Featured Article | Health Warnings
Why You Need a Personal Health Plan
What is your health plan?
That’s an interesting question someone once asked me.
Let’s put it another way: What is your plan for developing your health? Can you name it? Can you put it in a list? Can you say, “My plan for eating is a, b, c and d? My plan for fitness is one, two, three and four. My plan for flexibility is one, two, three and four. My plan for strength or cardiovascular training is x, y and z.”
How many of us have actually taken the time to sit down and develop a plan for health? How many of us just go day-to-day, constantly changing plans (or not making plans) and wondering and hoping if we’ll stay healthy.
My experience has been that most of the patients I help and most of the people who come to me for personal coaching, don’t really have a health plan in place. They drift from plan to plan trying to find something that meets their lifestyle needs.
My advice to those people and to anyone reading this article who doesn’t have a real health plan in place is this: Develop a workable health plan you can implement as soon as possible and use over the next six months. In six months, you can evaluate your progress and then make adjustments to continue improving your health and fitness.
I am going to give you an example of my current health plan.
Eating:
- 4 helpings of fresh fruit and vegetables daily.
- 200 grams (7.05 oz) of quality protein every single day.
- At least six, eight-ounce glasses of water a day.
- The 85/15 rule as I explain in my article “The 85/15 Rule for Healthy Eating”.
- A nutritional supplement plan I designed for my age, activity level and health needs.
Exercise:
- The CrossFit.com strength and conditioning program.
- My personal program includes a weight-lifting routine (one body part per day, five days a week) and five minutes of flexibility, stretching and training.
My plan is simple enough that I can live it on a day-to-day basis, follow it fairly easily, and look at the numbers. Using the CrossFit plan, I narrow my results down to numbers so that everything can be followed. From this I can decide if I am improving, if I am getting worse or if I am staying the same.
In addition, I also track other “personal” numbers that tell me my fitness level. I look at my percent body fat. I look at the amount of weight I can bench press. I do this to ensure that I can always meet a minimum level of fitness. My minimum is to bench press at least 225 pounds, at least 10 times. I am able to do at least 40 push-ups and 40 sit-ups.
My blood pressure is 130/80 or better, and I can run an eight-minute mile. These are my personal minimums. I won’t fall below this standard.
I also have a health plan for prevention. These steps include:
- Getting my PSA measured once a year.
- Getting a physical exam once a year.
- Checking my blood numbers once a year including homocysteine, c-reactive protein (CRP), complete blood count (CBC), comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), and lipid profile.
- I also have an EKG once a year.
This is my health plan. What is yours? Have you sat down with your physician, trainer or nutritionist and decided what your health plan will look like?
If you really want to get fit and healthy and stay that way, I suggest you take the time to develop your own health plan today. It could enable you to live happier, healthier and even longer.
[Ed. Note: Tim Reynolds, M.D., is a board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. He is a Managing Partner of Healthcare Express and the Chief Medical Officer of Urgent Care America. Dr. Reynolds is also a health and lifestyle expert and sought-after speaker. For more information, click here.]
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I really like the premise of this article. Personally, I have a PHP. I also coach people in the organizational world on individual development planning toward improvement or getting ready for the next job position. I could see adding the PHP aspects to the organizational IDP (Individual Development Plan). Other than being a daily practioner of PHP, what other credentials should I gather in order to improve my credibility on PHP content?
Excellent article. You have inspired me to begin a personal regimen. My son will be enlisting in the military soon and has begun working out with my wife. My wife has dropped about 4 dress sizes and looks great. They have inspired me to have a real fitness regimen for life.
I find the most amazing message in this article. The common quest in life is we are always looking for a plan or a program to follow. The premise of he who has the plan wins, usually is a reality. We all need the programs discussed for over all health. With out measurement follow up and adjustment we all are trapped in the same routine of being reactive vs. proactive. Good message.
This is an excellent and informative article - one that should be printed out and enlarged and kept within daily view!
Thank you so much!
As a housewife and mother of 3 active children it is very easy to put the priority of eatting real healthy and regular exercise on the back burner. I personally used to be a “workoutaholic”; a minimum of three hours at the gym a day. Sometimes life gets real busy and you feel something has to give; in my case the gym. What the article pointed out about making an overall plan for a healthy lifestyle is very important to ourselves and our families. The exercise routine he uses of working one body part per day very doable even for busy parents! Having a diet plan makes shopping easier. Preventative health care just makes sense. God gave us the gift of these bodies!! We need to do our part in keeping them healthy! Good article!!
This is very good article.
I loved your last article and was excited to see another. Please keep sending your inspirational messages.
I am inspired by this message. I have developed financial and spiritual plans for my life but not for my health. I really must take the time to develop one. If I don’t have my health, how can I complete my spiritual goals? And my financial goals will fly out the window.
I want to print out your message to keep with me. I need to review some other articles I’ve clipped so I can think about the tests I want to have my doctor do on my annual exam before I make the appointment. I really appreciate the ide that it must be simple enough to live with it on a daily basis. I like the idea of having personal mininum goals you won’t allow yourself to fall below and how you measure and adjust your program to keep yourself on track.
Simple but how few of us have taken the time to make a plan. I sure will now.
A very much needed article. It made me personally stop and check the elements which are absent on my own routine, and what I could do to improve it. I, just as so many others, think we do a pretty good job with our personal health needs. However, there are so many things that are easy to skip, neglect or forget. Those small little things over time can make an amazing difference in ones outcome. We all need a little check-up from the experts now and then. Thanks for the “check-up checklist” Dr. Tim.
This is an excellent article. I think an average american should read this informative article.Yes you need a road map when you are travelling. Yes we are all travellers , we need the Road map.In my opinion your article is a road map
for a healthy living. Keep up the great work.