The Hidden Price Behind Every Health Decision
And the cost of the choice you didn't make.
Happy Tuesday, health heroes.
Today, we’re talking about tradeoffs. I’ve been in the thick of it lately, and thinking deeply about how it pertains to our health and health decision making.
Recently, as I contemplated my next strategic business move, I had to do a deep analysis to avoid making the wrong decision. I sought advice from trusted people. One of those people, a successful businesswoman with a background working with leadership in a Fortune 500 company and an accounting degree, asked me if I had considered the ‘opportunity cost’ in my decision analysis.
What exactly is opportunity cost, you ask? Maybe you know, but I needed to be reminded.
Opportunity cost is the cost of the choice you didn’t make. Whenever you say ‘yes’ to something, you automatically say ‘no’ to something else—even if you don’t realize it.
For example, let’s say you spend an hour scrolling on your phone. The opportunity cost is whatever else you could have done with that time—reading a book, going for a walk, calling a friend, or even just getting extra sleep. You don’t necessarily feel the impact right away but over time? It adds up.
Or say you want to spend $50,000 on one investment. That’s $50,000 you can’t allocate elsewhere. If you commit to one job, you forgo other professional paths.
The last one, quitting a job, was the particular analysis I was up against. This perspective, along with a CREECS analysis, was helpful in my decision-making process. The CREECS analysis considers six questions everyone should answer before making any health decision, especially for more significant health decisions.
But I use this framework for every big decision, along with a few others that can be found in my upcoming book, Health Shift: Your Personalized Guide to Making Strategic Health Decisions. (Coming soon!!)
Cost: Can I afford this, especially over the long term? Is the investment worthwhile?
Risk: What is my risk tolerance?
Effort: How much effort will the approach I’m considering taking, and am I willing to expend that much energy, time, emotional energy, etc., on it?
Effectiveness: How effective will this new endeavor be at helping me reach my goals?
Commitment: Am I ready to commit to this endeavor over the long term?
Support: Can I access the necessary means, emotional, and community support to be successful? How will this decision affect me and those closest to me?
In the end, I made a decision that I could feel confident about: I put in my two weeks’ notice at my day job last week and will be fully invested in a new career at Strategic Action Health next week. (Very exciting stuff! 🥂)
I also realized how valuable this process might be for you when making better health decisions because opportunity cost applies to health decisions, too.
Every time you choose convenience—skipping the workout, grabbing fast food, pushing off sleep—you’re giving up something, even if you don’t feel it yet. Maybe it’s future energy, mobility, or even years off of your life. But because the trade-offs aren’t immediate, most people don’t think about them.
You might nod and say, "So basically, every decision has a hidden cost?"
Exactly. You either invest in your health now or pay for it later.
But here’s the real kicker: most people think only in terms of effort—like, ugh, eating healthy takes so much work. But they never think about the effort of not eating healthy. Dealing with chronic pain, managing medications, and losing independence—those are costs, too.
So the question becomes: Am I making choices that maximize my future opportunities, or am I trading them away without realizing it?
Every action—or inaction—has a cost. And yet, health decisions are often made in a vacuum, as if they exist without trade-offs.
They don’t.
Do we really care that much about our health?
I had an interesting conversation with a friend I admire and respect who owns a large healthcare company. We both encountered a phenomenon that neither of us could fully understand: When asked, many people say they don’t care about their health.
We would have never guessed this if we hadn’t seen it in real life.
I think that instinctively, we must care - it’s basic survival. Perhaps some of us just haven’t given it much thought or had to survive yet, or we haven’t come up with a reason to want to care. Health has not been put in perspective of other things we care about, like our family members and our desire to live large and do fun things.
No one wants to feel awful, struggle with mobility, or lose their independence. However, awareness and urgency play a considerable role in whether that care translates into action.
For example:
A 25-year-old may not think about long-term health because their body still functions without much effort.
A 55-year-old with knee pain might suddenly realize that the choices they made decades ago are catching up to them.
So, maybe it’s not that people don’t care—it’s that they don’t feel the cost yet. They haven’t connected today’s choices with tomorrow’s reality. They think of health as something that happens to them, not something they actively create.
And that leads right into balance.
Because while it’s easy to say, “Always choose the long-term gain over the short-term pleasure,” real life doesn’t work that way. Humans are wired for instant gratification. If we always sacrificed today for tomorrow, we’d burn out, feel deprived, and give up entirely.
So, how do we balance what we want in the moment with what we want in the future?
I’d suggest thinking about health like a bank account:
Some choices are deposits—they add to your long-term well-being (exercise, nourishing food, stress management).
Some choices are withdrawals—they give you short-term pleasure but take away from your future balance (junk food, skipping sleep, chronic stress).
The key is spending wisely—if you constantly withdraw without depositing, your health account will be in debt. But if you never allow yourself small indulgences, you’ll feel restricted and rebel.
A practical way to apply this:
High-value deposits first: Prioritize daily movement, real food, hydration, and quality sleep most of the time.
Strategic withdrawals: Enjoy indulgences in a way that feels intentional, not impulsive.
Check your balance. If you feel sluggish, inflamed, or off track, it’s time to make more deposits.
This approach shifts health from a sacrifice mindset to a strategy mindset. It’s not about perfection—it’s about keeping your future options open without sacrificing the joys of today. We need to be teaching this to our children, too.
The Real Cost of Inaction
Consider exercise. The most common excuse for skipping it? “I don’t have time.”
But time is only half the equation. The opportunity cost of not exercising is not being considered.
You may gain an hour in your day by skipping movement—but what have you traded for it?
Lower energy levels mean that extra hours are less productive.
Increased likelihood of chronic disease, shortening the healthy years of your life.
Declining mobility, making future tasks harder and less enjoyable.
In the short term, it seems like you’ve saved time. But in reality, you’ve borrowed time from your future self at an incredibly high interest rate.
Now, apply this same principle to food choices.
Eating highly processed foods is convenient. It’s easy, cheap, and requires little thought. But what’s the real cost?
Increased inflammation leads to sluggishness and brain fog.
A higher risk of metabolic disease, demanding medical intervention down the road.
Dependency on quick energy spikes instead of true nourishment.
The trade-off isn’t immediate, which is why it’s easy to ignore. But it exists.
Short-Term Comfort vs. Long-Term Capability
Opportunity cost is easiest to see in financial decisions because the consequences are tangible. But health is harder—it plays out over decades in subtle declines and small compromises that eventually add to significant limitations.
If you fail to invest in your health today, the cost isn’t just future disease—it’s diminished capacity in every aspect of life:
Less resilience to stress.
Decreased cognitive sharpness.
Fewer choices, as your body dictates what is or isn’t possible.
The ultimate question is this: Are you making health decisions based on short-term comfort or long-term capability?
A Strategic Framework for Health Decisions
If we approach health through the lens of opportunity cost, the right choices become clearer. Here’s how to apply this thinking:
💭 Evaluate the trade-offs before deciding.
What am I gaining by making this choice?
What am I giving up—immediately and in the future?
🤔 Identify the hidden costs of convenience.
Is this decision making my life easier, or is it just delaying an inevitable consequence?
💡Think in terms of investment, not just avoidance.
Are you maintaining health, or are you actively improving it?
Are you protecting your future options or limiting them?
🪨 Recognize that inaction is also a choice.
Choosing not to improve your diet is still a decision—one with long-term consequences.
Avoiding movement today shapes your physical limitations tomorrow.
The Bottom Line
Health isn’t about making the perfect choice every time. It’s about understanding the trade-offs and making decisions with awareness.
Do this, and you’ll make decisions with confidence. The real risk isn’t a single poor choice—it’s a lifetime of unexamined ones.
What opportunity costs are shaping your health right now? And are you making choices that your future self will be grateful for—or ones we’ll regret?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments. See you on Thursday, health heroes.
— Dr. Alice
A little more about Dr. Alice Burron and The Health Navigator Group:
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