Who Will Prepare Your Health For Retirement?
“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” —Plato
One of the important concerns for many people in retirement is their health. Even though you can develop illnesses or chronic diseases at any age, it is more common as we age. Too often we get busy with personal and professional responsibilities and forget to attend to the most important aspect of our lives — our bodies and our health. Health is the most important issue for all of us and is far ahead of lifestyle issues and financial well-being.
Recently I attended a SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) meeting presented by a representative from Sibson Consulting about how businesses and corporations are encouraging health practices among employees who are 50 plus years old. This presentation was right up my alley because I consider myself a health nut. I was a vegetarian for 25 years until a few years ago when I started eating fish due to some health challenges and needing more protein in my diet. I’ve walked daily and lifted weights 3 times a week for the last 50 years and I’m always reading articles related to health. Almost every morning, rain or shine, heat wave or snow storm, except for icy conditions, I’m outside dong my 3-4 mile walk.
The presentation reviewed current company trends in providing health screening for health risks and lifestyle management programs at work so employees will be healthier, happier, stronger, more focused and productive and therefore live longer. The RAND Corporation, in a 2013 workplace wellness programs study, found that 51% of US employers with 50 or more employees have a wellness program. 80% of those companies screen for health risks and 56% actually provide disease management programs. The lifestyle management programs included nutrition/weight management programs, smoking cessation, fitness resources, stress management, and managing diseases such as diabetes, asthma, and coronary disease. Unfortunately, the results of this study indicated that only 7-21% of employees continued to participate in the company’s health management programs after the screening was completed.
The question for many companies is how to help employees maintain good health throughout their working career and beyond. Because employees commute to work every day, work many long hours, and have family responsibilities, it makes sense that employers should provide time during the day for their employees to enjoy the convenience of health management at work. Thirty minutes of exercise three to four times a week can make a huge difference in one’s health and lifestyle. Employers can provide the venue, but it’s up to employees to take advantage of those benefits.
Behavior change can be very challenging, especially if we have a lifetime of poor health habits. Changing poor health habits is possible if we take advantage of what is provided at work with more on our own and then use habit-forming techniques to ensure sustained health habits.
What will work for you to turn negative lifestyle habits into positive habits? Below are some suggestions provided at this meeting along with my own experience as a lifelong health-conscious boomer.
- Take advantage of health screenings and health management programs your company offers.
- Look at your day and decide when you might carve out a 30-minute workout. It could be in the early morning, at the end of the day, or at lunch time.
- Ask your employer for extra time during the day to go to their gym. A lot of work projects and consultations among colleagues can be done on the elliptical. If business meetings are done on the golf course, why wouldn’t it be acceptable in the gym? You might have to convince your boss.
- Get an annual physical exam by your doctor and do what he/she recommends.
- Discover what will help you stay with a recommended physical fitness and nutrition program.
Everyone is different so consider the following helpful hints:
- Find an accountability nutrition / exercise buddy for support.
- Reinforce good behavior with some kind of a reward for positive health behavior – like spending more time with family, friends, taking a trip, etc.
- Keep healthy foods in your refrigerator and pantry to avoid temptation.
- Create a Health Vision Board with pictures of the way you will see yourself and your lifestyle after you’ve reached your goal.
- Make sure that you have a maintenance program to sustain new health habits.
- Check out how centenarians live long and healthy lives in the Blue Zones.
The reality is each of us was given our body as a temple to care for so it will take care of us. We have a responsibility to ourselves to make sure we are living up to our health obligations.
Call To Action
Make sure you find time to take care of your body and overall health using some
of the suggestions above.
Now go take care of your health so you can live the very best of your life for the rest of your life.
Dee
Dee Cascio
Author, speaker, Licensed Psychotherapist, Certified Life Coach, Retirement Lifestyle/ReCareer Coach, and Life and Work Transitions Strategies Coach.
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