One of the favorite things I have heard from a patient is: you’re a doctor, you don’t have to worry about blood pressure. Implying, of course, that doctor’s don’t struggle with their health.
I most certainly do struggle with fitness and health, like many other Americans with sedentary jobs and a proclivity to eat treats. One of my goals is to make sure that I get my 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise (or 75 minutes of high intensity exercise, which probably won’t happen). I will see for how long I am willing to document my progress Saturday to Friday.
This week I walked a lot on the weekend for holiday-related events, and even fit in some walks during the week.
- Saturday: Went downtown to see a holiday performance of The Nutcracker. Parking isn’t easy, and we ended up walking quite a bit around the city. Walked 28 minutes by my Fitbit.
- Sunday: Went with a friend to a holiday Open House at the nearby University. We walked there and back, but the return trip had a big pause: a bicyclist wiped out going downhill on a major road, and I spent some time stopping traffic while my friend checked on the injured. It seemed forever until the ambulance came. My Fitbit reads 60 minutes walked.
- Monday: The day lasted longer than expected. I did manage some very gentle yoga in the evening: 11 minutes.
- Tuesday: This day was even longer than yesterday. The only exercise I got was finishing my blog post for the next day.
- Wednesday: The weather wasn’t great and I couldn’t find a walking partner. Finally my husband went for a walk with me. Walked 62 minutes.
- Thursday: I walked part way home, 36 minutes.
- Friday: No exercise today after a long day and family obligations.
Total: 186 minutes walking and 11 minutes doing yoga. I totally conquered my 150 minute goal.