Desperate times call for treadmills...

[CoffeeCat]

I've come to the conclusion that the only defense I have against living in a country
with a corporate-run, profit-centric healthcare system--is to try and stay healthy.

I know. It's a flawed strategy. I could wake up tomorrow with a debilitating
condition or a serious disease. However, right now--a personalized health plan is all
I've got. Right now, developing a workout plan, setting jogging goals and committing to healthier
eating helps me to feel that I have some control over decreasing my chances of dying or going bankrupt.

It's clear that no meaningful healthcare reform is going to be passed. Sadly, if we
can't do it with a majority in Congress and one of our own in the White House--we won't
see it in our lifetime. So, I do what I can.

I've gained some weight in the past few years. Do you know why I've gained weight?
I eat when I'm upset or nervous. The corporations have made it so damn easy to become
a walking, talking, ticking time bomb. A few years on high-fructose corn syrup, partially-
hydrogenated oils and transfats--and you could lose your health--and with that goes your
house, your savings, your hopes and dreams.

It's interesting that corporations are subsidized for producing food that makes you sick--and
then our government turns around and punishes us with a broken healthcare system. So, Big Ag
gets to make us sick and Big Insurance gets to profit from denying us treatment. Unbelievable!

Every way you look at it--in this country--you have to try hard to avoid being harmed by
a corporation and the politicians who enable these destructive corporations.

I'm lucky. I have no diseases, no health conditions. But I do live in a country where if that does change--
in the blink of an eye my socioeconomic status deteriorates.

So tomorrow I begin--running, biking, eating healthier--because it's really the only thing I can
do to stave off bankruptcy, losing everything we've worked for--or death--all because of the
grip that corporations have on our democracy.

[happy_liberal]

1. great post

I have often thought if people took the money they spend on 'health care' like 1,000 per month...and instead bought healthy foods for themselves, vitamins and herbs, or even just took days off to take a break from the stress....they would do far more for their health than insurance companies ever will.

If we just stop buying their crap foods that they are trying to kill us with we'd all be healthier...this always happens....they cause the problem then profit on the solution.

[AdHocSolver]

2. Corporations hurt Americans everyday worse than any terrorists in their wildest dreams.

First rule of self-defense: Know who your real enemies are.

[Touchdown]

3. Then your body gets better, and you become more attractive.

When that happens, more people will ask you out, and tempt you to cheat on your spouse, which then causes divorce and money troubles, which then only causes you to seek out more attractive people to date, which will lead to unwanted pregnancy and single motherhood, so then you pay a babysitter and go out to get more attractive people and you'll eventually become HIV positive then you have $10,000 worth of drug bills.

Stay fat!:evilgrin:

[Journeyman]

4. You have the same health- . . . er, don't-get-sick-plan as I have. . .

Good luck, CoffeeCat. I've managed to make it to my mid-fifties without serious illness, despite occasional times of being overweight and far too sedentary for my own good.

My plan is to stay healthy for another 40 years, then be shot dead by a jealous husband. Hey, it could work. It's as realistic as the dream I used to have, that I'd help re-establish a Democratic majority in both houses under a Democratic President, and they'd all do the right thing and pass legislation for single-payer health care. Yeah. . . that was a fun dream . . . Maybe my new one will turn out better than the old. . .

[90-percent]

5. And if you do get sick

As Alan Grayson once said;

If you do get sick, "DIE QUICKLY!"

Your plan is excellent! Good thinking! Yoga is good, too.

-90% Jimmy

[UTUSN]

6. Well, guess what, after 9 yrs of treadmilling daily, I was told by M.D. that this had caused

the rubbing of big toe joints, wearing away of the bones there, and that arthritis triggered excess calcium deposits to fill in the voids, painful.

That ellipticals are better, keeping the feet flat instead of the "walking" motion of bending the joints. But ellipticals, he said, mean you're transfering the pressure to the hip joints, so better than those are the bicycle or stationary bicycle because you're taking the pressure off the hips by sitting.

[juno jones]

7. It's a big club. Welcome.

I just finished an amazing look at nutrition:
Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Science/dp/1400033462/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263323031&sr=1-1

I am by no means a low-carb advocate, but this book is dense with facts, numbers and research and it certainly makes a case against highly processed carbohydrates in the levels currently found in our diets.

I don't know how I'd be able to take care of my health if I was forced to give that 'extra', 'superfluous', 'surplus' money I spend on good food and vitamins to insurance companies. I barely afford it now and I am extremely lucky that I am capable of cooking most of my food from scratch and usually do.

I'm frustrated right now. I can't do my usual three-mile hike due to a torn knee ligament. I hate pedaling in one place, but I guess the recumbent stationary bike is coming out of storage. :)