Health With a 10 Year Horizon

Setting a better timeline for your health goals.

A friend recently shared with the world his latest health goal.

“I’m going to lose 30 pounds in 15 weeks!” he wrote, surging on the adrenaline rush of a good deed done by his future self.

This is the framework by which most people make health decisions.

Inches off your hips in days. Lose 10 pounds in weeks. Get ripped in the space of a few months.

These are attractive ideas because they’re easily understood, socially digestible and simple to share with friends.

The failure rate on these is terrifying. And even when you succeed, none of them really matter.

The only health timeline that matters is 10 years.

10 years from now, how much worse off physically will you be than you are now?

If you’re 22 now, how overweight will you be by 32?

If you’re inactive at 32, how active will you be by the time you turn 42?

If your blood pressure worries you at 42, how high is it going to be at 52?

If you’re 52, how much physical strength will you lose between now and 62?

On the scale of a decade, the week to week bumps and blips are inconsequential.

The weight you can lose in the fortnight won’t mean anything unless you keep it off for the rest of the decade. The strength you can gain in the next month isn’t worth the time if it isn’t still there 10 years from now.

What matters are the things you can maintain over time.

The small things, that add up day to day.

The question isn’t - how much can I change in the next 30 days?

It’s - what little things will I do every day, for the next 3,650 days to bend the arc of my life towards healthy?

3,650 days in a decade.

Your first one starts right now.