A Worthwhile Investment Opportunity
Our physical bodies are an amazing gift from God, but it’s easy to take them for granted. We eat a delicious dinner and the food is transformed within us into energy; we can breathe and move at the direction of tiny threads in our brains. We climb into bed after a long day, and our cells renew themselves while we rest. The very acts of eating, sleeping, and moving make us stronger and more resistant to disease and pain.
But our bodies won’t last forever, and our physical health is by no means guaranteed. Accidents and difficult diagnoses are bewildering and frightening, sometimes appearing without notice. While we can’t prevent all attacks on our bodies, we should appreciate and cherish the physical bodies we have. This is especially important for those of us pursuing financial independence and potentially longer than average retirements.
Medical costs in the United States are uncomfortably steep, even for the healthiest among us. Mr. Sense and I pay hundreds of dollars each month for high deductible health insurance, even though I can’t remember the last time either of us visited a doctor. The situation is much more grim for those who need extended care, often leading to ballooning medical debt, even for financially responsible people. In less fortunate corners of the world, medical care is far below modern standards, if it’s available at all. No amount of healthy food and exercise can overcome some diagnoses, and we should pray and provide practical help for those suffering from injury and disease.
Those of us who are fortunate to enjoy mostly good health have a responsibility to protect and nourish our bodies out of respect for our Creator. This includes obvious (but not always easy) choices like avoiding addiction and other risky behavior. Everyday, we are faced with choices regarding our bodies.
The main physical health factors we control fall into two categories: what we consume, and how active we are. Eating salads and jogging doesn’t guarantee us long and happy lives, but skipping over vegetables and staying sedentary long term definitely leads to negative health outcomes.
Some people lament the cost of healthy food options, but in many communities like ours, I’ve found wholesome food is cheaper than the alternative and readily available. Fast food and convenience store fare may appear to have lower sticker prices, but besides lacking much nutritional value, they also don’t fill you up for long.
Pricing at fancy grocery stores with bike racks and paper bags, along with the organic sections of regular stores, cause many people to believe that healthy food is out of their budgets. As budget-conscious grocery shoppers, Mr. Sense and I err away from the pricy “health food” sections of major grocery chains, which tend to be stocked with snacks in cool matte packaging that aren’t much better for you than regular chips. Similarly, diet and low-fat foods are often indistinguishable from the regular stuff except for smaller serving sizes, often involving additional packaging and markup. The most nutritional bang for your buck comes from the produce and canned food aisles. A bag of baby spinach and an enormous serving of oatmeal costs less than a full sized meal from Burger King, and are better for you, too.
Meal planning is helpful for balancing healthiness, taste, and price. I try to outline our dinners for the week on Sundays, building in at least one day for reinventing leftovers so food doesn’t go to waste. I love leftovers for lunches, and we keep salad materials, oats, and fruit on hand for me to build around whatever else is in the fridge. I try to get input from my family for the meal planning, but the rest of the family is often noncommittal when I’m drawin up the meal plan. But that doesn’t bother me: I’m always happy with what we’re having!
Keeping our bodies active is the other key piece of giving ourselves the best chance of long, happy, healthy lives. Fortunately, physical activity is a gift from God that almost everyone can enjoy in some form. While I avoid sports that involve hustling in the freezing cold for prolonged periods of time (except bike commuting!), I love most kinds of exercise, especially outdoor activities. One of my favorites is the simple walk– I usually get in at least a couple walks each day. Walks are awesome! Even God took a walk in the Garden of Eden. Walking benefits us physically, mentally, and spiritually in ways we can’t fully comprehend. Plus, it’s easy to start and to squish into little pockets of free time during the day.
More vigorous exercise is clearly valuable as well. As our muscles grow and strengthen, we are better able to resist injuries and other unpleasantness. Current trends emphasize strength training over cardio workouts, but I think both are fantastic. The Sense family members each run a weekly timed mile. We play racquetball, lift weights, and do Youtube workout videos. Mr. Sense and I want to show our kids the importance of exercise for long term health, so we have to get out there ourselves and work hard.
Long term physical health is a combination of our choices (what we eat, whether we smoke cigarettes, when we choose to go to bed, how much exercise we get) and elements outside of our control (God’s plans, genetics, disabilities). As with most things, it’s best to focus on the pieces we control rather than obsessing over those we can’t. All of us have been blessed with physical bodies to last the duration of our earthly lives, and we should love and care for them, because they are part of God’s creation.
