Most health insurance providers require some physical exams for new applicants. The blood work and weigh in make a difference in risks and in costs for many applicants.
People who are overweight, have high blood pressure or are diabetics generally experience more health risks and illness.
Even pregnant women who are overweight experience more risks than women who are of normal weight.
So keeping your weight and your family’s weight within normal ranges is really worth it, not only from the standpoint of health, but also from the cost of health care and health insurance.
Eating healthier is not so difficult either.
It comes down to eating real food, food that is low in saturated fats, high in complex carbs (fruits and vegetables), has some whole grains, and skips sugar in all its worthless forms (watch the sugary drinks).
It’s also good to eat 4 or 5 small healthy snacks a day instead of 3 big, mostly fatty protein based meals with lots of salt that raises your blood pressure.
Of course eating out makes healthy eating more difficult. You never know what’s in that meal if you don’t prepare it yourself.
But what if you have some food…real food with you on trips.
I always carry a cooler with food on the road. I love to cook and hate to settle for fast food. It’s not healthy and I don’t like it. So I carry my own food. But you can also make healthier choices from the menus of fast food places.
Order the smaller hamburgers, without cheese or fries. Get a salad, but go easy on dressing and cheese. One tablespoon of dressing is often about 90 calories. A teaspoon is enough to enhance the flavors without adding too many calories.
Avoid fried foods and don’t up size up or “biggie size”.
Skip dessert and ice cream.
And don’t get those big old cups of coffee with cream and sugar.
The big payoff you could get is you could feel better. Saving money on health insurance is a nice bonus.