The cost of healthcare is a much larger subject than you may think

It's time we think about the cost of healthcare in this country. 

I'm not talking about the cost of care when we get sick, I'm talking about all the money spent keeping ourselves well. Think about it. 

I just went through a preventative colonoscopy and received a clean bill of health, much better than when I went through the same procedure 12 years ago. At that time, the surgeon found many, many problems and advised me to have another procedure done in one to three years. 

Well, I got busy, then my insurance changed, then I was working so much I didn't take time for such a procedure. 

This year, my physician suggested I have it done. 

"I don't know how much your insurance will cover but you've used up all your deductible this year so have it done before the end of the year," he said. 

So, I joked and laughed the day before and shared my humor with the nurses and anesthesiologist at the hospital before I went into The Room. 

Everything is fine but it made me think about all the things I've done to improve my health since 2003 and the expense/investment involved. 

We do much more for preventative healthcare than many nations in the world. 

Since 2003, Linda and I bought a treadmill and we walk pretty faithfully three or more times a week for at least 20 minutes each session. 

I lost 60 pounds after I became aware of a problem with my back and diabetes. I got my diabetes under control and my back problem as gone away, even though I regained about half that weight I lost. 

I got an app for my phone (My Fitness Pal) that helps me log my food intake and exercise every day. 

Speaking of exercise, that treadmill cost several hundred dollars but that amount is minute compared to the YMCA I joined and then left several years ago. (I know I need to go back.) That YMCA has been an multimillion dollar investment over the years when you consider not only construction costs, but all that has been spent on maintenance and employee salaries and the many hours each year volunteers give to helping kids live healthier lives. 

What about the investment my physician has made in his profession? Many years of education beyond college, continuing education, and way too much money that every physician spends on malpractice insurance. I don't go to see my doctor just for medicine and advice when I'm ill. He gives me advice on how to stay healthy, too. 

We can talk about the money invested in local hospitals. I thank God regularly for the fine Catholic hospitals in Brazil and in Crawfordsville. Our family has used both of them and I have written news stories and done interviews with healthcare professionals who work there.

So, when we think of healthcare costs, let's not limit the subject to Obamacare or socialized medicine. Let's think about the big picture. 

'Addicted to love'? I wish. I'm addicted to food

This morning I feel like I fell off the wagon. 

I am an overeater. 

“My name is Frank.” 

“Hi, Frank.”

“I have a food addiction.”

Believe me, I am not making light of alcoholism or Alcoholics Anonymous in any way, shape or form. 

I understand having trouble controlling your appetite for food is nothing compared with the addiction an alcoholic endures but overeating and alcoholism are compulsive behaviors. 

Being addicted to food has its own consequence and, in terms of one’s health, is destructive, too. 

Nearly two years ago I was put flat on my back for five days, sedated with heavy duty painkillers prescribed by my doctor after a specialist determined I had four herniated discs in my back. The pain was exacerbated by being about 100 pounds over my ideal weight. 

I fell off the wagon because after many months of self control I found the temptation to eat doughnuts and other sweets overwhelming. Not just once in a while but every day. 

“A moment on the lips and a lifetime on the hips” — isn’t that what they say. 

It’s not just the weight but I have to monitor my blood sugar, too. 

Fortunately, after losing nearly 50 pounds my blood sugar remains in nearly ideal levels.

Now, my overall health is good but, like an alcoholic who can’t stop after the first drink, I find that I can’t eat just one doughnut, I have to have two or more at a time. 

Ice cream is the same way. I love that stuff and I can’t keep it in the house. Instead, I satisfy my cravings with light yogurt that contains little fat, few calories (compared to ice cream) and very little sugar. 

So, I am getting back on the wagon. 

How? 

No more morning stops at the corner convenience store for the blueberry glazed doughnuts or the chocolate covered cream filled pastries (how I love them, too.) 

The one temptation I don’t know how to overcome is snacking in front of the TV. 

My gentle wife reminds me what snacking does to me but I just can’t seem to stop, even healthy snacks like oranges and popcorn and yogurt. I think I will have to keep my laptop in front of my while we watch “Big Bang Theory” or reruns of “The West Wing.” If I think about writing while watching those shows, I might keep my hands busy and my mind off food. 

I keep a food diary, “My Fitness Pal.” 

A month ago, I decided to shake things up. I had tried living on an 1,675 calorie a day diet suggested by “My Fitness Pal” but my weight loss had bottomed out and, to be honest, I did not have as much energy as I did on those days when I cheated and went over my goal. 

I found a formula on Google+ to determine how many calories a person needs to maintain their current weight. The idea is that if you reduce that number you should lose weight. Apparently, the numbers I used in the formula were too high because I gained about 10 pounds. 

My fear is that in spite of losing pounds from time to time and pretty much maintaining my weight, I will fall off the wagon completely and start eating anything that looks good like in the old days before I learned I was diabetic, before I learned I have four herniated discs. 

I used to laugh and tell people I was on a sea food diet. If I see food, I eat it.

Yes, I’m back on the wagon. Fortunately, I only gained some of the weight I lost and this morning, the bathroom scales told me those pounds were coming off. I have been walking nearly every day on our treadmill for 20 to 30 minutes and now I’m doing a lot of yard work, planting, cutting weeds and watering, though that hasn’t been much of a problem this spring.