tip: Mindful eating

Don’t eat while watching television. Start with this one example of mindless eating. Everyone has a different opinion on what is healthy for you to eat and what is not, but what we know for sure is that mindless eating can lead to bad habits. There are types of foods and quantities of foods that we consume without even realizing it! How many times have you started a bag of chips, and then the next thing you realize the bag is empty? Mindfulness is a good thing in most areas of your life, and it can also help with your nutrition.

Mindful eating means being present. When you are eating, try just eating and not doing anything else. Taste your food. Chew your food. We see massive improvements in our relationships and our productivity at work when we are present. The same idea can be applied to your diet. Being present while eating will decrease the likelihood of overeating. You are better able to recognize the feeling of being full. With mindful eating you will also be able to decipher between the food that makes you feel good and the food that makes you feel bad.

Recognizing when you are full, and the foods that work for you, are just two of many reasons why mindful eating is healthy. It can change the foods that you want to eat. Try it and see what you think. It might take a little more time than you are used to, but the impact it will have on your eating habits and your overall health will make it worth it.

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Willpower not required

Willpower is one of those words that many people associate with weight loss. We assume that those who lose weight and keep it off must have more willpower than those who do not. This is not true in most cases. Willpower is a limited resource. We only get a certain amount of it each day, so using it as a weight loss tool can often be unreliable and frustrating. A better way to lose weight and keep it off is to take willpower out of the equation. Getting rid of that feeling of having to do something, and slowly changing it to wanting to do something.

Limit the number of decisions you have to make

Making decisions everyday takes willpower. If you limit the number of decisions you have to make regarding what you eat or an exercise plan, the less willpower it takes to do them. This requires a system. A system is a lifestyle that is built around the things that you want. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you can build systems in your life that support that.

For example, daily activity is a system. Any activity counts as daily activity. A 20 minute walk, or playing in the backyard with your kids. It all counts as activity.  It isn’t a goal everyday, it’s just what you do everyday. The keyword here is every day. This isn’t a decision you have to make. It is one that is already made.

Change what you want

Eating right can also be a system. A system isn’t cutting out things in your diet, it is recognizing the foods that make you feel good afterwards versus the ones that make you feel bad. It’s noticing. Eating right is knowing what eating is for. When you eat, you are fueling your body. The more you understand why you eat, the more you will want to eat right. Understanding the why and recognizing what gives you energy is a system built around eating right.

Taking willpower out of the weight loss equation means changing the things that you want, and limiting the decisions you have to make every day. There will be times when you don’t feel like going to the gym. When this happens, don’t go! But learn what does make you feel like going to the gym and working out. For example, try putting on your exercise clothes before you feel like working out. You’d be amazed at how often this simple trick will put you in the mood to exercise.

Try implementing systems for good health into your life. Willpower not required. Just knowing yourself, and being a little creative. 

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How to use your High Deductible Health Plan

There is a pretty good chance that most of you reading are on some sort of high deductible health plan. A High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) is defined as a health plan with an annual deductible not less than $1300 for individual coverage, and $2600 for family coverage. This means that you have to spend at least this amount in a year before your insurance starts picking up the tab. Here are some quick tips for how to best use your High Deductible Health Plan:

Put money into an HSA

Anyone on a High Deductible Health Plan qualifies for an HSA (Health Savings Account). Most health insurance providers offer HSA’s, but if they don’t you can usually open up one at any financial institution. The great thing about HSA’s is that you decide how you want to contribute. Each year an individual can put up to $3350 into their HSA account, and if you have family coverage you can put up to $6750. If you are over the age of 55 you can contribute an extra $1000 into your HSA, which is called a “Catch up”.

The money you put into your HSA is pretax dollars. The money you put in is tax free, and the money you take out of your HSA is tax free. If you make $40000 a year and you put $3000 into your HSA, you will be taxed as if you make $37000. And when you use your HSA, you can still use that expense as a tax deduction. The general rule for what qualifies as an eligible expense for an HSA (the IRS publication 502 is linked at the bottom of the page) is that it must be a cost for treating a medical condition. 

Use cost comparison tools

Most of the big insurance carriers (United Healthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana, etc.) have cost comparison tools. So if you need to get a surgery done at a hospital you can compare providers, and the cost that comes with them. Here are the links to the cost comparison tools of the major insurance carriers:

Blue Cross Blue Shield Cost Comparison Tool

Humana Cost Comparison Tool

United Healthcare Cost Comparison Tool

Keep good records

Keep the receipts of your medical records. This seems obvious, but it’s really important. It is an IRS requirement to keep the receipts of your Health Savings Account (HSA). You don’t have to send them in with your tax return, but you do need to keep them for your tax records. 

Here are a few good resources to check out:

Healthcare Bluebook

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p502/index.html