Lets face it…having a joint replacement while still young turns people’s head. Most are so surprised that we get the most peculiar looks and comments.
Some of my favorite comments are:
Were you overweight before?
I thought joint replacements were for old people?
Are you sure you made the right decision?
These seem to be some of the most common comments I hear from people when they find out I have a hip replacement. I am not sure what is going through the minds of the people making these comments. Perhaps they aren’t thinking at all. Statistically it is no longer uncommon to have hip replacement. In the US it is estimated there are almost 3 million people who have hip replacements and over 7 million who have some kind of joint replacements. In Canada the statistics are roughly 10% of the US numbers.
The reality is most people have something going on with their health.
Degenerative disease affects 1 out of every 3 people in the US and Canada. The most prevalent are heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke, and brain related illnesses. In most cases degenerative disease is caused by our own lifestyle choices as I stated in a prior blog. So what can we do to slow down or even eliminate degenerative disease in our life and those that we love?
Become healthy active.
We all live in one of 5 areas when it comes to health. The first is the healthy unaware. This is the McDonald’s fast foodie. Not much thought or education has gone into making their daily health choices from the food they eat to to how much they exercise. The second is the somewhat aware. This group of people have read something, watched a program and may even start to consider what they are eating, however they still really don’t take action to improve their health situation. The third is the healthy aware. This person is starting to realize the need to look after themselves better and are beginning to pay attention. They start to eat a little better and start to exercise. They even start to take supplements from the grocery store to fill in the missing pieces, however they still eat highly processed foods. The forth is becoming healthy active. This person has made it a point to know what foods to eat and what to avoid. They make decisions on their food intake based on knowing what is in it. This person also views taking a high potency supplement as crucial in helping to fill in the missing pieces safely and effectively. The fifth and last is the health nut. This person has gone to the extreme in their health protocol. This requires a lot of discipline to follow and maintain on a daily basis but provides them them the state of health they are looking for. They may be a high level athlete.
Being healthy active is a blend of knowing what is good for you and your family and at the same time have some balance. It is not what you do in your lifestyle habits 10% of the time…its what you do 90% of the time. It takes effort to become healthy active, yet it is so worth it. Do you know how much sugar is recommended in a daily diet? How much are you consuming? What about your fat intake? What kind of fats are good for you? Bad for you? How much exercise should you get? What type? Each of us are unique so our diet and exercise may be unique as well. There is no one size fits all when it comes to our health. Take the necessary steps to know more and implement it into your daily lifestyle plan. By doing this you will reduce the possibility of being impacted by degenerative disease. In essence it is the famous phrase…”pay me now or pay me later”. There is a price for good health decisions and bad health decisions. . The price for good health decisions are becoming educated on what is good or bad, staying true to those choices MOST of the time. Lets face it we all like to let go from time to time. It is okay to do this. The results will be a more vibrant you! The price for bad health decisions…well…lets just say the pay me later will be the biggest price. There is no crystal ball on what will happen, however we increase the odds of a more healthy and vital life by doing the healthy choices.
John One-Hip-Guy